[JURIST] Authorities in China's Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region on Tuesday announced [Xinhua report] charges of murder, intentional injury, arson, and robbery against 83 people accused of participating in violent demonstrations in the capital city of Urumqi in early July. Xinjiang Prosecutor Utiku'er Abudrehman said that 718 people, both Han Chinese and ethnic minority Uighur, are currently detained [Xinhua report] in connection with the riots as a result of police investigations of damaged stores, homes, and vehicles, as well as photographs and videos of the riots. Dilxat Raxit, a spokesperson for the World Uyghur Congress (WUC) [advocacy website] has accused [AP report] the government of intentionally under-reporting the number of people who have been arrested following the riots. The Uyghur American Association (UAA) [advocacy website] said that it is "extremely concerned" [press release] about the credibility of charges against some Uighur leaders included in a government-published "most wanted" list, and about the government's ability to carry out fair trials amidst political tension in the region.

In July, violence broke out [NYT report] between Han Chinese and Uighur residents in Xinjiang's regional capital. After two days of rioting, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay [official profile] called for restraint [press release; JURIST report] from all sides and a respect for due process in arrests and prosecutions. The Chinese government claims [Xinhua report] that the majority of the 197 killed and 1,600 injured in the violence were Han residents killed by protesters, although the WUC and the UAA maintain that many protesters were killed by authorities but not included in the official death toll. Chinese officials have acknowledged [JURIST report] that 12 protesters were killed by police. The Uighur population, which is Muslim, is opposed [BBC backgrounder] to China's restrictive bans on religious practice, and say that the recent influx of Han Chinese has disenfranchised non-Chinese-speaking Uighurs.

[JURIST] War crimes suspect Radovan Karadzic [ICTY materials; JURIST news archive] on Wednesday sued the Serbian government for allegedly kidnapping him prior to announcing his arrest [JURIST report] last year. The former Bosnian Serb leader claims that Serbian authorities officially reported his arrest three days after [VOA report] he was actually detained, delaying his appearance before a judge. Karadzic's capture came 13 years after being indicted [text] by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) [official website] in 1995. He faces 11 charges [amended indictment, PDF] including genocide and murder for war crimes allegedly committed during the 1992-1995 Bosnian war.

Karadzic has defended himself on the grounds that he was granted immunity by former US ambassador to the UN Richard Holbrooke. Last month, the ICTY rejected the immunity claim [JURIST report] for the second time, citing irrelevance between the alleged deal and his trial. In June, the court said that Karadzic's trial would begin in late August [JURIST report] and possibly conclude in early 2012, making it the tribunal's last. Serbia has been criticized by the ICTY for its seeming reluctance to cooperate with the court, exemplified by its failure to find and capture [JURIST report] other war crimes suspects.

[JURIST] A Turkish court on Wednesday accepted an indictment [text, PDF, in Turkish] against 52 individuals accused of planning to overthrow the country's ruling Justice Development Party (AKP) [party website, in Turkish]. The individuals are accused of belonging to the country's secular Ergenekon [BBC backgrounder; JURIST news archive] group, which is suspected of involvement in bombings, political assassination plots, and the death of journalist Hrant Dink [BBC obituary]. Among the accused are three retired generals, including former chairman of the National Security Council Tuncer Kilinc [Hurriyet reports, in Turkish]. Also indicted was former police chief Ibrahim Sahin [Hurriyet report, in Turkish], who was involved in a 1996 corruption scandal. A trial date was set for September 7.

This will be the third trial in connection with the Ergenekon probe. Last month, a Turkish court began the trial of two former generals and 54 others suspected of planning to overthrow [JURIST reports] the government. The trial of 86 others [JURIST report] began in October 2008. The probe has been criticized as an attempt by the AKP to silence opposition and further their imposition of Islamic principles [DPA report; JURIST report] in violation of Turkey's secular constitution [text]. In June, police arrested 20 others [JURIST report] in connection with the alleged plot. In May, the Turkish government merged [JURIST report] a case against a lawyer accused of killing a judge with its case against Ergenekon. In March, a Turkish court ordered the arrest [JURIST report] of Cumhuriyet journalist Mustafa Balbay and internet publisher Neriman Aydin for their alleged involvement with the groups. There are currently more than 200 suspects in custody, with 40 arrested January 7, another 12 arrested January 12, and 30 arrested January 19 [JURIST reports]. The suspects include journalists, academics, army officers, policemen, and Turkish Workers' Party [party website, in Turkish] leader Dogu Perincek [JURIST report].

[JURIST] Former Taiwanese president Chen Shui-bian [BBC profile; JURIST news archive] filed suit Wednesday against the three judges hearing his corruption case, accusing them of illegally prolonging his detention. Chen, who was indicted [JURIST report] in December, faces possible life in prison on charges of embezzlement, receiving bribes, forgery, and money laundering. He has staged three hunger strikes in protest of the charges against him, and in January he unsuccessfully appealed [JURIST reports] his pretrial detention. Last month, Judges Tsai Shou-hsun, Wu Ding-ya, and Hsu Chien-hui denied a third bail request. Chen has accused the judges of abusing their power [Taiwan News report], keeping him in custody for revenge. Also this week, prosecutors rejected plea bargain requests [Taiwan News reports] from six of Chen's associates, including his son and daughter-in-law, who are also accused of corruption.

Last month, the court said that a verdict in the corruption cases will be delivered [JURIST report] on September 11. Chen has long argued that current Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou [official website; JURIST news archive] is using Chen's trial to distance himself from Chen's anti-China views. Chen called the proceedings against him "political persecution" when his trial began [JURIST report] in March. In February, Chen's wife, Wu Shu-Chen, pleaded guilty to charges [JURIST reports] of money-laundering and forgery, but denied charges that she embezzled from the presidential state affairs fund. Chen's sister-in-law has also pleaded guilty [JURIST report] to charges that she had forged documents and transferred money to bank accounts upon orders from Chen and Wu. Chen has asserted that he was unaware of Wu's actions. In September 2008, Chen was cleared [JURIST report] of separate defamation charges.

[JURIST] The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) [official website] filed fraud charges [complaint, PDF] Tuesday against General Electric Co. (GE) [corporate website], resulting in GE agreeing to pay a $50 million settlement [press release]. The SEC accused GE of misleading investors in 2003 and 2003 by reporting false and misleading information in its financial statements. GE accounting executives allegedly approved accounting that did not comply with generally accepted accounting principles on four separate occasions. GE did not admit or deny the SEC's allegations, but agreed to pay $50 million and refrain from violating federal securities law. In a statement [text], GE said:

GE is committed to the highest standards of accounting. GE cooperated with the SEC over the course of its investigation, and GE and its Audit Committee conducted their own comprehensive review in conjunction with the investigation. The Company reviewed and produced approximately 2.9 million pages of e-mails and other documents to the SEC and incurred approximately $200 million in external legal and accounting expenses to ensure that all issues were addressed appropriately. We have concluded that it is in the best interests of GE and its shareholders to resolve this matter and put it behind us on the basis announced today, pursuant to which, consistent with standard SEC practice, we neither admit nor deny the SEC's allegations. The errors at issue fell short of our standards, and we have implemented numerous remedial actions and internal control enhancements to prevent such errors from recurring, as previously described in our SEC filings, including measures to strengthen our controllership and technical accounting resources and capabilities.

[JURIST] The Moscow Military District Court on Wednesday began the retrial of three men acquitted [JURIST report] of involvement in the 2006 shooting death of journalist Anna Politkovskaya [BBC obituary; JURIST news archive]. The Russian Supreme Court [official website, in Russian] ordered the retrial [JURIST report] of Sergei Khadzhikurbanov, Dzhabrail Makhmudov, and Ibragim Makhmudov in June after prosecutors argued the trial judge made procedural errors. As Wednesday's trial opened before a new judge, the prosecutor petitioned to combine the case [Itar-Tass report] with an investigation against other suspects, including Rustam Makhmudov, the brother of Dzhabrail and Ibragim, who is thought to be in hiding under an alias. Proceedings were adjourned until Friday, at which time Judge Nikolai Tkachuk is expected to rule on the prosecutor's petition.

Khadzhikurbanov, Dzhabrail Makhmudov, and Ibragim Makhmudov were acquitted in February after a jury found that the evidence against the three was not enough [RIA Novosti report] to support convictions. A week later, prosecutors appealed the acquittals [JURIST report]. In November 2008, the Russian Prosecutor General's Office [official website, in Russian] requested a new judge [JURIST report], claiming that Moscow Military District Court judge Yevgeny Zubov had violated procedural rules. Zubov refused to recuse himself [JURIST report] from the trial. Khadzhikurbanov, Dzhabrail Makhmudov, and Ibragim Makhmudov were arrested [JURIST report] in August 2007 in connection with Politkovskaya's slaying.

[JURIST] A special panel of federal judges on Tuesday ordered [opinion, PDF; opinion summary, PDF] California to reduce its prison population by nearly 43,000 inmates, finding that the prisons are overcrowded. Two inmates had brought a challenge against the state's prison system, alleging that the overcrowding had resulted in a failure to provide [Los Angeles Times report] adequate physical and mental health care, depriving them of their constitutional rights. The panel agreed, concluding:

Federal courts do not intervene in state affairs lightly. Principles of federalism, comity, and separation of powers require federal courts to refrain from addressing matters of state government in all but the most pressing of circumstances. Even then, federal courts must proceed cautiously, giving the states every opportunity to meet their federal constitutional and statutory obligations voluntarily. Unfortunately, during the 8 years of the Plata litigation and the 19 years of the Coleman litigation, the political branches of California government charged with addressing the crisis in the state's prisons have failed to do so. Instead, the rights of California's prisoners have repeatedly been ignored. Where the political process has utterly failed to protect the constitutional rights of a minority, the courts can, and must, vindicate those rights. We do so here, recognizing the seriousness of our action and with the hope that California's leadership will act constructively and cooperatively, and follow the mandate of this court and the [Prison Litigation Reform Act], so as to ultimately eliminate the need for further federal intervention.

[JURIST] The US Senate on Tuesday began debate [executive calendar, PDF] on the nomination of Sonia Sotomayor [WH profile; JURIST news archive] to the US Supreme Court. While it is believed that Sotomayor will be confirmed [CSPAN vote tally] to replace retiring Justice David Souter [official profile, PDF; JURIST news archive], Senate Republicans renewed their objections to Sotomayor prior to the beginning of the debate. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) [official website] called Sotomayor's background, "distinguished," but again raised [press release] the issue of the her comments on how a judge's history may inform his or her decisions [CNN report]. Also on Tuesday, Senator John McCain (R-AZ) [official website] indicated that he would not vote [floor speech] for Sotomayor's confirmation, calling her a judicial activist and saying, "[a]s a district court judge, her decisions too often strayed beyond settled legal norms." The debate over Sotomayor's nomination is not expected to last long, as Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) [official website] indicated that he anticipates history will be made this week [Washington Post report] when the Senate confirms Sotomayor.

Sotomayor's nomination was approved by the Judiciary Committee [JURIST report] last week by a 13-6 vote, mostly along party lines. Prior to that vote, Sotomayor faced questions from senators during late July confirmation hearings [JURIST report]. Earlier last month, the American Bar Association Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary [association website] gave Sotomayor a unanimous "well-qualified" rating [JURIST report].