[JURIST] Incoming Russian President Dmitry Medvedev [official profile], a lawyer who won Russia's presidency in March elections, stressed the importance of rights and freedoms at the outset of his inauguration address [text; recorded video, in Russian] in the Kremlin Wednesday as he took over from outgoing President Vladimir Putin. Medvedev, a lawyer, said:

I have just sworn the presidential oath, the oath taken before the people of Russia, and its very first lines pledge respect and protection of human rights and freedoms. It is them that our society declares the greatest value, and they determine the sense and the substance of all state policy....

I place particular importance on the fundamental role of the law, which is the cornerstone of our state and our civil society. We must ensure true respect for the law and overcome the legal nihilism that is such a serious hindrance to modern development.

A mature and effective legal system is an essential condition for economic and social development, supporting entrepreneurship and fighting corruption. But it is no less important for increasing Russia’s influence in the international community, making our country more open to the world and facilitating dialogue as equals with other peoples.

Finally, true supremacy of the law is only possible if people feel safe in their lives. I will do everything I can to ensure that the safety of our citizens is not just enshrined in the law but is genuinely guaranteed by the state.

[JURIST] European Parliament President Hans-Gert Poettering [official website] Wednesday faulted the ruling junta of Myanmar for saying it would go ahead with a scheduled May 10 referendum on a draft constitution [JURIST news archives] in the aftermath of a devastating weekend cyclone that may have left up to 100,000 people dead [AP report]. In a statement [text], Poettering said:

We all are aware of the terrible consequences of the tropical storm, which hit Burma/Myanmar last Sunday, a tragedy that killed over tens of thousands people, left hundreds of thousands homeless and destroyed infrastructures in the most populated area of the country.

It is an absolutely unprecedented disaster at the scale of the country.

The military junta that rules the country has obviously worsened the situation by acting improperly. Neither was prevention ensured, nor was relief provided swiftly enough to the population. Moreover, it was decided to hold the "constitutional referendum" on 10 May as scheduled, displaying therewith a lack of concern and legitimacy.

[JURIST] The Court of Appeal in London Wednesday rejected a government bid to challenge an order [JURIST report] by the Proscribed Organisations Appeal Commission [official website] to remove an Iranian opposition group from its blacklist of terror organizations. The Court of Appeal ruled there was no evidence that the People's Mujahedeen Organization of Iran (PMOI) [group website] had been involved with terrorism since 2003 and so no longer satisfied any of the criteria for appearing on the blacklist. PMOI is Iran's main political opposition organization and part of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) [group website], an umbrella coalition of Iranian opposition groups. BBC News has more. The Wall Street Journal has additional coverage.

The PMOI was added to Britain's list of proscribed organizations under the Terrorism Act 2000 [text] in March 2001. In December 2006, the European Court of First Instance annulled an asset freeze [JURIST report] on PMOI by the Council of the European Union. The judgment prompted the Council of the European Union to revise [press release, PDF; JURIST report] the procedures used in establishing and maintaining the EU's terror lists.

[JURIST] A technical problem delayed the start of the arraignment hearing for Yemeni Guantanamo detainee Ali Hamza Ahman Sulayman al-Bahlul Wednesday when a courtroom sound feed in the brand new Guantanamo legal compound cut off for reporters in the spectator gallery. The compound's military commissions building is part of the US military's Expeditionary Legal Complex [ABC News report], otherwise known as Camp Justice [AFPS report], a drastically-scaled down version of a larger Guantanamo Bay legal facility [JURIST report] intended to house hundreds of lawyers, journalists and courtroom personnel during upcoming detainee trials. The commissions building itself includes a courtroom, detainee holding area, judges’ chambers and a press gallery. AP has more. The Miami Herald has additional coverage.

As national and international pressure increased last year for closing the Guantanamo military prison, Pentagon plans for a permanent three-courtroom structure costing an estimated $125 million were dramatically cut back in favor of a much more limited $12 million facility with a single courtroom and accommodations for some 500 lawyers, journalists and staff. Nearly one hundred Quonset-style tents are currently set on an abandoned airfield where Cuban boat refugees were housed in the 1990s. The single windowless "courthouse" - the military commissions building - is made of corrugated metal.

[JURIST] The ruling Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) [party websites] both filed legal challenges to the parliamentary results of Zimbabwe's March 29 general election [JURIST report] Wednesday. ZANU-PF filed lawsuits challenging the outcome of 53 out of the 210 constituencies, while the MDC filed lawsuits challenging the results of 52 constituencies. The MDC won 109 seats compared to 97 for the ZANU-PF, marking the first time the ZANU-PF lost its majority since the country declared independence from the British 28 years ago. A partial recount was held [JURIST report] in 23 of the constituencies after the results were initially challenged, but the results were later confirmed.

Earlier this month, the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) [official website] recently confirmed that MDC candidate Morgan Tsvangirai [BBC profile] won a slim majority in Zimbabwe's contested March presidential election but not enough to avoid a run-off vote against current Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe [BBC profile; JURIST news archive]. The ZEC had delayed releasing the official results because of claimed "errors and miscalculations" in its compilation, despite an attempt [JURIST report] by the MDC to force it to release election results. The MDC has said that it is willing to form a coalition government with Mugabe's ZANU-PF party, but will not work with Mugabe himself. AFP has more. From Zimbabwe, the Herald has local coverage.

[JURIST] Lt. General Ricardo Sanchez [JURIST report], a former US commanding general in Iraq, said in a new book published Tuesday that there is "irrefutable evidence" that the US military tortured and killed detainees in Afghanistan at the end of 2002. In Wiser in Battle: A Soldier's Story [book website], Sanchez said that designating detainees as "enemy combatants" and denying them Geneva Convention protections was ultimately responsible for abuses later documented at Bagram Airbase [JURIST news archives] in Afghanistan and Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison. The New York Sun has more.

Sanchez retired from the military in 2006 saying he was "forced" to leave [Monitor report] because of the Abu Ghraib prison scandal [JURIST news archive] which occurred during his tenure as the commander of all US forces in Iraq. While he was commander of the Army V Corps [GlobalSecurity backgrounder] in 2003, Sanchez wrote three memos that called for harsher interrogation methods [JURIST report] including the use of dogs [JURIST report], sleep deprivation, and stress positions, but only with written approval. In 2005, US Army Inspector General Lt. Gen. Stanley Green determined that criminal accusations against Sanchez were unsubstantiated [JURIST report].

[JURIST] US President George W. Bush submitted three new nominations [press release] for the Federal Elections Commissions (FEC) [official website] to the Senate Tuesday in an effort to break a deadlock which has left the FEC without a quorum to conduct business during a presidential election year. The new nominees include former legislative director for Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) Cynthia L. Bauerly; former National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) [official website] counsel Donald F. McGahn; and former White House official Caroline C. Hunter.

Also Tuesday, Bush withdrew the nomination of current FEC Chairman David Mason [official profile], but refused to withdraw the nomination of current FEC Commissioner Hans von Spakovsky [SourceWatch profile]. Von Spakovsky faces tough Democratic objections over his record on voting rights issues during his tenure at the US Department of Justice [official website]. AP has more.

[JURIST] Lawyers for Guantanamo detainees claim that the US government of has eavesdropped on conversations with their clients [CCR press release], according to court papers filed Tuesday by the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) [advocacy website]. The filing came as part of a 2007 Freedom of Information Act lawsuit [case materials; JURIST report] in which lawyers for Guantanamo detainees are seeking documents related to possible monitoring of attorney-client meetings. CCR said in a statement that "These attorneys believe they may have been targeted by the government’s warrantless wiretapping program that began shortly after September 11, 2001 because of their representation of Guantánamo prisoners labeled 'enemy combatants' by the government. "

The Justice Department refused to comment on the allegations Tuesday, but has said in a March filing that it could neither confirm nor deny that detainees' lawyers had been targets of such surveillance. The New York Times has more.

[JURIST] Kenyan Chief Prosecutor Keriako Tobiko Tuesday asked the country's high court to freeze the assets of wealthy Hutu businessman and Rwandan war crimes suspect Felicien Kabuga [Trial Watch profile; ICTR materials]. Kabuga is accused of funding Rwandan militias that killed more than 800,000 ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus in the 1994 Rwandan genocide [BBC backgrounder]. Tobiko said that Kabuga has been using the money from his Kenyan estate to avoid capture, assist other fugitives, and interfere with prosecution witnesses at the genocide trials before the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) [official website].

Kabuga has been on the run since 1997, when he was indicted by the ICTR for crimes against humanity. The previous government of Kenya is accused of providing protection for Kabuga, but the country has since pledged to arrest him if he is found. The US has also offered a $5 million bounty for Kabuga's capture. AFP has more. From Kenya, the Nation has local coverage.

[JURIST] Agents from the White House Office of Personnel Management and the FBI Tuesday searched the home and office of US Office of Special Counsel (OSC) [official website] head Scott J. Bloch [official profile] as part of an investigation into a 2005 complaint filed by current and former OSC employees. The complaint alleged that Bloch had intimidated or forcibly transferred employees who disagreed with his policies, including the halting of investigations into complaints by federal employees of discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation [JURIST report]. Federal agents Tuesday were reportedly investigating claims that Bloch had destroyed evidence that might have supported the allegations. AP has more.

Bloch has denied the accusations, but said that the OSC is cooperating with the investigation. Bloch's tenure has been marked by tension; in January, he accused [JURIST report] the Department of Justice (DOJ) of impeding an investigation into the "politicization" of the DOJ under former US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales [official profile; JURIST news archive] during the 2006 US Attorney firings [JURIST news archive].

[JURIST] Georgia Tuesday evening carried out the first execution in the United States since the US Supreme Court rejected a challenge to Kentucky's lethal injection protocol [JURIST report] and ended a de facto national moratorium on the death penalty. Both the Georgia Supreme Court and the US Supreme Court earlier Tuesday declined to stay the execution by lethal injection of William Earl Lynd, who was convicted of the 1988 murder of his girlfriend. Last week, a Georgia court rejected [JURIST report] a challenge by another condemned inmate to its execution protocol, ruling that Georgia's method was sufficiently similar to Kentucky's so as to be constitutional. That ruling is currently under appeal [JURIST comment]. AP has more.

In September 2007, the Supreme Court granted certiorari in Baze v. Rees [Duke Law case backgrounder; JURIST report], allowing it to consider whether the three-drug lethal injection cocktail [DPIC backgrounder] used in most states violates the Eighth Amendment's prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment. This led to an effective moratorium [JURIST report] on the death penalty in the United States as many federal courts, state courts, and state governors put executions on hold pending the high court's ruling. Several other US states have already announced that they will resume executions by lethal injection [JURIST report]. The Georgia Supreme Court had previously stayed the execution of another condemned inmate [JURIST report] while Baze v. Rees was pending before the US Supreme Court.