[JURIST] FBI Director Robert Mueller testified [recorded video; prepared statement, PDF] before the US House Judiciary Committee [official website] Wednesday that he had advised officials at the Departments of Justice and Defense that some interrogation tactics employed against terror suspects might be illegal. Mueller said that the FBI had first raised concerns about the use of harsh interrogation methods in 2002, when CIA interrogators used waterboarding [JURIST news archive] with several alleged al Qaeda leaders, but declined to say how other agencies had reacted to FBI concerns. AP has more.

In February, acting head of the US Department of Justice (DOJ) Office of Legal Counsel [official website] Steven G. Bradbury testified [JURIST report] at a US House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties hearing [subcommittee materials] that the use of waterboarding has been barred by measures enacted since the interrogation technique was used on three terror detainees in 2002 and 2003. That testimony came a day after the US Senate approved [JURIST report] a measure [HR 2082 materials] restricting CIA interrogators to using only those interrogation techniques explicitly authorized by the 2006 Army Field Manual, which specifically prohibits the use of waterboarding and other harsh tactics. The measure was also approved by the House of Representatives, but was vetoed [JURIST report] by President Bush. An attempt to override the veto failed [JURIST report] last month.

[JURIST] The Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) [official website; JURIST news archive] on Wednesday adjourned a hearing to consider an appeal by former Cambodian head of state Khieu Samphan [JURIST news archive] against his detention after Samphan's French lawyer Jacques Verges [BBC profile] refused to participate, saying that documents necessary for Samphan's defense had not been translated into French. In the decision [PDF text] issued Wednesday to adjourn the proceedings, the court said that French copies of all relevant documents were available and issued a warning to Verges for not indicating sooner that language difficulties existed. Also Wednesday, Verges told reporters that Samphan's detention was "illegal," as it was based on untranslated documents. AFP has more. AP has additional coverage.

Khieu Samphan was the fifth senior Khmer Rouge [JURIST news archive] leader to be detained by the ECCC when he was arrested last year. 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. The ECCC was established by a 2001 law [text as amended 2005, PDF] to investigate and try surviving Khmer Rouge officials, but to date, no top officials have faced trials. Verges has previously said that his client would not speak with court officials [JURIST report] until court documents and pages of evidence against his client were translated into French.

[JURIST] Federal prosecutors said at a hearing Wednesday that they would press for a third terrorism prosecution [JURIST report] of six men charged with conspiring [DOJ press release] to bomb the Sears Tower in Chicago and the FBI headquarters in Miami after two previous prosecutions ended in mistrials. US District Judge Joan A. Lenard declared the second mistrial [JURIST report] last week after the jury was unable to reach a verdict after 13 days of deliberations. In December 2007, Lenard declared an initial mistrial [JURIST report] when the jury was deadlocked after nine days of deliberations. A seventh man was acquitted in that proceeding.

The seven were indicted [JURIST report] in 2006 on charges [indictment, PDF] of conspiring to provide material support to al Qaeda; conspiring to provide material support, training, and resources to terrorists; conspiring to maliciously damage and destroy by means of an explosive; and conspiring to levy war against the government of the United States. The indictment alleged that ringleader Narseal Batiste recruited the six other initial defendants to "organize and train for a mission to wage war against the United States government," and that they pledged an oath to al Qaeda in an attempt to secure financial and logistical backing. Lawyers for some of the men have said that their clients were entrapped [JURIST report] by an FBI informant posing as an al Qaeda operative. AP has more.

[JURIST] The UK Court of Appeal Wednesday rejected an appeal [text] by four men convicted for plotting the failed bomb attacks on London's subway and bus systems [JURIST news archive] on July 21, 2005, two weeks after a similar attack [JURIST news archive] killed 52 people. In 2005, Hussein Osman, Muktar Said Ibrahim, Yassin Omar, and Ramzi Mohamed were all found guilty [JURIST report] of conspiracy to commit murder and sentenced to life imprisonment. The men said that the failed bomb plot had actually been a hoax, an argument rejected by the judges.

In November 2007, a UK judge sentenced [JURIST report] a fifth man, Manfo Kwaku Asiedu [BBC profile], to 33 years' imprisonment for his role in the failed bomb attacks. Asiedu pleaded guilty [JURIST report] to a charge of conspiracy to cause explosions and the prosecution agreed to drop the charge of conspiracy to murder. In a 2006 trial, the jury failed to reach a verdict against Asiedu [JURIST reports]. During the trial, Asiedu testified against his co-conspirators, undermining their defense that the plot was a hoax. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] The Federal Court of Australia [official website] on Wednesday ruled that a lower court made several errors of law in its 2006 decision [text] giving Aborigines native title [NNTT backgrounder] to land in the Australian city of Perth, and said that the case must be reheard. The Australian government appealed the decision [JURIST report] in October 2006, arguing that the ruling could prevent non-indigenous people from having access to public parks and benches in the area. The government also asserted that the ruling created uncertainty in other native title determination cases pending at the time.

The Federal Court did not rule that Aborigines do not hold native title over Perth, but instead referred the issue back to the lower court. The South West Aboriginal Land and Sea Council [advocacy website] represented the Noongar people [SWALSC backgrounder] in the case. Council Chairman Ted Hart said Wednesday that the Noongar people were disappointed with the ruling, but that they would continue to press the case. AFP has more.

[JURIST] The US government has abandoned a prototype "virtual fence" [JURIST report] along the US-Mexico border [GlobalSecurity backgrounder] after the system failed to perform up to expectations, according to Wednesday media reports. The prototype fence, which consists of nine unmanned towers equipped with radar, sensors and cameras along a 28-mile stretch of the US-Mexico border, was too slow in alerting border agents to illegal crossings. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Officials said that Boeing [corporate website], the technology's creator, will replace the fence with a series of towers outfitted with new cameras and enhanced radar capability. AP has more.

The virtual fence was part of the Secure Border Initiative [DHS fact sheet] developed to control illegal immigration and drug smuggling. DHS laid out its plans to put up a virtual fence [JURIST report] along the US borders with Canada and Mexico in September 2006 and announced that Boeing had been awarded a $67 million contract [Boeing press release] to begin the project. Computer software glitches had delayed the testing and use of the fence [AP report] until Boeing largely fixed the problems [DHS press release] in early December 2007; DHS gave final approval [JURIST report] to the prototype in February.

[JURIST] Federal prosecutors filed felony charges [indictment, PDF; press release] Tuesday against Capt. John Joseph Cota, the California maritime pilot accused in the November 2007 spill of approximately 58,000 gallons of heavy fuel oil in the San Francisco Bay. Cota, who was piloting the M/V Cosco Busan when it collided with the San Francisco Bay Bridge last year, was also charged [JURIST report] last month with misdemeanor environmental charges under the Clean Water Act and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act [texts] for his alleged negligent behavior.

According to the US Attorney's press release:

The new charges include two counts of making false statements to the Coast Guard on required annual medical forms. Coast Guard regulations require that pilots have an annual physical examination that results in the completion of a medical evaluation form. The form must be completed by a licensed physician or physician assistant, and signed by the pilot. The grand jury's indictment charges that Cota knowingly and willfully made materially false, fictitious, and fraudulent statements and representations on the required medical forms in that he certified that all the information he provided was complete and true to the best of his knowledge. The indictment alleges that in fact, Cota knew that the information he provided was neither complete nor true, including information regarding his current medications, the dosage, possible side effects and medical conditions for which the medications were taken.

[JURIST] Ali Hassan al-Majid [BBC profile; JURIST news archive], better known in the Western media as "Chemical Ali," has been released from the hospital and returned to a US detention facility in Baghdad, US military officials said Tuesday. Al-Majid was hospitalized [JURIST report] earlier this week after launching a hunger strike over his detention conditions. US officials said that al-Majid suffered a heart attack as a result of the hunger strike, but that he was now in stable condition. The hunger strike was joined by 14 other detainees in protest of their court-ordered transfer to the detention facility at the Iraqi High Tribunal, the court which convicted al-Majid and several co-defendants on genocide and war crimes charges for their roles in the deaths of tens of thousands of Kurds during the Anfal campaign [HRW backgrounder] of 1988. Al-Majid and the detainees who went on hunger strike are also on trial [JURIST report] on separate crimes against humanity charges for their alleged role in the violent suppression of a predominately Shi'a uprising [HRW backgrounder] in southern Iraq following the 1991 Persian Gulf War. After his release from a US medical facility, al-Majid was transferred back to Camp Cropper, rather than the Iraqi courthouse, and a defense lawyer indicated that the other detainees would also be transferred back to Camp Cropper. AP has more.

Al-Majid's death sentence in the Anfal case was upheld on appeal last September, but Iraq's Presidency Council did not approve the execution [JURIST reports] until late February. Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's government said in early March that al-Majid would not be executed [JURIST report] until the Presidency Council approved the death sentences of al-Majid's two co-defendants.

[JURIST] The US Supreme Court [official website; JURIST news archive] handed down its decision Wednesday in Virginia v. Moore [Duke Law case backgrounder], where the Court ruled that Virginia police did not violate Moore's Fourth Amendment right when they arrested him based on probable cause and performed a search incident to arrest, even when the arrest was prohibited by Virginia law. Moore was arrested for driving with a suspended license, even though the Virginia code directs that a police offer should issue a summons and release the suspect from custody for such an offense. A subsequent search turned up crack cocaine and Moore was convicted on drug charges. Lower courts in Virginia allowed the drug evidence, but the Virginia Supreme Court ruled that the evidence should have been suppressed [PDF text].

The Supreme Court reversed, holding that even though state arrest law may have been violated, the defendant's Fourth Amendment rights were not:

We reaffirm against a novel challenge what we have signaled for more than half a century. When officers have probable cause to believe that a person has committed a crime in their presence, the Fourth Amendment permits them to make an arrest, and to search the suspect in order to safeguard evidence and ensure their own safety.

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[JURIST] US District Judge Cormac J. Carney of the Central District of California on Monday sentenced former Chinese television executive Tai Wang Mak [CI Centre backgrounder] to 10 years in prison for conspiring with his brother, Chi Mak, to smuggle sensitive naval intelligence data to China [JURIST news archive]. The US government indicted [text, PDF] Tai Mak, along with his brother and brother's wife, in November 2005 for both acting as, and failing to register as, an agent of a foreign government in violation of 18 USC 951 [text]. Chi Mak and his wife allegedly stole computer disks from his employer, defense contractor Power Paragon [corporate website], and copied sensitive information that Tai Mak and his wife were then to deliver to a contact in China. All four suspects were arrested on October 28, 2005, Tai Mak and his wife at Los Angeles International Airport and Chi Mak and his wife at their home in California.

Chi Mak was sentenced [JURIST report] last month to more than 24 years in prison [press release]. Tai Mak, his wife Fuk Li, and their son Billy Mak all pleaded guilty to charges [JURIST report] as part of a plea agreement [New York Sun report] in June 2007. Billy Mak and Fuk Li were sentenced to time served and face deportation back to China. Chi Mak's wife, Rebecca Laiwah Chiu, is scheduled to be sentenced in May. The New York Sun has more.

[JURIST] US prisons currently house the world's largest inmate population, according to a Wednesday New York Times report [text] citing data provided by the International Center for Prison Studies [organization website]. The US currently holds 2.3 million inmates, far more than second-in-line China [JURIST news archive], which holds only 1.6 million inmates even though its population is four times that of the US. On a per capita scale, the US also leads worldwide inmate populations, with 751 people imprisoned for every 100,000 in population, compared with 627 inmates for every 100,000 people in Russia, 151 for every 100,000 in England, and 88 for every 100,000 in Germany [JURIST news archives]. The report attributes the high inmate numbers to several factors, including the prevalence of prison sentences for nonviolent crimes, rigorous anti-drug campaigns, and the ready availability of guns.

In February, a report [PDF text; JURIST report] by the Pew Center on the States (PCS) [organization website] found that one in every 100 US adults is currently in prison.

[JURIST] Former US Justice Department official Robert Coughlin II pleaded guilty [press release] Tuesday to one count of criminal conflict of interest in connection to his relationship with disgraced former lobbyist Jack Abramoff [JURIST news archive]. Coughlin, charged [JURIST report] on Monday, served as the deputy chief of staff of the DOJ's Criminal Division [official website] before resigning last year. He has admitting to accepting tickets to sporting events and other gifts from Abramoff's lobbying firm between 2001-2003 while working in legislative affairs for the Justice Department. According to the DOJ's press release, Coughlin could be sentenced to a maximum five years and prison and be fined $250,000. AP has more.

Abramoff pleaded guilty [JURIST report] in January 2006 to two conspiracy and fraud charges stemming from the 2000 purchase of the SunCruz Casino as part of a plea agreement [PDF text] with federal prosecutors that would reduce his punishment in exchange for favorable testimony in future DOJ corruption cases.

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[JURIST] Flavio Sosa, a leader of the 2006 popular uprising in the Mexican state of Oaxaca [BBC backgrounder], was released from jail this weekend after prosecutors failed to convict him of any charges related to the uprising. Sosa, a prominent figure in the People's Assembly of Oaxaca (APPO) [coalition website, in Spanish], had allegedly led a five-month protest demanding the resignation of Oaxaca Governor Ulises Ruiz Ortiz and other members of the Oaxacan government. Sosa was arrested [JURIST report] in December 2006 and jailed [APPO press release, in Spanish] in a maximum-security facility on five charges, including kidnapping and robbery. The Mexican attorney general's office had said [press release] that Sosa "is known for his use of violence, damaging private property and public byways, and also burning vehicles and buildings in Oaxaca City." Sosa, however, has maintained that his supporters acted peacefully.

The protests were sparked by a teachers strike in May 2006. In August 2007, Amnesty International urged the Mexican government [JURIST report] to initiate a probe into alleged abuses by government authorities during the uprising, saying that "ensuring that impunity for human rights violation is not allowed to prevail" will help to deter future abuses and be an opportunity for Mexican President Felipe Calderon [official website, in Spanish] to demonstrate that he is "committed to protecting, ensuring and fulfilling human rights." AP has more.