[JURIST] North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il [BBC profile] on Tuesday pardoned [KCNA report, in Korean] US journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee [BBC profile] during a visit from former US president Bill Clinton [official profile], according to a state media report. The journalists were arrested [JURIST report] in March for allegedly crossing into North Korea while reporting on North Korean defectors for Current TV [media website] and were subsequently charged with unspecified "hostile acts." They were sentenced [JURIST report] in June in North Korea's Pyongyang Central Court to 12 years in labor camps [KCNA report, in Korean]. The journalists are expected to fly back to the US with Clinton soon, and there are hopes that this will pave the way for renewed disarmament talks [Los Angeles Times report] between the two countries.

The journalists' parson comes at a sensitive time for US-North Korean relations, with some suggesting the journalists were being used as pawns [JURIST comment] in policy disputes. Recently, North Korea conducted a second nuclear test [NYT report] in defiance of a 2006 UN Security Council [official website] ban on nuclear or missile tests [Resolution 1718 text; JURIST report]. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon [official profile] and other world leaders condemned [statement text] the test. In April, North Korea also violated the resolution when it fired a rocket [NYT report] in an attempt to put a satellite into space and test its missile technology, after ordering UN nuclear inspectors out [press release] of the country.

[JURIST] The UK Parliament Joint Committee on Human Rights [official website] released a report [text] Tuesday calling for an independent inquiry into allegations regarding government complicity in the torture of UK terrorism suspects in Pakistan and elsewhere. Maintaining that complicity in torture is a violation of international human rights obligations, the committee examined how complicity can be defined and reported a large number of "credible allegations" of such conduct. Examples set forth include asking foreign intelligence services known to use torture to question an individual, providing such agencies with information or questions regarding an individual, and systematically receiving information known or thought likely to have been obtained through torture. Additionally, the report states that the UK is complicit if they merely should have known that torture was taking place. Foreign Affairs Minister Ivan Lewis [official profile] denied the allegations and stated that their policies are made clear [BBC report] to countries with which they work. The committee's report calls for recommendations to be made to improve government accountability for security and intelligence services.

Allegations in the report include the complicity in torture of UK resident Binyam Mohammed [Reprieve profile; JURIST news archive] before he was brought to Guantanamo Bay. Last month, the UK Metropolitan Police Service announced that it was investigating the alleged mistreatment [JURIST report] of Mohammed by intelligence officers. Mohammed claims that he was tortured by Pakistani agents and interrogated by FBI and MI5 agents complicit in his abuse. He was transferred to Morocco, allegedly part of the CIA's extraordinary rendition [JURIST news archive] program, where he claims that British agents supplied his torturers with questions.

[JURIST] Niger held a referendum Tuesday on a proposed constitution that would allow President Mamadou Tandja [BBC profile] to remain in office. Tandja had previously promised to step down when his second five-year term expires in December, but if the new constitution is approved, he will be allowed to remain in office for three more years [AFP report] and could then run for re-election as many times as he wants. The new constitution, which was drafted by a five-member panel appointed by Tandja, would also give the president the power to appoint one-third of the members [CBC report] of a new 60-member senate. Opposition leaders have been extremely critical of the proposed constitution and called for a boycott [AP report] of the referendum.

In June, opposition leader Bazoum Mohamed of the Nigerien Party for Democracy and Socialism (PNDS) [party website] accused Tandja of committing a coup d'etat [JURIST report] by annulling the West African country's Constitutional Court. The Constitutional Court ruled [Pana report] in May that plans to hold a referendum on allowing a third term violated the 1999 Constitution [text, in French]. Tandja responded to the ruling by dissolving parliament and assuming emergency powers.

[JURIST] The US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit [official website] on Monday upheld [opinion, PDF] a 20-year prison sentence and a 10-year Internet ban imposed on a man convicted of receiving child pornography. Paul Thielemann, who pleaded guilty to one count of receiving child pornography challenged his prison as well as the conditions of his supervised release, which restrict him from viewing sexually explicit material or using the Internet for 10 years. The court rejected the challenge the prison sentence, finding that it fell within sentencing guidelines. The court also rejected the challenges to the conditions of the supervised release, finding no violation of Thielemann's constitutional rights. Addressing the restrictions on viewing sexually explicit material, the court wrote:

We hold that there is a significant nexus between restricting Thielemann from access to adult "sexually explicit" material and the goals of supervised release, and that the restriction here is not overbroad or vague considering the content of the instant record. As such, First Amendment implications are not involved.

[JURIST] The Pakistan National Assembly [official website], the lower house of parliament, on Tuesday unanimously approved the Prevention of Domestic Violence Act, 2008 [text, PDF], moving a step closer to outlawing domestic violence in the country. Under the proposed legislation, women, children, and domestic employees would be protected [APP report] from physical, mental, and sexual assaults. Victims could be relocated, and those found guilty could face jail time and fines. The bill also allows the court to direct the accused to compensate the victim for any expenses incurred. The measure is supported by the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) [party website] of President Asif Ali Zardari [official website]. It will now face a vote in the Senate [official website] and must then be signed by Zardari before becoming law.

Domestic violence continues to be a global problem, as it often goes unpunished. In June, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) [official website] ruled [JURIST report] that the Turkish government is responsible for the death of a woman at the hands of her ex-husband because it failed to investigate complaints. In September, the India Ministry of Women and Child Development (WCD) [official website] announced that it would review [JURIST report] the country's controversial anti-dowry [BBC backgrounder] act because increasing numbers of Indian women had issued complaints about misuse. Despite legislation controlling the cultural and religious practice, India's dowry system continues illegally, leaving many women subject to abuse without enforcement of legal protections from so-called "dowry deaths" [backgrounder]. In 2006, the Council of Europe (COE) [official website] released a report [COE press release; JURIST report] criticizing France's human rights record and identifying impunity for domestic violence as a shortcoming in the French judicial system.

[JURIST] UK Attorney General Janet Scotland [official profile] pledged to improve Britain's policies on combating fraud and corruption in an interview [text] published Monday in the Financial Times [media website]. Scotland's comments came in response to accusations that the country's current stance on financial fraud is flawed and that it has become a haven for such crimes. She dismissed such comments, claiming that she aims to make the UK the "most hostile" country to fraudulent activity. Scotland additionally stated that fraud policy reform and cooperation between the Serious Fraud Office (SFO), the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) [official websites] and other agencies would be necessary to keep London's prominent stance in international financial markets. Fraud Advisory Panel [advocacy website] chairperson Rosalind Wright, who formerly directed the SFO, has said that the country's failure to prosecute high-profile fraud cases is "almost an encouragement" for committing such crimes. Former SFO director Robert Wardle has said that a public outcry over the current financial crisis will cause a change in the way companies report fraud.

In June, SFO director Richard Alderman [official profile] used the Bernard Madoff [JURIST news archive] case to compare fraud prosecution [press release] in the US and UK. Madoff was sentenced [JURIST report] to 150 years in prison on US security fraud charges in June while the UK investigation [press release; JURIST report], announced in January, did not reach any results. Alderman stated that the investigation was a "good example of the SFO's new, faster, approach to tackling fraud." Madoff was charged in the US [JURIST report] in December after he allegedly told two employees that his investment advisory business was "basically, a giant Ponzi scheme."

[JURIST] A Cambodian court ruled Tuesday that opposition lawmaker Mu Sochua [personal website] is guilty of defaming Prime Minister Hun Sen [official profile; BBC profile], ordering her to pay nearly USD $4000 in fines and restitution. The Phnom Penh Municipal Court found [AP report] that Sochua, a member of the opposition Sam Rainsy Party [party website], had defamed Hun Sen when she sued him last year, alleging he had made defamatory statements about her and insulted all Cambodian women. That suit was dismissed. Rights groups allege that the lawsuit was politically motivated in attempt to silence opposition. On Monday, the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) [advocacy website] issued a statement [text] claiming, "the chances of Mu Sochua getting a fair trial are very remote." After Tuesday's verdict was announced, protesters took to the streets [AFP report] along with Sochua and opposition leader Sam Rainsy.

Sochua, a prominent human rights activist, was originally a member [VOA] of Hun Sen's cabinet, but later left the government and joined Rainsy's opposition party. She has been recognized internationally for her work, which deals mainly with women's rights and human trafficking, being nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2005. Last month, Sochua was stripped of her parliamentary immunity [Al Jazeera report] and lost her seat in parliament.

[JURIST] An Iranian official confirmed Tuesday the arrest of three US citizens who entered the country on Saturday from Iraq's Kuridish region, according to a state media report [FNA report]. The Americans, who possessed Iraqi and Syrian visas, have been charged with illegal entry near the city of Marivan at the Malakh Khor border while reportedly backpacking through northern Iraq. They have been identified as Shane Bauer, Sara Shourd, and Joshua Fattal. An Iraqi police officer reported that the three backpackers were linked [PressTV report] to the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) [official website], although the claim has not been confirmed. After being questioned on the matter during a Monday meeting, before the Americans' custody was confirmed, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton [official profile] expressed her concern over their reported disappearance and called for Iranian government cooperation [transcript text]. While Clinton maintained that the State Department was not prepared to give specific information regarding their plans, she stated that certain sanctions against Iran are possible.

Arrests of US citizens in Iran have been a frequent cause of concern. In May, Iran released [JURIST report] convicted US journalist Roxana Saberi [BBC profile]. Saberi, a dual US-Iran citizen, was originally arrested for illegally purchasing alcohol and was later sentenced to eight years in prison [JURIST report] on espionage charges. The Committee to Protect Journalists [advocacy website] reported last year that Iran ranked sixth [report text] in the world for imprisoned journalists. In 2007, Iran charged Dr. Kian Tajbakhsh and media correspondent Parnaz Azima with allegedly engaging in an espionage conspiracy [JURIST report]. Tajbakhsh and Azima, along with two other Iranian-Americans, were originally accused of being part of a US-organized spy network.

[JURIST] Several cases involving Guantanamo Bay [JURIST news archive] detainees have been assigned to federal prosecutors [AP report] in Washington DC, New York, and Virginia, the Associated Press reported Monday. White House officials reportedly said that Attorney General Eric Holder [official profile] met last week with federal prosecutors in four districts with experience in handling internationalist terrorism cases, as the Obama administration continues to consider options on what to do with the 229 remaining detainees. The prosecutors are now working with military officials with the hope of bringing indictments in civilian courts. The administration has not yet made a final decision to move forward, in part because of concerns over public opposition that could lead to a reduction in funding.

On Sunday, it was reported that the Obama administration announced that it is considering creating a maximum security prison [JURIST report] in Michigan or Kansas that would hold both military and civilian detainees as well as a courtroom to accommodate remaining detainees. In July, US Defense Department General Counsel Jeh Charles Johnson and Assistant Attorney General for National Security David Kris [official profiles], both members of task force appointed by Obama to oversee the closing of Guantanamo, testified [JURIST report] in front of the House Armed Services Committee [official website] that the Obama administration is considering transferring more detainees to the US. In May, the US House of Representatives passed a spending bill [HR 2847 materials] that denied [JURIST report] the administration's request for $60 million to close Guantanamo Bay and placed limits on the government's ability to transfer detainees to the US and release detainees to foreign countries. Also in May, the Senate passed an amendment [JURIST report] to a piece of legislation that eliminated $80 million intended to be used for the closure of Guantanamo until the president provides a "comprehensive, responsible plan" detailing how it will be done.