[JURIST] Members of the Pakistan lawyers' movement [NYT backgrounder; JURIST news archive] and opposition politicians and supporters began a "long march" from Karachi to Islamabad Thursday against the government of Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari [BBC profile; JURIST news archive] and his Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) [party website]. The protesters, led by Nawaz Sharif [BBC profile; JURIST news archive] of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) [party website], faced continued raids and arrests from government forces, which began Wednesday when police units moved against opposition leaders and supporters [JURIST report] ahead of the march and a rally organized by the PML-N and other opposition parties against the Zardari government. Members of the lawyers' movement were harassed by the Pakistani police, including movement leader Muneer Malik [JURIST news archive], who, according to JURIST's Pakistan correspondent, was arrested and later released on Thursday. Pakistan news organization Dawn has been covering the march and government actions [Dawn coverage], including the ongoing detentions of opposition figures and supporters as well as the progress of the march towards Islamabad. Some protesters have been prevented from leaving Karachi [AFP report] by government forces, who have used force [NYT report] to break up the march and stop the political protest. Lawyers' movement leader Aitzaz Ahsan [JURIST news archive] told Dawn that the movement and the march would only be inspired to greater opposition [Dawn report] by the government response.

The current long march is similar to last year's demonstrations against the regime of former Pakistan president Pervez Musharraf [JURIST news archive]. The march comes as Pakistan teeters on the edge of political instability following last month's Supreme Court of Pakistan ruling that barred Sharif [JURIST report] from holding elected office based on a past criminal conviction. The Supreme Court's controversial decision followed continued turmoil over the country's judiciary, which has split the PML-N and Zardari's PPP, formerly coalition partners [JURIST report]. Sharif and the PML-N have urged the restoration of Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry [JURIST news archive], ousted after then-president Musharraf declared emergency rule in November 2007. Chaudhry, supported by many members of Pakistan's bar, insists he is still chief justice [JURIST report] under the Pakistani constitution [text].

[JURIST] Ontario Superior Court [official website] Justice Douglas Rutherford Thursday sentenced [reasons for sentence, PDF] Ottawa software developer Mohammed Momin Khawaja [CBC profile] to 10.5 years in prison for his involvement in an alleged terrorist plot to bomb targets in the UK. Khawaja was convicted [JURIST report] in October 2008 of designing a remote detonator and providing other support to a group that was convicted in 2007 [JURIST report] of planning to detonate a large fertilizer bomb. In the sentencing decision, Rutherford wrote:

Having found Momin Khawaja guilty as indicated in the Reasons for Judgment ... I have concluded that he should be sentenced to a further term of ten and one-half years in penitentiary. ...

I outlined earlier why the sentencing in this case had to emphasize denunciation and repudiation of terrorism, had to punish such behavior, had to have both special and general deterrent impact, and had to protect society at large from the repetition of such misconduct. In light of that and in light of the absence of any indication that Momin Khawaja is in any way repentant for his misdeeds or willing to make amends and commit to future behavior that complies with Canada’s laws and values, I have really no option but to require that he serve half of the terms of two years or more before being eligible for full parole. That means he will not be eligible for full parole until serving at least 5 of the total of ten and one-half years. To order otherwise would, in my view, fail to adequately serve the interests of the expression of society’s denunciation of the offences [sic] and the objectives of specific and general deterrence.

[JURIST] Officials from the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) [official website] said Thursday that a ban on video-sharing website YouTube [JURIST report] has been lifted, but did not comment on access to several other blocked websites that also posted a recording in which Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina [official profile, BBC profile] is criticized by army officers over how she handled the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) [official website] mutiny [BBC backgrounder] in late February. The BTRC blocked several websites [AFP report] Sunday on government instructions that identified them as subversive or detrimental to the administration because the audio [YouTube clip, part 1 in Bangla; part 2, in Bangla] of the meeting could be distributed through them. BTRC Director Ziaul Islam told AFP Thursday that YouTube [corporate website] has been restored even though the audio is still available because tensions over the content have eased [AFP report]. BTRC Chairman Zia Ahmed confirmed the end of the YouTube ban but did not address other blocked blogs and websites hosting the audio including Esnips [corporate website].

Bangladeshi officials said Saturday that the government is considering trying by court-martial [JURIST report] the more than 1,000 border guards accused of participating in the BDR mutiny, which killed dozens of top BDR officials, including the force's commander. More than 40 suspects have been arrested, and Bangladeshi investigators said Thursday that interviews of the suspects have raised concerns [BBC report] of a possible link to the Islamic group Jamaat-ul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) [SATP backgrounder], an organization previously tied to bombing plots across the country. A US FBI team sent to Bangladesh to assist in the investigation arrived on Sunday [BBN report], and Scotland Yard investigators have also joined the investigation. Hasina was elected to office in December 2008, ending two years of military rule.

[JURIST] The Central Criminal Court of Iraq (CCCI) [establishment order, PDF] on Thursday sentenced Muntadar al-Zaidi [BBC profile; JURIST news archive], the Iraqi journalist accused of throwing his shoes at former US president George W. Bush, to three years in prison for assaulting a foreign leader. The verdict came after a three week postponement [JURIST report] during which the court considered arguments from al-Zaidi's counsel that Bush's visit was not official and that the assault charge, which carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison, should not apply because al-Zaidi sought to insult but not injure the US president. Al-Zaidi pleaded innocent Thursday, calling his actions a natural response to the US presence in Iraq. The court rejected his arguments, ruling that Bush's visit was official and opting to sentence al-Zaidi under the assault charge rather than a lesser charge of insulting a foreign leader that is punishable by a maximum of three years. Al-Zaidi's defense team said Thursday that he will appeal the verdict, and also indicated that he may file suit internationally [AFP report] for human rights violations committed against him while in custody [JURIST report].

Al-Zaidi's trial was initially delayed [JURIST report] in December so the court could make a determination of the charges. The trial has been opposed for failing to meet international standards of due process and fairness [HRW report] and has been protested by Iraqis. The shoe-throwing incident occurred at a December 14 joint news conference [transcript] at which Bush and Iraqi Prime Minister al-Maliki [BBC profile] signed a Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) [text, PDF; CFR backgrounder] governing the future US military presence in the country. Al-Zaidi, who had allegedly suffered brutality first hand in Iraq having been kidnapped and released by Shiite militiamen in 2007 [Washington Post report], testified to a three-judge panel that his actions were meant to restore Iraqi citizens' pride.

[JURIST] US financier Bernard Madoff [JURIST news archive] pleaded guilty Thursday in federal court to all 11 charges of securities fraud [complaint, PDF; JURIST report]. The plea was entered at a hearing before Judge Denny Chin of the US District Court for the Southern District of New York [official website]. Victims of Madoff's alleged multi-billion dollar Ponzi scheme are expected to testify at the hearing later Thursday. Chin will then rule on whether Madoff should be allowed to continue to remain free on bail [NYT report]. Thursday's hearing is the first time Madoff has spoken publicly about the allegations facing him. Prosecutors are seeking a 150-year sentence, but a sentence is not expected for several months.

Last month, Madoff consented [JURIST report] to a partial judgment [SEC press release] with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) [official website] over civil charges brought by the SEC to obtain a preliminary injunction and asset freeze against him. The same day, SEC Division of Enforcement Director Linda Thomsen announced she was stepping down from her post [SEC press release]. In the week following Madoff's charges, SEC Chairman Christopher Cox [official profile] said that he would launch an immediate investigation [press release; JURIST report] into how the fraud allegedly perpetrated by Madoff went undetected for so long. In December, then-President-elect Barack Obama [official profile] named [press release] Mary Schapiro [professional profile] as the SEC Chairman, replacing Cox. Madoff was charged with securities fraud in December for allegedly violating the anti-fraud provisions of the Securities Act of 1933, the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 [texts].

11:25 AM - Chin has ordered Madoff to be remanded in custody until his sentencing hearing June 16, effectively revoking his bail. He is expected to be held at Manhattan's Metropolitan Correctional Center [official website].

[JURIST] The number of employment discrimination [JURIST news archive] charges against private employers filed with the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) [official website] increased by 15 percent in 2008 [press release] to reach record highs, according to EEOC statistics [materials] released Wednesday. The EEOC cited several possible reasons for the increase, "including economic conditions, increased diversity and demographic shifts in the labor force, employees' greater awareness of the law, EEOC's focus on systemic litigation, and changes to EEOC's intake practices." Of the 95,402 complaints filed with the EEOC in 2008, 35.6 percent covered allegations of racial discrimination, and 29.7 percent were based on alleged sex discrimination. Charges of age discrimination, which comprised only 23.2 percent in 2007, increased to 25.8 percent in 2008, with some experts suggesting that this may be due to older workers being disproportionately terminated [AP report] as a result of the recent economic downturn.

Last March, the EEOC reported a 9 percent increase [press release; JURIST report] in employment discrimination charges for 2007, the biggest annual increase since the early 1990s. In February 2007, the EEOC reported an increase in discrimination charges for 2006 [press release] for the first time since 2002. In February 2006, the EEOC reported that discrimination charges against private employers declined by five percent in 2005 [press release; JURIST report], the third straight year the number of complaints fell. EEOC officials pointed to several factors as potential causes of the decrease, including the EEOC's outreach and prevention efforts as well as a general economic slowdown. The EEOC is charged with enforcing federal anti-discrimination laws [EEOC materials] among private employers. The US Department of Justice enforces the federal anti-discrimination statutes for government workers.

[JURIST] Zimbabwean authorities on Thursday released jailed Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) [party website] party treasurer general and opposition cabinet member-designate Roy Bennett [BBC profile; JURIST news archive], one day after the nation's Supreme Court denied a state appeal to keep him in prison. Bennett, a top aide to MDC head Morgan Tsvangirai [BBC profile; JURIST news archive], faces charges under Zimbabwe's Public Order and Security Act [materials] for "attempting to commit terrorism, banditry and sabotage." Under the terms of his bail [Times report], Bennett had to pay USD $5,000 and surrender his passport, and he must report to police three times a week. Last week, the High Court rejected a state appeal seeking to deny Bennett bail [TGZ report], finding that the conditions of Bennett's release, set last month, were adequate. The attorney general's office then appealed that ruling [JURIST report] to the Supreme Court.

Bennett, who was arrested last month shortly before he was scheduled to be sworn as deputy agriculture minister in the new power-sharing coalition government [BBC report] led by Tsvangirai, is accused [JURIST report] of funding the purchase of fire arms and explosives intended to be used as part of an insurgency. It is feared that Bennett's arrest could pose a threat to the power-sharing agreement [JURIST report] between the MDC and the African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) party of President Robert Mugabe [BBC profile; JURIST news archive]. Bennett was originally sought for questioning [JURIST report] in relation to the allegations in 2006, but he had been seeking asylum in South Africa until recently [IOL report]. Treason charges against him were dropped [Times report] in favor of the terrorism and other charges.