[JURIST] US President Barack Obama [official profile] has ordered the lifting of travel restrictions and restrictions on money transfers [press release] between Cuban-Americans and their families in Cuba. Obama also ordered that US telecommunications companies be allowed to work within Cuba to facilitate communication between families split between the two countries. The plan was put forward as not only necessary for the interests of the families, but also as way to bolster a democratic movement within Cuba:

Cuban American connections to family in Cuba are not only a basic right in humanitarian terms, but also our best tool for helping to foster the beginnings of grassroots democracy on the island. There are no better ambassadors for freedom than Cuban Americans. Accordingly, President Obama will direct the Secretaries of State, Treasury, and Commerce to support the Cuban people’s desire for freedom and self-determination by lifting all restrictions on family visits and remittances as well as taking steps that will facilitate greater contact between separated family members in the United States and Cuba and increase the flow of information and humanitarian resources directly to the Cuban people. The President is also calling on the Cuban government to reduce the charges it levies on cash remittances sent to the island so family members can be assured they are receiving the support sent to them.

[JURIST] US Army Sgt. John Hatley [JURIST news archive] entered a plea of not guilty to murder charges at his court-martial on Monday for the killing of four unarmed Iraqi prisoners [NYT report] in 2007. Hatley, along with Sgt. Michael Leahy, Jr. and Sgt. 1st Class John Mayo, was charged [JURIST report] in September with premeditated murder, conspiracy, and obstruction of justice. Hatley also faces murder charges for a separate killing of a prisoner during early January 2007. The trial began Monday at a US military base in Germany and will last all week with a verdict expected Friday [DW report]. If convicted, Hatley could face life in prison.

Last month, Mayo was convicted and sentenced [JURIST report] to 35 years in prison on charges of premeditated murder and conspiracy to commit premeditated murder after he pleaded guilty at his court-martial proceedings. He has also agreed to testify against Hatley [AP report]. Leahy was convicted [JURIST report] in February and sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole. Staff Sgt. Jess Cunningham, originally an alleged co-conspirator against whom charges were dropped, testified against Leahy [JURIST report] at his trial. Fellow unit members Spc. Belmor Ramon and Spc. Steven Ribordy pleaded guilty last year to conspiracy and accessory to murder [JURIST reports], respectively, in connection with the incident.

[JURIST] Iraqi military spokesperson Major General Qassim Atta said Monday that he is seeking the closure of the Bagdad offices of newspaper Al-Hayat and television network Al-Sharquiya [media websites, in Arabic] after the two media outlets allegedly misquoted him in a story reported last week. Atta said he has sued the the two services for incorrectly reporting [NYT report] that he had ordered the re-arrest of several detainees recently released by American forces. Also Monday, Iraq's National Media Center of the Council of Ministers criticized [AP report] both local and international media for what it said was "inciting public dissent" by positively depicting paramilitary leaders wanted by the government.

Iraq has been criticized in the past for restrictive media policies. In 2007, the government banned news and camera crews from photographing bomb sites [JURIST report]. Also in 2007, Iraqi Council of Representatives [official website, in Arabic] approved legal action [JURIST report] against Al Jazeera [media website] for "insulting" top Shiite cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani [BBC profile; official website]. In 2006, the parliament banned journalists from their sessions [JURIST report] to prevent reporting of contradictory statements made by politicians. Also in 2006, the Interior Ministry announced the formation of a specialized unit that would monitor news coverage [JURIST report] to correct "fabricated and false news" that the ministry claimed gave the Iraqi people the wrong impression that the situation in the country is worse than it actually is.

[JURIST] The government of China [official website] on Monday issued its first national plan [text] aimed at protecting human rights. The Information Office of the State Council [official website] published the National Human Rights Action Plan of China, which sets forth the government's human rights policy for 2009 and 2010. Academic, legal, and civil-rights groups helped government officials draft the plan, which states that the government is striving to protect people's rights to "education, employment, medical and old-age care, and housing." The plan aims to protect ethnic minorities, promote gender equality, guarantee suspects the right to an impartial trial, and prohibit illegal detentions and the use of torture to extract confessions from suspects. Under the plan, China will also seek to provide basic nationwide health care, slow its greenhouse-gas emissions, and protect "normal religious activities." The plan is framed by the Chinese constitution [text] and is based on principles [Xinhua report] found in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights [text] and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights [text], which the government has signed [accession chart] but not ratified [JURIST report].

The Information Office announced in November [JURIST report] that China would draft a human rights plan in response to calls from the UN. The UN has criticized China for the use of torture to extract confessions from suspects, and for the mistreatment of prisoners [JURIST reports]. In February, the Chinese delegation to the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) [official website] defended [JURIST report] China's human rights record 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, promote democracy, and encourage non-governmental organizations.

[JURIST] The Zimbabwean House Speaker announced Sunday the formation of a committee to draft a new constitution. The drafting of a new constitution was part of the power sharing agreement [JURIST report] signed last September by President Robert Mugabe [BBC Profile; JURIST news archive] and Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) [party website; JURIST news archive] leader and now-Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirari [BBC profile; JURIST news archive]. The committee will be composed [TZG report] of 25 members of parliament, including nine from Mugabe's African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF), 12 from the two formations of the MDC, a chief, and three other appointed positions. The committee will meet for the first time on Monday, and hopes to have a draft of the new constitution prepared by February 2010 [Mail and Guardian report]. This would allow the draft to be introduced to parliament by October of next year and adopted by the end of 2010. Zimbabwe last attempted a constitutional referendum in 2000. That referendum was rejected due to concerns about the attempt of power that would be given to Mugabe. Following the defeat, Mugabe launched violent attacks against his opponents.

Recently, concerns have arisen regarding potential threats to the power sharing agreement when MDC treasurer Roy Bennett was indicted [JURIST report] on terrorism and other charges. In March, Bennett was released on bail [JURIST report], but is still facing a likely appeal from the attorney general. 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.

[JURIST] Bolivian President Evo Morales [official website; BBC profile] vowed Sunday to continue a hunger strike until the Bolivian National Congress [official website, in Spanish] approves the final details of a new election law [proposed text, in Spanish]. Morales declared himself on hunger strike [YouTube video, in Spanish; AP report] Thursday until congress passed the law because the 60-day period decreed in the new Bolivian constitution [text, PDF] had lapsed earlier in the week. The congress approved the general framework [press release, in Spanish; JURIST report] on Thursday but has not yet agreed on the final details, though 67 out of 84 articles have been approved [La Prensa report, in Spanish].

The law will regulate election of the congress, president, and vice-president of Bolivia. In February, Bolivia's new constitution went into effect, after being approved [JURIST reports] by national referendum in January. Other measures adopted by the constitution include land reform and regulations [JURIST report] on single farms to limit acreage to 12,400 and placing economic and social requirements on them.

[JURIST] Moldova's Constitutional Court [official website] on Sunday ordered the nation's Central Election Commission to conduct a recount of last week's controversial parliamentary election. The ruling Communist party won nearly 50 percent of the vote [official results], leaving them only one seat short of the 61 seats needed to select the next president unopposed. Opposition groups claim that falsified voter registration rolls allowed government officials to fabricate votes. Members of some opposition groups fear that a recount will only legitimize the falsified election results and have demanded new elections [BBC report]. Moldova's Liberal Democrats said they are in the process of obtaining voter registration lists, which they will check for accuracy [Reuters report]. Some international groups, including the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) [official website], approved [OSCE report, PDF] the voting process as being generally fair. The recount will take place Wednesday.

The order follows a request for a recount from Moldovan President Vladimir Voronin [official website, in Romanian], a member of the Communist party, who reportedly called for the recount to calm the protests and restore faith in the government [BBC report]. Last week anti-Communist protesters who want a stronger relationship with Europe stormed the parliament building [BBC report] in Moldova's capital city of Chisinau, smashing windows and furniture.