[JURIST] Indonesian police plan to request access to suspected al Qaeda bomber Ridhuan Isammudin [GlobalSecurity backgrounder] (a.k.a. Hambali), currently held at Guantanamo Bay [JURIST news archive]. A spokesman for the Indonesian National Police [official website, in Indonesian] said that they would coordinate a formal request [Jakarta Globe report] to question Hambali regarding the 2002 Bali nightclub bombings [BBC backgrounder] and his connection to the Jemaah Islamiah (JI) [CFR backgrounder; JURIST news archive] terrorist group. Indonesian authorities expressed their hope that Hambali would be deported to in Indonesia after the closure of the US detention facility.

Hambali was transferred to Guantanamo after his 2003 capture by US authorities [NYT report] in Thailand. In November, Indonesia executed [JURIST report] three men convicted in connection with the Bali attacks after the Indonesian Supreme Court rejected [JURIST report] last-minute appeals by their family members, and the men's request [JURIST report] to be executed by beheading rather than by firing squad. Last week, US President Barack Obama [official website] issued an executive order [text, PDF] to close the Guantanamo prison [JURIST report] in no more than one year. The policy shift has been hailed by human rights groups and international leaders [JURIST report].

[JURIST] UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay [official profile; JURIST news archive] on Tuesday urged participants in the ongoing conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) [official website, in French; BBC profile] to respect human rights and international law [UN News Centre report]. Pillay expressed particular concern about reports of continuous abuses by the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) [BBC backgrounder; JURIST news archive], a Ugandan rebel group. After a joint military operation in which Uganda, DRC, and Southern Sudan failed to capture LRA leader Joseph Kony [BBC profile], the LRA allegedly retaliated against the civilian population of northeastern DRC, whom they suspected of supporting the operation. Pillay urged continued caution saying:

I’m also concerned that the joint military counter-operations, unless properly planned and executed, could lead to further human rights abuses being perpetrated against the civilian population who are, in effect, caught between the conflicting parties

[JURIST] The Ontario Court of Appeal [official website] Monday affirmed [judgment, PDF] a lower court ruling that prohibits the media from reporting on the terrorism trial of a group known as the "Toronto 18" [Toronto Star backgrounder]. The 3-2 decision found that a Canadian criminal statute [text] allowing defendants to request a media blackout is applicable in this instance. The majority wrote that the statute protects the accused from unfavorable coverage that may prejudice prospective jurors. Lawyers for the plaintiffs - the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), CTV, the Toronto Star [corporate websites], and the Associated Press (AP) - plan to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada [official website].

The Toronto 18 [JURIST op-ed], a group of adults and minors arrested in a 2006 anti-terrorism raid, have provoked intense reactions from detractors and supporters alike. Mosques were vandalized [NYT report] and the debate about Canadian security intensified in the wake of the group's arrest. Others contest the lawfulness of the group's detention [advocacy website], and, despite the ban on press coverage, a 2008 documentary, Unfair Dealing [materials], was highly sympathetic to the accused. In September, a judge of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice [official website] convicted [JURIST report] one of the Toronto 18 terrorism suspects for participating in a group which allegedly plotted to behead Prime Minister Stephen Harper [official website] while attacking parliament. The conviction was the first under Section 83 [Canadian DOJ backgrounder] of the Canadian Anti-Terrorism Act [text], passed in 2001 in the wake of the 9/11 attacks on the United States.

[JURIST] A spokesperson for the US Department of Defense (DOD) [official website] said Monday that the US will not change its policy on the transfer of Guantanamo Bay [JURIST news archives] detainees to Saudi Arabia, despite reports that two former prisoners have joined al Qaeda in Yemen. A US counterterrorism official has confirmed that two of the nine alumni of the Saudi rehabilitation program who have been arrested [NYT report] were in fact former Guantanamo prisoners, but this revelation is unlikely to affect the new policy of transferring detainees to Saudi Arabia for rehabilitation. The Saudi program, an effort to deprogram Islamic extremism [AP report], was designed with input from psychiatrists, sociologists, and Muslim clerics. The Saudi Minister of Interior [official website] reports that 218 men have completed the program [press release], with only nine being arrested again.

Last week, US President Barack Obama [official website] issued an executive order [text, PDF] to close the Guantanamo prison [JURIST report] in no more than one year. The policy shift has been hailed by human rights groups and international leaders [JURIST report], although this week's reports of Guantanamo recidivism may revive the debate.

[JURIST] Council of the European Union [official website] Secretary-General Javier Solana [official website] on Monday said that while the US bears ultimate responsibility for detainees released from the Guantanamo Bay [JURIST news archive] military prison, several EU member states would likely be willing to accept [press release, PDF] some former prisoners. Solana made the statement during a European Commission meeting of 27 EU members in Brussels. Following the meeting, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner [BBC profile] said that many of the countries would condition their acceptance [AP report] of the prisons on US providing proof that they pose no danger to the host country. Kouchner also said that legal obstacles facing the transfer of the detainees would be different for each host country, and that their acceptance would be determined on a case-by case basis. France has been one of the EU's most fervent advocates of closing the facility, and in a Monday phone call [press release] with US President Barack Obama, French President Nicolas Sarkozy pledged the country's assistance in the plan.

Last week, Obama issued an executive order [text, PDF; JURIST report] directing the closing the Guantanamo Bay prison camp within a year. Obama's order directed that the military prison be closed "as soon as practicable, and no later than 1 year from the date of this order." The order also instructed Secretary of Defense Robert Gates immediately to halt military commission [DOD materials; JURIST news archive] proceedings pending a comprehensive review of all Guantanamo detentions under the supervision of the Attorney General. The order did not specify where detainees would go upon release, but it did call for diplomatic efforts with foreign states in order to facilitate the closure of the facility. Obama's order has been hailed [JURIST report] by leaders around the world.

[JURIST] The US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit [official website] on Monday heard oral arguments by lawyers for Zacarias Moussaoui [BBC profile; JURIST news archive], requesting Moussaoui's guilty plea and life sentence [JURIST reports] be withdrawn and a new trial be granted. The lawyers argued that Moussaoui's Fifth and Sixth Amendment [text] rights were violated, making his guilty plea involuntary. Moussaoui's lawyers also argued that the plea itself was obtained in violation of Rule 11 [text] of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure because Moussaoui was unaware of the charges being brought against him. In addition, Moussaoui's previous counsel did not have access to statements made by al Qaeda [JURIST news archive] members denying Moussaoui's involvement in the 9/11 conspiracy [JURIST news archive]. Finally, Moussaoui's lawyers argued that he was denied the right of counsel by being forced to use the court-appointed attorney. The government lawyer argued that Moussaoui's rights were not violated and that the guilty plea and life sentence should be upheld.

Moussaoui's lawyers initiated this appeal [JURIST report] in January 2008. Moussaoui pleaded guilty in April 2005 to six conspiracy charges [indictment] in connection with the 9/11 attacks, including conspiracy to commit acts of terrorism transcending national boundaries, conspiracy to destroy aircraft and conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction. He received a life sentence in 2006 after one juror refused to agree to the death penalty [JURIST report]. He is currently serving his life sentence in the federal Supermax prison in Colorado.

[JURIST] A dispute settlement panel of the World Trade Organization (WTO) [official website] on Monday found [report, PDF; WTO press release] for the US that large parts of China's intellectual property scheme are inconsistent with its obligations under several international treaties, including the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) [text]. The panel's findings come as the result of a process initiated against China by the US [JURIST report] in August 2007 for alleged lax enforcement of copyright and trademark violations [JURIST report; WTO backgrounder]. The panel's report concluded that certain provisions of China's copyright law as well as certain Chinese customs measures are inconsistent with TRIPS because they "nullify or impair benefits accruing to the United States." Acting US Trade Representative Peter Allgeier said [USTR press release, PDF]:

Today, a WTO panel found that a number of deficiencies in China's IPR [intellectual property rights] regime are incompatible with its WTO obligations[.] These findings are an important victory, because they confirm the importance of IPR protection and enforcement, and clarify key provisions of the TRIPS Agreement. Having achieved this significant legal ruling, we will engage vigorously with China on appropriate corrective actions to ensure that U.S. rights holders obtain the benefits of this decision.