[JURIST] US immigration prosecutions continued to increase in March 2008, jumping nearly 50 percent from the previous month and nearly 75 percent from the previous year, according to a report [text; press release] released by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) [official websites] at Syracuse University. Federal immigration prosecutions have risen since February [JURIST report], when such prosecutions hit a record high. TRAC attributed the increase to Operation Streamline [Washington Post backgrounder], a joint federal program under which federal prosecutors levy minor charges against illegal immigrants crossing the US-Mexico border. "Reentry of a deported alien" is by far the most common charge in immigration prosecutions.

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) [official website], one of the agencies involved in Operation Streamline, maintains a number of additional initiatives [fact sheet] to combat illegal immigration. Late last month, 270 illegal immigrants arrested during an ICE-led raid at an Agriprocessors Inc. [corporate website] meatpacking plant in Iowa were each sentenced to five months in prison [JURIST report] and 27 more received probation after pleading guilty to the use of false immigration documents. ICE also carried out a raid in California last month targeting 495 people who had ignored deportation orders, during which several hundred other illegal immigrants were also found; the raid resulted in the arrest of more than 900 illegal immigrants [ICE press release].

[JURIST] A military judge Tuesday dropped charges against a US Marine charged in connection with the November 2005 killings of 24 Iraqi civilians in Haditha [USMC timeline; JURIST news archive]. Battalion commander Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani [JURIST news archive] had faced court-martial [JURIST report] for dereliction of duty and violation of a lawful order based on allegations that he failed to properly investigate the Haditha shootings. Judge Col. Steven Folsom dropped the charges after finding that a decision by Gen. James Mattis [official profile] to press charges may have been unduly influenced by a Haditha investigator who later became Mattis' personal legal adviser. AP has more.

Chessani was the highest ranking of eight Marines initially charged in connection to the Haditha incident, and charges [text] have since been dropped against all but one. The court-martial of Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich [defense website], leader of the squad implicated in the killings, was postponed indefinitely [JURIST report] in March. This month, US Marine Corps 1st Lt. Andrew Grayson [defense website; JURIST news archive] was cleared on all counts, including charges that he ordered a subordinate officer to delete photographic evidence [JURIST reports] of the killings.

[JURIST] Bolivian officials Monday rejected [press release, archived, in Spanish] a Peruvian proposal to expand intellectual property protections, arguing that the amendment would be illegal and would harm the Bolivian economy. Peru is anxious to strengthen its intellectual property laws because its trade agreements with third countries are contingent on their development. Bolivian officials said that widening the Common Intellectual Property Regime [text] of the Andean Community of Nations (CAN) [official website] and effectively allowing free trade agreements would encourage the influx of transnational corporations by offering them greater intellectual property protections. President Evo Morales [official profile, in Spanish] spoke out against the amendment, which he said would specifically prevent access to constitutionally guaranteed health care [Bol Press report, in Spanish] by granting patent holders more protection. Bolivian authorities also said that the amendment would violate CAN policy governing third-country trade agreements [Decision 598 text] because Peruvian free trade would harm other CAN countries. El Mundo has more, in Spanish.

Bolivia's rejection occurred at the same time that council members of the Andean Community, which includes Bolivia, Peru, Columbia and Ecuador, met to discuss the proposed amendments [Prensa Latina report]. Under CAN law, trade policies may only be modified with the permission of the member states. The governments of Bolivia and Ecuador have both rejected [AP report] Peruvian attempts to expand intellectual property protections, and Columbia has a pending free trade deal with the US.

[JURIST] Detained members of the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) [organization website], a rebel group from Sudan's Darfur region [JURIST news archive], will be charged with terrorism and tried this week, Sudanese Justice Minister Abdel Basset Sabdarat told AP Monday. Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported that Sudanese security forces arrested over 100 JEM members [HRW press release] following a May 10 attack on the Sudanese city of Omdurman. Trials will begin as early as Wednesday in special courts. AP has more.

On Tuesday, HRW released a report [text, PDF; HRW press release] detailing detainee abuse in the wake of the May 10 rebel attack. The report calls on the Sudanese government to identify the prisoners detained in connection with the attack, and to release any detainees who have no connection to rebel activities. Since civil war broke out in the Darfur region in 2003, over 200,000 people have been killed and 2.5 million displaced. Reports by the UNHCHR and the International Committee for the Red Cross [official website] have documented numerous violations of human rights and international humanitarian law [JURIST reports] based on interviews with refugees, rebel groups, and agencies and authorities working in the region.

[JURIST] Mexican President Felipe Calderon [official website; BBC profile] Tuesday signed into law constitutional reforms [senate bill text, in Spanish] which provide for public and oral trials, guarantee the presumption of innocence, and guarantee suspects representation by qualified public defenders. According to a press release [text] from his office, the Calderon said the new reform "offers a transparent system of justice that respects the human rights of both victims and suspects." The legislation originally included a provision which would have allowed police to search homes without a warrant if they believed there was imminent danger to a person or if a crime was being committed, but it was eventually dropped. In late February, the bill was overwhelmingly passed by the country's lower house and was approved by the Senate [JURIST reports] in early March. AP has more.

Calderon first proposed the changes [JURIST report] to the country's constitution [text] in March 2007 in an effort to reform its criminal justice system [press release]. Earlier that month, Amnesty International had released a report [text] accusing Mexico [JURIST news archive] of having a "gravely flawed" criminal justice system in which human rights abuses are perpetuated and criminals are rarely punished. The report cited evidence of arbitrary detentions, torture, fabrication of evidence and unfair trials and claims that the victims are often indigenous Mexicans, the poor, women and children.

[JURIST] Former Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov [personal website, in Russian; JURIST news archive] lost an appeal in the Moscow Court Tuesday to force Russian authorities to register his People for Democracy and Justice [party website, in Russian] party. Russian officials refused to register the party, alleging that the official party membership roster contained invalid names and violated various regulations. Kasyanov denied the existence of any problems with the party's registration materials. A group of opposition parties that included People for Democracy and Justice said they would appeal the ruling to the European Court of Human Rights [official website]. RIA Novosti has more.

Last year, 16 political parties had their party status revoked by the Russian Federal Registration Service [official website, in Russian], which regulates Russia's political parties. In March 2007, both the Republican Party [party website, in Russian; JURIST report] and the Russian Peace Party [JURIST report] were shut down by the Supreme Court. The Social Democratic Party of Russia, the country's oldest political party, was shut down in April 2007 [JURIST report] for failure to follow other Registration Service regulations. Critics have alleged that the Russian government is using a 2004 law that establishes minimum membership numbers for political parties to clamp down on opposition.

[JURIST] Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi [BBC profile; JURIST news archive] wrote Monday that proposed amendments [PDF text, in Italian] designed to suspend older trials for nonviolent crimes would allow the judiciary to consider more important cases [Senate letter, in Italian] and would give the government time to introduce judicial reforms. The amendments would affect a larger anti-crime package [Senate Act 692 materials], and if passed would suspend trials for crimes that occurred before mid-2002 except for those involving the Mafia, violent offenses, workplace accidents and crimes that could be punished by 10 years or more in prison. The amendments would also protect high-ranking government officials from prosecution during their terms in office. Berlusconi is now on trial for corruption charges [JURIST report] dating back to 1997, and critics of the amendment have charged that the move is personally motivated since Berlusconi's trial would be among those suspended. Berlusconi responded to comments that the amendments would violate the Italian constitution [text, in Italian; AP report] by writing that the measure is both constitutional and essential for the proper functioning of the judiciary. Reuters has more. Corriere della Sera has local coverage, in Italian.

Berlusconi, a media mogul and Italy's richest man, has faced trial on at least six occasions involving charges of false accounting, tax fraud, money laundering, embezzlement, and giving false testimony [JURIST reports]. In October 2007, Italy's highest court of appeal upheld Berlusconi's April 2007 acquittal [JURIST reports] on bribery charges. That trial was initially blocked in 2004 by a bill drafted by Berlusconi ally and later defense lawyer Gaetano Pecorella but went ahead after the bill was struck down as unconstitutional. Berlusconi has continually maintained his innocence, accusing prosecutors of conducting a political vendetta against him.

[JURIST] Japan carried out its thirteenth execution since Japanese Justice Minister Kunio Hatoyama [official profile] assumed office last August with the hanging of three condemned inmates Tuesday. Tuesday's executions are the latest in an increasing number of executions in the country. In recent years, Japan has experienced a sharp upswing in both violent crime [BBC report; MOJ backgrounder] and the perceived risk of violent crime [Japan Focus study], factors used as justification for expanding the use of capital punishment. AFP has more. The New York Times has additional coverage.

One of the last developed nations to still use the death penalty, Japan has endured international criticism for the practice since it ended an unofficial moratorium [JURIST reports] on capital punishment in 1993. Amnesty International issued a release urging Japan to stop executions [text] after the hanging of four men in April. In February, a group of parliamentarians proposed a four-year moratorium on the practice [JURIST report] . In August 2007, Japan's national bar association called for a moratorium on the death penalty [press release, in Japanese; JURIST report] until new safeguards are enacted to prevent wrongful executions.

[JURIST] The Federal Court of Malaysia [official website] ruled Monday that former Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim [BBC profile; personal website] can challenge the constitutionality [Constitution, PDF] of his 1998 removal from office by former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad [BBC profile]. Anwar was widely expected to succeed Mahathir as prime minister, but Mahathir dismissed him following disagreement on the handling of the 1997 Asian financial crisis. The Federal Court will also consider whether Mahathir was authorized to dismiss Anwar without giving notice to the Malaysian head of state. AP has more. Bernama has local coverage.

After his dismissal, Ibrahim was prosecuted, jailed and banned from politics on corruption and sodomy charges [JURIST reports]. The ban on his political activity ended [JURIST report] in April. Since his release from prison in 2004, Anwar has held teaching positions at various universities, most recently at the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University in the United States, before returning to Malaysia in December 2007. He has also played a significant role in sparking protests of judicial corruption in the country by releasing video excerpts [JURIST reports] allegedly showing former Malaysian Chief Justice Dzaiddin Abdullah admitting to accepting bribes in return for judicial appointments.

[JURIST] Former DOD General Counsel William "Jim" Haynes [DOD profile] encouraged the use of harsh interrogation tactics on terror detainees, US Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Sen. Carl Levin [official website] (D-MI) said [opening statement] at a Tuesday committee hearing [witness list]. Refering to Haynes and others, Levin asked:

So, how did it come about that American military personnel stripped detainees naked, put them in stress positions, used dogs to scare them, put leashes around their necks to humiliate them, hooded them, deprived them of sleep, and blasted music at them? Were these actions the result of "a few bad apples" acting on their own? It would be a lot easier to accept if it were. But that’s not the case. The truth is that senior officials in the United States government sought information on aggressive techniques, twisted the law to create the appearance of their legality, and authorized their use against detainees. In the process, they damaged our ability to collect intelligence that could save lives.

[JURIST] European Union foreign ministers said Monday that member states that have not yet ratified the EU reform treaty [JURIST news archive], formally known as the Treaty of Lisbon [official website; PDF text], should continue their ratification processes despite an Irish referendum which rejected the treaty last week [JURIST report]. The agreement came during a special meeting held in Luxembourg, where the leaders also cautioned against hasty solutions to the current impasse, such as throwing out the proposed rules, trying to force Ireland to reconsider its rejection, or adopting the Treaty without Irish ratification. Both the Netherlands and United Kingdom have already to decided to continue their ratification processes. EU leaders will next meet in Brussels on Thursday to consider the future of the Treaty. BBC News has more. AFP has additional coverage.

Eighteen of the EU's 27 member states have so far ratified the document [JURIST archive], but Ireland was the only one to hold a popular vote on the Treaty. EU leaders signed the reform treaty [JURIST report] last December, but all EU member states must ratify the instrument before it can take effect. In 2005, a draft European constitution [JURIST news archive] failed when voters in France and the Netherlands [JURIST reports] rejected the proposal in national referenda. AP has more.

[JURIST] The UN Security Council Monday issued a short presidential statement [text] calling on Sudan to work with the International Criminal Court (ICC) [official website] to "put an end to impunity for the crimes committed in Darfur." Sudan is not a party to the ICC, but must cooperate to fulfill its obligations under Council Resolution 1593 [text], which established jurisdiction over the Darfur situation. When the measure was adopted in 2005, Sudan's envoy to the UN adamantly opposed it, calling the action "a tool to exercise cultural superiority." ICC Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo [official profile] recently accused [JURIST report] the Sudanese government of being intimately involved in the planning, execution, and cover-up of atrocities committed against civilians in Darfur [JURIST news archive]. The UN News Centre has more.


The Security Council, the ICC and Moreno-Ocampo have repeatedly urged Sudan to comply with Resolution 1593 and ICC attempts to prosecute Darfur war crimes suspects. In April, Moreno-Ocampo called on Sudan to arrest [JURIST report] two Darfur war crimes suspects in the country, former Sudanese Minister of the Interior Ahmed Muhammad Harun and former militia leader Ali Kushayb [TrialWatch profiles]. The ICC issued arrest warrants [JURIST report] for the two men in May 2007 for "crimes against the civilian population in Darfur." Sudan has refused to cooperate with the ICC over the Darfur situation, and has responded strongly to Security Council and ICC statements on the matter. Last week, the Sudan ambassador to the United Nations called Moreno-Ocampo a terrorist [JURIST report], and called for his removal. Earlier this month, Sudan accused Moreno-Ocampo of hindering the peace process in Darfur [Reuters report] by preparing a "fictitious and vicious" case against its government officials in his report to the UN. In December 2007, Sudan rejected [JURIST report] Moreno-Ocampo's previous report to the UN Security Council, in which he condemned Sudan for failing to hand over Harun.

[JURIST] UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown Tuesday spoke in favor of a controversial anti-terror bill [materials; BBC Q/A] that would allow authorities to detain terror suspects without charge for up to 42 days [JURIST news archive] in a speech [text] he presented to the Institute for Public Policy Research [group website]. Brown said that stronger safeguards are needed to protect national security:

I agree with those who argue that the very freedoms we have built up over generations are the freedoms terrorists most want to destroy. And we must not - we will not - allow them to do so. But equally, to say we should ignore the new demands of security - to assume that the laws and practices which have applied in the past are enough to face the future, to be unwilling to face up to difficult choices and ultimately to neglect the fundamental duty to protect our security - this is the politics of complacency.

[JURIST] The trial of British national Simon Mann [BBC profile; JURIST news archive], accused of participating in a 2004 coup attempt against Equatorial Guinea President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo [BBC profile], began Tuesday in Malabo. Government officials charged [BBC report] Mann, a former Special Air Service officer who allegedly signed the contract for the coup, with crimes against the head of state, crimes against the government and crimes against the peace and independence of the state. The court could sentence him to death if he is convicted. Rights groups have suggested, as Amnesty International did for others charged with involvement [Amnesty report] in the plan, that the trial will not be fair, and the UK Foreign Office maintains that Equatorial Guinea has a poor human rights record and that its government controls the judiciary [Foreign Office country report]. Obiang stressed that the country will comply with international standards [The Times report] for the trial and that Mann would likely receive a lesser sentence, such as 30 years in prison, since he did not organize the coup. The court is expected to render a verdict on Thursday. CNN has more. The Mail & Guardian has local coverage.

A Zimbabwean court sentenced [JURIST report] Mann in 2004 for plotting the coup after Zimbabwean authorities arrested him and about 60 suspected mercenaries earlier that year. Authorities secretly deported [JURIST report] him to Equatorial Guinea in February 2008 before his appeal process against extradition in Zimbabwe was complete. His lawyers argued that Mann would face torture and possibly the death penalty if extradited, but the Zimbabwe High Court ruled against his appeal [JURIST report] in January, finding that there was enough evidence of his involvement to carry out extradition and that the defense failed to show a sufficient likelihood of torture. In March, Mann accused Sir Mark Thatcher [BBC profile; JURIST report] of involvement in the plan. A South African court has since sentenced Thatcher [BBC report] to a $500,000 fine and a four-year suspended prison sentence.

[JURIST] The Supreme Court of California [official website] ruling [opinion, PDF; JURIST report] which overturned a state ban on same-sex marriage [JURIST news archive] took effect Monday, allowing same-sex marriage ceremonies in the state to go ahead. The Court's decision has so far withstood challenges from both in-state conservative groups and out-of-state attorneys general [JURIST reports] who object to the ruling because it also allows couples from others states to be married while in California. The ruling may still be overturned, however, as opponents have successfully petitioned [JURIST report] to place a proposed state constitutional amendment [ballot material, PDF; proposition website] banning same-sex marriages added to the November ballot. The first marriage licenses for same-sex couples, restyled with sex-neutral language [document, PDF; JURIST report], were issued Tuesday. The Los Angeles Times has local coverage.

California and Massachusetts [JURIST news report] are the only two US states to formally recognize same sex marriages, but unlike Massachusetts, California does not impose residency restrictions. Several other states permit same-sex civil unions [JURIST news archive], and in May New York Governor David Paterson ordered [memo, PDF; JURIST report] that state agencies recognize out-of-state same-sex marriages as legal marriages in New York. Many states have banned same-sex unions through statutes or amendments.

[JURIST] Human Rights Watch (HRW) [advocacy website] called on the government of Pakistan [JURIST news archive] to abolish the country's death penalty in a letter [text; HRW press release] sent Tuesday to Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gillani [BBC profile]. In the letter, HRW expresses concern over the number of executions in the country, the high number of executable offenses in Pakistan's penal code, and the availability of adequate defense counsel for those accused of capital crimes. According to HRW, the number of people sentenced to death and executed every year in Pakistan is "among the highest in the world." HRW asks Prime Minister Gillani to ensure that defendants facing the death penalty receive fair trials, that police do not use torture to obtain confessions or evidence, and that the death penalty is only imposed for the "most serious crimes." The Hindu has more.

In October 2006, South Asians for Human Rights (SAHR) [advocacy website] pressed India and Pakistan to abolish the death penalty [JURIST report], calling it a "violation of the right to life." In November 2006, Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf [BBC profile; JURIST news archive] overturned a ruling by the country's Sharia court and commuted [JURIST report] the death sentence of a British national convicted of killing a taxi driver.

[JURIST] Russia will not recognize the new Kosovar constitution [text] because it is illegal, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation announced [press release, in Russian] Monday. The Assembly of Kosovo [official website] adopted the constitution in April, and the EU later certified it [JURIST reports] as guaranteeing the individual and community rights of all its citizens. The constitution went into effect Sunday [JURIST report]. Officials at the Russian Foreign Ministry said that the constitution violates international law [UN Resolution 1244 text] because it states Kosovo's intention to separate from the UN Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) [official website], which Russian authorities say is supposed to be present in Kosovo's administration. Ignoring this law rather than changing it with the support of the UN and the countries involved will lead to "negative consequences for the region's security and international stability," foreign ministry officials wrote. Reuters has more.

Kosovo [JURIST news archive] is overwhelmingly populated by ethnic Albanians with only a small minority of Serbs remaining, mostly in the north [JURIST report]. Serb troops withdrew from the region following NATO's 1999 bombing campaign. The Kosovo region was then controlled by an interim UN administration, and the country unilaterally declared independence [declaration text; JURIST report] in February 2008. The US and most European states have recognized the new state of Kosovo, but Serbia and Russia, Serbia's closest ally, have refused to recognize the country. Kosovo Serbs claim they will set up their own assembly within Kosovo by June 28 to protect their rights.