[JURIST] The Chinese delegation to the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) [official website] defended China's human rights record Monday while presenting a report [text, PDF] in compliance with the UNHRC's Universal Periodic Review (UPR) [official website] process. Ambassador Li Baodong said that China has been taking steps to improve its legal system [press release], promote democracy, and encourage non-governmental organizations (NGOs). The report asserted that

[s]ince 1978, when China launched its policy of reform and opening up, there has been a significant advancement in the level and extent of the Chinese people’s enjoyment of all human rights. The Chinese people, who once lacked basic necessities, are now enjoying relative prosperity. There has been constant progress in such social spheres as education, culture and public health. Democracy and the rule of law have gradually improved. Political restructuring has progressed steadily, with more extensive citizen participation in the political life of the country. Governments at all levels are now conscientiously implementing the Scientific Outlook on Development, an approach that places people first and seeks to ensure comprehensive, coordinated and sustainable development, in an effort to build a harmonious society characterized by democracy, the rule of law, equity and justice. China will further deepen its political restructuring and accelerate social development, focusing on education, health care, employment and other aspects of the people’s welfare in order to ensure that all people enjoy their rights to equal participation and equal development.

[JURIST] US Attorney General Eric Holder [official profile] on Monday ordered a review of all government claims invoking the state secrets privilege [JURIST news archive]. A spokesperson for the Department of Justice (DOJ) [official website] said that each state secrets claim will be reviewed to make sure the privilege was invoked only in lawful situations. Holder's announcement came on the same day that the DOJ invoked the state secrets privilege before the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit [official website] in Mohamed v. Jeppesen, where the plaintiffs are suing a Boeing [corporate website] subsidiary for its alleged role in the US extraordinary rendition [JURIST news archive; JURIST Forum] program. The Bush administration previously intervened in the case, asserting the state secrets privilege. During Monday's oral arguments, the DOJ chose not to change the government's position. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the Constitution Project [press releases] have expressed disappointment with the DOJ's decision. ACLU staff attorney Ben Wizner said:

We are shocked and deeply disappointed that the Justice Department has chosen to continue the Bush administration's practice of dodging judicial scrutiny of extraordinary rendition and torture. This was an opportunity for the new administration to act on its condemnation of torture and rendition, but instead it has chosen to stay the course. Now we must hope that the court will assert its independence by rejecting the government's false claims of state secrets and allowing the victims of torture and rendition their day in court.

[JURIST] Eluana Englaro [materials, in Italian], an Italian woman at the center of a right-to-die controversy in the country, died Monday, shortly after the Italian Senate [official website, in Italian] began debate on legislation [draft text, in Italian] that would make it a crime to remove a feeding tube from a comatose patient. Englaro's father removed her feeding tube on Friday, following the refusal [JURIST report] of Italian President Giorgio Napolitano [BBC profile] to sign a order prohibiting the action. Napolitano said he could not issue the order given a decision [JURIST report] by the country's Court of Cassation [official website, in Italian] allowing removal of the tube. The legislation, heavily supported by Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi [BBC profile; JURIST news archive], is scheduled to be voted on by the Senate on Tuesday, and it is not clear whether Englaro's death will effect its passage. Euthanasia [JURIST news archive] is currently illegal in Italy [JURIST report], but the Court of Cassation distinguished between the removal of a feeding tube and more affirmative steps to end a patient's life.

Eluana Englaro has been in a coma since an automobile accident in 1992. Her father, Beppino Englaro, has been fighting to have her feeding tube removed since 1999. In 2005, Italy's Constitutional Court [official website, in Italian] upheld [JURIST report] a lower court's ruling to keep her feeding tube in place because they could not find specific evidence on Englaro's personal views of life and death. In October of last year, the Constitutional Court rejected [decision text, in Italian; JURIST report] a parliamentary challenge to a Milan appeals court decision which held doctors could remove Enlargo's feeding tube because she was found to be in an "irreversible" vegetative state. The Court of Cassation's November ruling affirmed that decision. Catholic groups and conservative politicians opposed the decision arguing [Independent report] that the court is permitting euthanasia.

[JURIST] Former Rwandan defense investigator Léonidas Nshogoza went on trial [ICTR press release] Monday at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) [official website]. Nshogoza was arrested in June 2007 for allegedly bribing witnesses, fabricating evidence, and "interfering with the administration of justice" in the 2004 ICTR genocide trial of Jean de Dieu Kamuhanda [TrialWatch profile; JURIST report]. Last February, he pleaded not guilty [JURIST report] to two counts of contempt and two counts of attempt to commit acts punishable as contempt of the Tribunal.

Last year, a trial witness known only as "GAA" was sentenced to nine months in prison [JURIST report] after pleading guilty to charges of giving false testimony. Kamuhanda is currently serving two life sentences [IRIN report] for genocide and extermination. The ICTR was established to try genocide suspects for crimes occurring during the 1994 Rwandan conflict [HRW backgrounder] between Hutus and Tutsis in which approximately 800,000 people, primarily Tutsis, died.

[JURIST] Former British attorney general Peter Goldsmith [BBC profile] on Monday urged [Independent op-ed] the UK and other European states to create an "international coalition" to assist the US in closing the Guantanamo Bay [JURIST news archive] detention facility as soon as possible. Goldsmith said he understands that some countries do not want to accept released detainees, but that he believes a lack of cooperation could prevent the facility from being closed as intended [JURIST report]. Goldsmith praised Ireland, Portugal and other countries for their willingness to accept former prisoners, but called on those who refused or offered only limited assistance [JURIST reports] to reconsider their positions. He added that while the problem may have originated in the US, it could only be solved with the help of other countries:

[JURIST] Spain's Supreme Court [official website, in Spanish] on Sunday unanimously banned the Basque separatist political groups Democracy 3 Million (D3M) and Askatasuna [orders, PDF, in Spanish] from participation in the coming March elections. The court found that Askatasuna was a "fraudulent instrument used to give continuity to the activities of political parties outlawed" such as the ETA [BBC backgrounder, JURIST news archive] and Batasuna [BBC backgrounder; JURIST news archive]. The court further found that D3M was "directed, produced, energized and encouraged by Batasuna." The decision of the Supreme Court is subject to review [El Pais report, in Spanish] by the Constitutional Court [official website, in Spanish].

In January, prosecutors filed charges [JURIST report] alleging that the Basque regional prime minister and two other leaders of the Basque socialist party had improper contact with Batasuna, but later requested that the charges be dismissed [JURIST report]. Last year, a Spanish judge blocked [JURIST report] the ETA-affiliated groups the Basque Nationalist Action Party (ANV) [party website] and the Communist Party of the Basque Lands (PCTV), finding that Batasuna had used the groups to circumvent its ban from participating in elections. The Spanish government barred the Basque separatist group Batauna in 2003, finding that it refused to cut ties with ETA.

[JURIST] A senior Iraqi official confirmed Monday that four Iraqi prisoners were released from the Guantanamo Bay [JURIST news archive] military prison into Iraqi custody for further interrogation. The anonymous official also confirmed [AP report] that only one Iraqi citizen remains a prisoner at Guantanamo. The US Department of Defense (DOD) [official website] announced [DOD press release; JURIST report] last month that the four Iraqi prisoners were released and returned to Iraq. Prisoner Hassan Abdul Hadi al-Jawhar's family was informed of his release by the International Red Cross, but they have not received any information on where he is currently located. Hassan, who was arrested in Afghanistan based on his association with the Taliban and his participation in the anti-Saddam resistance in Iraq, was never charged with a crime. Abbas Habid Rumi al-Naely is another of the released prisoners whose whereabouts remained unknown until today.

Last week, the Pentagon formally dropped charges [JURIST report] against suspected USS Cole bomber Abd al-Rahimal al-Nashiri [DOD materials; JURIST news archive], ending the last active military commission trial and complying with US President Barack Obama's executive order mandating a reprieve of the prosecution of all cases at Guantanamo Bay. Last month, Obama issued an executive order [text] 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].