[JURIST] Former Cambodian Foreign Minister Ieng Sary [JURIST news archive], accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity for his role in the Khmer Rouge [JURIST news archive] communist regime of the 1970s, was hospitalized Monday for a urinary tract problem. A spokesman for the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) [official website; JURIST news archive] said that this was the second time in 10 days that Sary had been taken to the hospital. Sary has a history of heart trouble and has appealed his detention [JURIST report] on grounds of ill health in December 2007. The ECCC's pre-trial chamber has not yet heard the appeal. Sary and his wife, Ieng Thirith, who served as Minister for Social Affairs under the Khmer Rouge, were arrested in November 2007 and subsequently charged [JURIST reports]. AP has more.

The ECCC was established by a 2001 law [text as amended 2004, PDF] to investigate and try surviving Khmer Rouge officials. The Khmer Rouge is generally held responsible for the genocide of an estimated 1.7 million Cambodians [PPU backgrounder] who died between 1975 and 1979. To date, no top Khmer Rouge officials have faced trial. Sary and Thirith are two of five former Khmer Rouge leaders in custody of the court. Sary is suspected of perpetrating and facilitating murders as well as coordinating Khmer Rouge's policies of forcible transfer, forced labor and unlawful killings. Thirith allegedly directed and planned widespread purges and the killings of members within the Ministry of Social Affairs. Both have maintained their innocence.

[JURIST] Lawyers representing the families of 17 US Navy personnel killed in the 2000 al Qaeda attack [US DOD inquiry report; JURIST news archive] on the USS Cole [official website] have filed court papers asking US District Judge Robert G. Doumar of the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia [official website] to reopen their lawsuit against the government of Sudan, according to Monday media reports. The families say they will be able to recover additional damages in the case since US President George W. Bush signed the Justice for Victims of State-Sponsored Terrorism Act (S 1944) [text] into law on January 28. The Act allows victims of future and prior terrorism-related attacks, excluding those involving Iraq, to seek punitive damages for pain, suffering and emotional distress.

In July, Doumar ordered the government of Sudan to pay $7.96 million in compensation [JURIST report] to the families of the Cole victims, but said he could not award the $105 million sought by the families for pain and suffering as the federal Death on the High Seas Act [text] limited compensation to only economic damages. AP has more.

[JURIST] A UK jury Monday sentenced five men to prison terms ranging from seven to 17 years for aiding the perpetrators of the failed July 21, 2005 bomb attacks on London's transit system [JURIST news archive] evade arrest. Ismail Abdurahman, Muhedin Ali, Siraj Ali, Wahbi Mohammed, and Abdul Sherif were collectively convicted of 22 charges of assisting an offender and failing to disclose information about terrorism. The Kingston Crown Court also convicted Siraj Ali and Mohammed on additional charges of having advance knowledge of the terror plot and failing to warn authorities. Prosecutors presented evidence that the five men, two of whom are brothers of convicted attack plotters, had provided the plotters with food, clothing, safe houses, and passports to help them avoid detection by the police. The suspects were later apprehended. The attempted attacks came two weeks after successful suicide bombings [BBC timeline; JURIST news archive] killed 52 people on three underground trains and a bus in London.

In 2006, plotters Hussein Osman, Muktar Said Ibrahim, Yassin Omar, and Ramzi Mohamed were all found guilty of conspiracy to commit murder [JURIST reports] and sentenced to life imprisonment for their role in the failed terror bombings. The jury in the same case failed to reach a verdict [JURIST report] against Manfo Kwaku Asiedu [BBC profile], but he was later sentenced [JURIST report] to 33 years' imprisonment for his role. BBC News has more.

[JURIST] Former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan [official profile] Monday called for Kenya [JURIST news archive] to establish a truth and reconciliation commission in hopes of soothing underlying social and ethnic pressures that erupted into violence in the wake of January's disputed presidential election [JURIST report]. Annan is currently in the country to help mediate the conflict between Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki [official profile] and opposition candidate Raila Odinga [campaign profile] in an effort to curb the violence. Annan also suggested Monday that UN investigators should be tasked with investigating alleged human rights abuses that have occurred in the country. South Africa [South Africa TRC website] and Liberia [Liberia TRC website; JURIST report] have previously established truth commissions to head investigations of violence in their respective countries. BBC News has more.

Kenya's controversial presidential vote has sparked simmering ethnic tensions in the country, where Kibaki has long been accused of using his position to favor members of the Kikuyu tribe. Fueling accusations of malfeasance, Kibaki won the December 27 election despite early opinion polls that placed rival candidate Odinga in the lead. Thousands of opposition supporters took to the streets following the election, which prompted the government to temporarily ban public rallies and institute a curfew in Nairobi, the capital city. In all, almost 1,000 people have been killed and 250,000 displaced since protests began. Thirteen nations, including several European Union members and the United States, have threatened to cut off aid [JURIST report] to Kenya's government until the crisis is resolved and democracy is restored. Odinga's opposition party, the Orange Democratic Movement [party website] filed a formal complaint [JURIST report] on January 22 with the International Criminal Court [official website], alleging that Kibaki's administration has committed crimes against humanity while using force against demonstrators. The Kenyan National Commission on Human Rights [official site] launched an official investigation [KNCHR brief; Standard report] into the alleged human rights violations on January 26.

[JURIST] Four Kurds accused in Syria of separatism were sentenced to up to 10 years in prison by Syria's Supreme State Security Court (SSSC), independent rights group National Organization for Human Rights in Syria [advocacy website] said Monday. Two of the men, Hamid Suleiman Mohammed and Adnan Muwaymesh, were sentenced to 10 years, while Ibrahim Haj Yussef and Ahmed Hassan Habash were sentenced to seven years; all were convicted of working "to break away areas of Syrian territory so that they can be annexed to an independent state." The National Organization for Human Rights in Syria also reported that the SSSC had sentenced two Sunnis to two years in prison each for "inciting communal and ethnic tensions," but both were released on time served.

Human rights groups have accused Syria of using the SSSC, whose rulings cannot be appealed, to intimidate political dissidents. In 2004, Human Rights Watch (HRW) called on Syria to try suspects in civilian courts rather than in the security courts [HRW report]. HRW has also accused Syria of "systematic discrimination" against Kurds, including the arbitrary denial of citizenship to Syria-born Kurds [HRW report]. Kurds are the largest non-Arab minority in Syria and constitute about 10 percent of the country's population. AFP has more.

[JURIST] A lawyer for British national Simon Mann [BBC profile], alleged to have plotted a coup against Equatorial Guinea President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo [BBC profile] in 2004, accused Zimbabwean officials Monday of criminal conspiracy to kidnap after Mann was reportedly deported to Equatorial Guinea in secret before his appeal process against extradition was completed, according to the Guardian reported [text]. Last Thursday another lawyer for the suspected mercenary was barred from visiting him in prison, one day after an appeal seeking to prevent Mann's extradition to Equatorial Guinea was denied [JURIST report]. Jonathan Samukange Thursday filed a writ of habeas corpus and applied for an injunction barring extradition pending an appeal to the Zimbabwe Supreme Court, but Zimbabwean officials said that Mann had already been extradited that morning. Samukange has reportedly asked the International Court of Justice [Zimbabwe Guardian report] to intervene.

Mann was sentenced to four years in prison after being convicted on weapons charges [JURIST report] in Zimbabwe in September 2004. His lawyers had argued that Mann would likely face torture and possibly the death penalty if he were extradited to Equatorial Guinea, but Equatorial Guinea has promised to give Mann a fair trial and not seek the death penalty.

[JURIST] The French Senate and National Assembly [official websites, in French] voted 560-181 at a special parliamentary session Monday to pass an amendment [text, in French] to the French Constitution [text, English version] that paves the way for France to adopt the new EU reform treaty [JURIST news archive], properly known as the Treaty of Lisbon [official website; PDF text]. The amendment deletes reference in the French Constitution to the failed European constitution [JURIST news archive], which French voters rejected in a national referendum [JURIST report] in 2005. Of the 893 senators and members of parliament present at Monday's vote, 152 abstained from voting on the amendment. Many Socialists said they abstained because they support ratification of the treaty by means of another national referendum rather than by parliamentary vote. The National Assembly and Senate have scheduled votes on adoption of the treaty for Wednesday and Thursday, respectively.

Leaders from the 27 countries that make up the European Union signed the reform treaty [JURIST report] in December, but all member countries must ratify the document before it can take effect. Hungary became the first EU member to ratify [JURIST report] the treaty on December 18. EUobserver has more. BBC News has additional coverage.

[JURIST] Lawyers for Guantanamo Bay detainee Omar Khadr [DOD materials; JURIST news archive] Monday argued that the US military commission responsible for trying him lacks jurisdiction over the case [motions, PDF], saying that Khadr did not commit a war crime by allegedly throwing a grenade that killed one US soldier and wounded another while fighting with the Taliban in Afghanistan in 2002 because soldiers are lawful targets in a war zone. Prosecutors argued that jurisdiction was proper as Khadr violated international rules of war by concealing himself in civilian clothing and living among women and children during combat. Defense lawyers also argued that Khadr's alleged actions in 2002 were not considered war crimes at the time they were committed and thus cannot be tried as such under the 2006 Military Commissions Act (MCA) [PDF text]. Prosecutors countered that the law is retroactive. US military judge Col. Peter Brownback did not issue a ruling on the motions to dismiss at Monday's hearing. Khadr's trial is currently set for May.

Khadr, now 21, faces life imprisonment for crimes allegedly committed when he was 15. Defense lawyers, a UN representative [JURIST reports], and rights groups have said if the US proceeds with the military trial, the US will be in violation of the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child [text], which gives special protection to children under 18 involved in armed conflicts. Khadr's trial would be one of the first in Guantanamo Bay's new $12 million mobile war crimes courtroom complex [Reuters report], ready for regular use in March. The military hopes to try as many as 80 detainees for war crimes in the complex. To date, only four Guantanamo detainees have been formally charged with war crimes [JURIST report] under the MCA. AP has more.

[JURIST] The European Commission (EC) [official website] said Monday that new EU members Bulgaria and Romania must do more to achieve judicial reform and fight corruption and organized crime. An interim report on Bulgaria [PDF text; summary] criticized Bulgarian efforts to counter high-level corruption and organized crime for not demonstrating "convincing results." Another interim report on Romania [PDF text; summary] praised the Romanian government's commitment to judicial reform and ending corruption, but again criticized the lack of concrete results and said it needed to concentrate on high-level corruption. The EC did not call for sanctions against the two countries, but did say that both needed to improve ahead of the Commission's next detailed evaluation in mid-2008.

Last June, the EC issued similar findings in two progress reports [JURIST report], saying that Bulgaria and Romania needed to do more to achieve judicial reform, and combat corruption and organized crime [press release]. In January 2007, Bulgaria and Romania officially joined the EU [JURIST report] following six years of accession negotiations. Both countries are required to meet a series of benchmarks; failing to do so could result in EU intervention and the loss of economic aid under Articles 36-38 of the Act of Accession [text], which lays out safeguard mechanisms [EC backgrounder] in the event of problems posing a threat to the functioning of the EU. EUobserver has more.

[JURIST] The Moscow City Court on Monday rejected the appeal of exiled business tycoon Boris Berezovsky [BBC profile; JURIST news archive]. Berezovsky has been sentenced to six years in prison, after being found guilty [JURIST report] last November of embezzling 214 million rubles from Russian national airline Aeroflot. Berezovsky was tried in absentia, as he now resides in the UK as a political refugee. Berezovsky has denied all charges, which he characterizes as political motivated, and the appeal rejected Monday was filed by a court-appointed lawyer rather than Berezovksy's defense lawyers.

Russian prosecutors had pushed for a nine year sentence, and have also accused Berezovsky of plotting a coup [JURIST reports] against Russian President Vladimir Putin. Last July, prosecutors alleged that Berezovsky embezzled credit funds [JURIST report] from SBS-Agro Bank [EBRD profile], which he then owned, to purchase real estate in southern France. AP has more.

[JURIST] Former Khmer Rouge official Nuon Chea [PBS backgrounder] made his first public appearance before the Extraordinary Chambers in the Court of Cambodia (ECCC) [official website; JURIST news archive] on Monday, though the court quickly adjourned the pre-trial hearing. The adjournment was due to a dispute over Nuon Chea's Dutch lawyer, Victor Koppe [firm profile], who has been denied admission to the Cambodian Bar Association, a prerequisite to representing Chea before the ECCC. The ECCC's official statement said:

The Pre-Trial Chamber opened its hearing on Nuon Chea's appeal against provisional detention today and decided to adjourn in response to request by Cambodian defence lawyer, Son Arun. A decision on the date of resumption of the hearing will be announced on Wednesday 06 February.

The Internal Rules of the ECCC provide for the participation of victims of the Khmer Rouge regime in the proceedings as civil parties. They allow victims to play an active role in the trials, including all procedural rights. The rights of Civil Parties are comparable to those of the accused, and include the rights to participate in the investigation, to be represented by a lawyer, to call witnesses and question the accused at trial, and to claim reparations for the harm they suffered.

[JURIST] A Spanish court on Monday ordered the release of 10 suspected terrorists accused of participating in a plot to bomb the Spanish National Court in Madrid, several days before the court is scheduled to announce the verdicts and sentences of all 30 suspected conspirators [BBC report] on charges of membership in a terrorist organization, conspiracy to commit a terrorist attack and forgery. Only five suspects will actually be released, however, as the other five have unrelated charges pending against them.

The defendants, whose trial [JURIST report] began in October 2007, are accused of allegedly planned to ram a truck loaded with 1,100 pounds of explosives into the court house. They were charged [JURIST report] in 2004. The group's alleged mastermind, Abderrahmane Tahiri, also known as Mohamed Achraf, was extradited by Switzerland to Spain [BBC report] in 2005. The Spanish National Court is widely viewed as the center of Spain's anti-terror investigations, and the bomb plot was aimed at killing the country's top judges. AP has more.

[JURIST] The Supreme Court of Indonesia on Monday announced it will consider a second appeal of the convictions of three men found responsible at trial for the 2002 Bali nightclub bombings [BBC backgrounder]. The Supreme Court ordered a lower district court to assemble a panel of judges to review the merits of the bombers' latest appeal, after which their recommendation will be considered by the Supreme Court in making a final decision. The Supreme Court rejected their first appeal in December, but accepted the second appeal [JURIST reports] to determine whether the bombers should have been tried under retroactive laws that were not in effect when the bombings took place. The three men - Mukhlas, Amrozi, and Imam Samudra [BBC profiles] - will be executed if their appeal is not successful.

In August 2007, the Indonesian government reduced the sentences [JURIST report] of 10 other Islamic militants convicted for their roles in the 2002 and 2005 Bali bombings [BBC report]. Originally serving between eight to 18 years, six of the militants received a sentence reduction of five months, while the other four received a reduction of two months. Terrorist group Jemaah Islamiyah [MIPT backgrounder; JURIST news archive] has been blamed for both Bali bombings. ABC News has more. AAP has additional coverage.

[JURIST] A Bangladesh trial judge on Monday adjourned proceedings and admonished defense lawyers for former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wajed [party profile; JURIST archive] after they accused the judge of partiality in open court for refusing to allow cross examination of the main witness against Hasina. The witness is a businessman who accused Hasina and her cousin of extorting $435,000 from him while she was in office. Hasina, who was formally charged [JURIST report] earlier this month with two counts of extortion, denied the accusations [JURIST report] during questioning by officials. If convicted, she would be banned from running for office for 10 years.

The trial resumed last week after the Bangladesh Supreme Court rejected Hasina's appeal of the proceedings [JURIST report]. Hasina had argued that she could not be tried under the current state of emergency rules because the alleged crimes occurred before the state of emergency [JURIST report] was declared last January. The current emergency government in Bangladesh was installed in January 2007 and is led by former central bank chief Fakhruddin Ahmed [official website; TIME interview]. The emergency government has arrested over 170 high-profile citizens since the military-backed government declared a state of emergency due to concerns that fraud would mar scheduled national elections. Both Hasina's sister, Shaikh Rehana, and her cousin, Shaikh Selim, a former minister in her cabinet, have been charged with extortion. Her political rival, former Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia, has also been charged with corruption [JURIST report]. Hasina was prime minister between 1996 and 2001 and is the leader of the opposition Awami League [party website]. AFP has more.