[JURIST] German prosecutors announced Monday that they will extradite an aide to Rwandan President Paul Kagame [official website] to France on Wednesday in connection with the 1994 assassination [NYT report] of then-Rwandan president Juvenal Habyarima that led to the Rwanda genocide [HRW backgrounder]. Rose Kabuye [advocacy profile], an official in the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) [HRW profile], was arrested [JURIST report] last week under a European warrant issued by French Judge Jean-Louis Bruguiere [BBC profile] in 2006. German officials said that because Kabuye entered the country on personal business, she was not protected by her diplomatic status that had previously prevented her arrest. Kagame responded [AFP report] Monday that Kabuye's arrest and extradition is in effect putting Rwanda itself on trial and that French officials issued the warrant for political reasons. AP has more. From Rwanda, the New Times has local coverage.

In October, German authorities transferred [JURIST report] Augustin Ngirabatware, a former Rwandan minister suspected of involvement in the 1994 Rwanda genocide [BBC backgrounder], from a facility in Frankfurt to a UN detention facility in Arusha, Tanzania, where he faces trial by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) [official website]. In July, German border police arrested [press release; JURIST report] Rwandan war crimes suspect Callixte Mbarushiman as he was preparing to travel to Russia.

[JURIST] Officials from the Nepal Constituent Assembly (CA) [official website] on Monday announced [press release] that the CA will finish drafting the country's new constitution within 18 months. According to a unanimously approved timetable, the CA will approve the final version of the constitution by the end of April 2010, and it will be made public by mid-May of that year. The new constitution will replace the current interim constitution [text, PDF; materials], which provides for the dissolution of the House of Representatives and the creation of an interim parliament in which 25 percent of seats are held by former Maoist insurgents. Reuters has more. eKantipur has local coverage.

In December 2007, Nepal's interim parliament voted to abolish the monarchy [JURIST report] as part of a plan to bring members of the Communist Party of Nepal - Maoists (CPN-M) [party website] back into government. The establishment of the CA [JURIST report] in April 2008 and the abolition of the monarchy were the main parts of a 2006 peace agreement [text; JURIST report] between the CPN-M and the Nepalese government, which marked the end of a 10-year Maoist insurgency [JURIST report].

[JURIST] Philippines bar leaders, retired judges, attorneys, law schools and business leaders Monday formed [Philippine Daily Inquirer report] an unofficial judicial oversight group dedicated to providing transparency in the selection of seven justices to the Supreme Court of the Philippines in 2009, when current justices retire. The name of the group, Bantay Korte Suprema (BKS), translates to "Watch the Supreme Court." Candidates for the court are traditionally screened by the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC), which then submits a list of recommendations to the President. Former Chief Justice Artemio Panganiban [official profile] has called for reforms in the JBC’s confidential deliberation process, expressing concerns that the court will soon be dominated by appointees of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo [official website].

Concerns about corruption in the Philippines judiciary [AFP report] have exacerbated calls for an open, impartial selection process. International watchdog groups and political opponents are especially wary of a court controlled by Arroyo’s partisans. Arroyo was accused of rigging her 2004 re-election bid [GMA report] and was implicated in a 2007 broadband scandal [The Philippine Daily Inquirer report]. She was also the target of coup plots in 2003 and 2006 [JURIST reports], and has been criticized for 800 alleged extra-judicial killings [JURIST report] that have occurred in the country since she came to power.

[JURIST] The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention [official website] said [UN press release] Monday after an official visit to Italy that it has "significant human rights concerns" about the facilities where Italy holds irregular migrants and asylum seekers detained on suspicion of criminal activity and the legal basis for those detentions. The Working Group, a group of independent experts that reports to the UN Human Rights Council [official website], recognized that Italy is currently experiencing an influx of migrants, but maintained [UN press release] that "strength of commitment of a government to human rights – among them due process guarantees – is really put to the test when faced with a real or perceived emergency." The Working Group specifically took issue with a recent amendment to the Italian criminal code that provides that the immigration status of a foreigner should be considered an aggravating circumstances for purposes of sentencing.

The UN Human Rights Council created the Working Group to promote the observance of the international standards set forth in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights [text] with regard to the deprivation of liberty throughout the world. The Working Group recently completed official visits to Ukraine and Colombia [Working Group reports].

[JURIST] Human Rights Watch (HRW) [advocacy website] said [HRW press release] Monday that upon inauguration US president-elect Barack Obama [official website] should immediately denounce the previous administration's "abusive" counterterrorism policies in order to bring US practices into accordance with the country's "basic values" and its own obligations under international law. HRW released a report [text, PDF] delineating the 11 measures Obama should pursue, including closing the military prison camp at Guantanamo Bay [JURIST news archive], abolishing military commissions [JURIST news archive] in favor of trying terrorist suspects in federal court, issuing an executive order banning 'all torture and cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment' in CIA interrogations, and rejecting the 'global war on terror' as a legal justification for the indefinite detention of terrorist suspects. HRW said:

Over the past seven years, the US government’s consistent disregard for human rights in fighting terrorism has diminished America’s moral authority, set a negative example for other governments, and undermined the goal of reducing anti-American militancy around the world. The use of torture, unlawful rendition, secret prisons, unfair trials, and long-term, arbitrary detention without charge has been both morally wrong and counterproductive.

By making a high-profile, public commitment to a new course, and by taking bold steps toward reform, [Obama] can signal to the nation and to the world that his administration understands that US counterterrorism policy should be consistent with the country’s basic values and with international law.

I have said repeatedly that I intend to close Guantanamo, and I will follow through on that. I have said repeatedly that America doesn't torture. And I'm gonna [sic] make sure that we don't torture. Those are part and parcel of an effort to regain America's moral stature in the world.

[JURIST] French police on Monday arrested alleged leader of the Basque separatist group ETA [BBC backgrounder; JURIST news archive] Mikel Garikoitz Aspiazu Rubina [BBC backgrounder] near the country's border with Spain. Aspiazu Rubina is suspected of leading the group's armed operations, and was wanted in connection with the murder of a judge and two Spanish civil guard officers. Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero [NYT profile] welcomed [press release, in Spanish] Aspiazu Rubina's capture, calling the arrest a "major blow" against the organization and saying "Today, ETA is weaker and Spanish democracy is stronger." French President Nicolas Sarkozy said the arrest is a demonstration of increased collaboration between French and Spanish authorities. The Guardian has more. AFP has additional coverage.

In recent years, Spain has moved to not only capture and prosecute ETA members, but also to condemn political parties and figures that associate with the group. In October, the Superior Court of Justice of the Basque Country [official website, in Basque] announced [JURIST report] that three of the region's political leaders will stand trial for meeting publicly with members of the Batasuna party [BBC backgrounder], the alleged political arm of the ETA. They were charged [JURIST report] in connection with the meetings in October 2007. In September, the court banned [JURIST report] the Basque Nationalist Action Party (ANV) from taking part in political activities because of its alleged ties to Batasuna.

[JURIST] The Parliament of Sudan [official website] on Monday approved the appointment of a nine-member independent electoral commission to oversee the country's upcoming elections. Sudanese president Oman al-Bashir [BBC profile] along with vice presidents Salva Kiir and Ali Osman Taha nominated the members of the commission earlier this year and the approval finalizes its creation. The commission was formed to ensure free democratic elections in the country, and was called for as a part of the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) [PDF, text], which brought an official end to Sudan's civil war. Elections were originally planned for 2009, but some suspect that delays in constituting the electoral commission as well as a pending International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant [application, PDF; JURIST report] for al-Bashir could delay or influence the polling. AFP has more.

Shortly after the vote on Monday, Sudanese police arrested more than 60 journalists [Sudan Tribune report] who had been protesting against government censorship outside the parliament building. According to the protesters, government officials have been screening newspaper reports since al-Bashir's indictment by the ICC. AFP has more.

In July, the parliament passed a long-anticipated electoral law [JURIST report] that dictates how the country's parliamentary seats will be allotted. The law reserves some seats for candidates chosen by popular vote, and some for proportional representation of political parties including seats reserved for women. Following the signing of the CPA in 2005, the country also approved of a new constitution, installed a new government, and al-Bashir lifted the country's state of emergency [JURIST reports], except in Darfur and a region on the eastern border.

[JURIST] A spokesperson for the Pentagon [official website] acknowledged [AP report] on Sunday while speaking to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) [official website] that the US held 12 juveniles at the Guantanamo Bay [JURIST news archive] prison. The announcement came in response to a study [text] released last week by the Center for the Study of Human Rights in the Americas (CSHRA) [advocacy website]. In May, the US reported to the CRC that only eight juveniles were detained in the prison. The study was based on information available through the American military and diplomatic sources. Other sources, including former detainees, the Red Cross and international sources, indicated to the Center that the number of juveniles could potentially be higher. Eight of the 12 juveniles listed in the study have been released from the prison.

Included in the study was Omar Khadr [JURIST news archive], the 21-year-old Canadian, who has admitted [JURIST report] to being trained by al Qaeda and killing a US solider in Afghanistan. Khadr was detained by US forces in 2002 as a 15-year-old. In 2007, Khadr was formally charged [JURIST report] with supporting terrorism, conspiracy, and spying in "violation of the law of war." Khadr has filed an affidavit [JURIST report] saying he was threatened and abused as an inmate.

[JURIST] A Moscow District Military Court judge ruled on Monday that the trial of three men accused in the murder of journalist Anna Politkovskaya [BBC obituary] will be made open to the public [AP report]. This decision came after the family of the slain journalist requested that the trial remain open [AFP report] despite the prosecution's fear that an open trial would expose classified security information used as evidence. The family asserts that the actual killer responsible for Politkovskaya's murder has not been found. While an open trial is a victory for the family, presiding military judge Yevgeny Zubov has threatened to close the trial again [RIA Novosti report] if there is any pressure on the jury.

Sergey Khadzhikurbanov and brothers Dzhabrail and Ibragim Makhmudov, all from Chechnya, were arrested [JURIST report] in August 2007. The main suspect, Rustam Makhmudov, also from Chechnya, has yet to be captured, but Russian authorities have said he is hiding in Western Europe. Closed preliminary hearings in the case began [JURIST report] last month. Politkovskaya, a reporter for the Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta [official website], was murdered [JURIST report] after returning to her Moscow apartment building in October 2006.

[JURIST] Former Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian [BBC profile] on Sunday was taken to a Taipei hospital [CNA report] for treatment of dehydration resulting from a hunger strike he had staged to protest his detention [JURIST reports] in jail for corruption. While there are no official charges against Chen, the former leader of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) [official website, in Mandarin] was arrested Tuesday and questioned by prosecutors for some five hours. He is alleged to have committed money laundering and to have made illegal use of government funds during his presidency. He maintains his innocence, claiming he is being victimized because of his advocacy for Taiwan's independence and opposition to the ruling Nationalist Party. Doctors have said that Chen will be kept at the hospital at least overnight for observation. AFP has more.

Chen spent eight months in the same Tucheng jail twenty-one years ago for defaming Nationalist leaders. In September, he was cleared [JURIST report] on more recent defamation charges. Last year while Chen was still in power, he was tied [JURIST report] to an allegedly corrupt lawmaker.