[JURIST] Bosnian Serb lawmakers have backed a resolution calling Kosovo's declaration of independence [text; JURIST report] from Serbia illegal and threatening to call a referendum on their own possible separation from the amalgamated state of Bosnia-Herzegovina (BiH). The resolution, passed late Thursday by the People's Assembly of Republika Srpska [official website], cautioned that recognition of Kosovo would set an international precedent. US Ambassador to Bosnia-Herzegovina Charles English [official profile] described talk of sovereignty as an 'irresponsible and unconstitutional concept.' Reuters has more.

Serbs in northern Kosovo, meanwhile, have been preventing Albanians from crossing the Ibar River into the Serbian part of the divided town of Mitrovica, potentially setting the stage for their own separation from the new entity. A spokesperson for the NATO-led KFOR [official website] said its forces are 'fully able and ready to prevent any clashes between Serbs and Albanians.' The Daily Telegraph has more.

[JURIST] British troops may have tortured and executed up to 20 Iraqi civilians after a 2004 clash between insurgents and a British convoy in Majar al Kabir [Guardian report], according to evidence released Friday by the lawyers of five Iraqi men detained after the battle. The evidence includes testimony from several witnesses, death certificates, and video footage of mutilated bodies. The five men claim that they were tortured and that they heard sounds of someone being strangled followed by gunshots during their detention at at the British army base in Abu Naji. All five men believe the gunshots were the sounds of executions. The Ministry of Defense [official website] has said the bodies turned over to Iraqi authorities were those of insurgents killed in the battle and that an independent pathologist has confirmed that the wounds were consistent with those suffered in combat. The lawyers disclosing the evidence Friday called for a public inquiry into the incident, acknowledging they while they believed their clients on a "balance of probabilities," they themselves did not know exactly what happened.

The UK Royal Military Police [official website] first conducted an investigation [Guardian report] into the events in 2004 which cleared the UK soldiers of wrongdoing. A subsequent investigation [JURIST report] began in December 2007 and was made public this month after the UK High Court lifted a gag order. AP has more. The Guardian has additional coverage.

[JURIST] An Iranian official with the country's Supreme National Security Council said Saturday that a potential UN Security Council [official website] resolution imposing new sanctions on Iran in connection with its nuclear activities would be "legally and technically baseless," according to the Iranian Student News Agency (ISNA). On Friday, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) [official website] reported [press release] that while a recent probe into the county's nuclear activities managed to "clarify" those, it needed continued access to ensure that Iran's nuclear program was solely directed at peaceful purposes. IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei encouraged [statement text] Iran to authorize the IAEA to visit Iran and obtain documents, including documents pertaining to Iran's unclear past weaponization studies. AFP has more. UN News Centre has additional coverage.

Last March, the UN Security Council unanimously voted to impose sanctions [JURIST report] on Iran for continuing to enrich uranium in violation of a December 2006 resolution. Security Council Resolution 1747 [text and background] broadens the sanctions of December 2006's Resolution 1737 [text; JURIST report], freezing assets of investors in Iran and blocking the export of Iranian arms.

[JURIST] US Attorney General Michael Mukasey and US Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell [official profiles] said Friday that some telecommunications companies are circumventing wiretapping orders after the temporary Protect America Act [S 1927 materials] expired [JURIST report] last week without an agreement in Congress on replacement legislation, causing intelligence agencies to lose vital information. In a letter [PDF] to the House Intelligence Committee, Mukasey and McConnell said that intelligence has been lost while some companies wait to see how the legislature settles a dispute over whether or not to provide immunity for telecommunications companies [JURIST report] from lawsuits related to their participation in the NSA warrantless surveillance program [JURIST news archive]. The Senate passed [JURIST report] the FISA Amendments Act [S 2248 materials] last week, but the House of Representatives did not approve the Senate bill before leaving for a 12-day recess. The version approved by the Senate provides retroactive immunity for the companies, while the House version [HR 3773 materials], approved [JURIST report] in November, does not include the immunity provisions. AP has more.

The FISA Amendments Act, supplementary to the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act [text], would make it easier for the government to monitor foreign phone calls and e-mails that pass through the United States. In the absence of new legislation, the government can get an order from the secret Foriegn Intelligence Surveillance Court to monitor calls and e-mails, set up under FISA. Amendment supporters have rejected this option, saying it creates too much red tape. Strong critics of the legislation, including Senator Christopher Dodd (D-CT) [official website], have deplored its retroactive grant of immunity to participating telecom companies as an effective endorsement of warrantless wiretapping contrary to the rule of law [transcript; recorded video].

[JURIST] Japanese Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba [official profile] urged the US Friday to adopt preventive measures to stop further crimes by American troops in Japan. The warning comes after a US Marine was arrested [Reuters report] last week for allegedly raping a 14 year-old girl on Okinawa, an incident that sparked outrage [MDN editorial] among the public and Japanese media. At a parliamentary meeting, Ishiba said:"I don't think an alliance is possible unless the U.S. shares the view that if incidents like this continue to happen, it could shake the foundation of the Japan-U.S. alliance." On Friday, Japanese Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura announced further security measures including surveillance cameras and joint Japanese-American patrols.

US Forces Japan (USFJ) [official website] observed a Day of Reflection, [news release] Friday emphasized professionalism and "military values" among US personnel serving in Japan. USFJ has also organized a Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Task Force. Some local groups and residents have complained for decades [backgrounder] about violence perpetrated by US military personnel stationed in Japan, although the number of reported crimes is down by half of what it was five years ago. AP has more. BBC News has additional coverage.