[JURIST] US Attorney General Eric Holder [official website] said Friday that Canadian Guantanamo detainee Omar Khadr [DOD materials; JURIST news archive] will likely be tried in the US military commission [JURIST news archive] system. Speaking during a news conference Friday after announcing [JURIST report] that five 9/11 [JURIST news archive] conspirators will be tried in US federal court, Holder responded [transcript] to a question on Khadr by saying, "[w]ell, we'll look at the Khadr matter. At this point, it is one of, I think - believe, one of the cases designated for a commission - a commission proceeding. And we will, as that case proceeds, see how it should be ultimately treated." The announcement came the same day that the Supreme Court of Canada [official website] heard arguments on the Canadian federal government's appeal [JURIST report] of a lower court decision [JURIST report] ordering the government to press for Khadr's release and repatriation.

Last month, US President Barack Obama signed a bill [JURIST report] amending the Military Commissions Act of 2006 [text, PDF] to provide suspected terrorists with greater due process rights, but many rights activists have argued that the changes are insufficient [JURIST comment] to fix a flawed system. Earlier in October, a US military judge dismissed Khadr's military lawyer in accordance with Khadr's request. Khadr has allegedly admitted to throwing a hand grenade that killed a US soldier in Afghanistan, and was charged [JURIST reports] in April 2007 with murder, attempted murder, conspiracy, providing material support for terrorism, and spying.

[JURIST] The White House announced [press release] Friday that Gregory Craig [WhoRunsGov profile] is resigning as White House Counsel and will be replaced by Bob Bauer [profile profile], Obama's personal attorney. Craig's resignation [letter, PDF], effective in January, comes after months of criticism of his management of Guantanamo Bay [JURIST news archive] policy initiatives, including the ban on torture and the release of documents on the treatment of terrorism suspects under the Bush administration. Craig gained notoriety by leading former president Bill Clinton's defense during his 1998 impeachment proceedings [PBS materials; JURIST materials]. In 2000, he represented the father of Elian Gonzalez [BBC backgrounder] in his successful effort to gain custody of his son and bring him back to Cuba from the US. In 1981-82, Craig defended John Hinckley [PBS profile], who was accused of an assassination attempt on former president Ronald Reagan. Obama praised Craig's service as White House counsel, stating that he "will continue to call on him for advice in the years ahead." Craig will be the highest official to step down from the Obama administration since appointments [JURIST report] last November. Bauer is expected to take over the position by the end of this year.

Craig's policy management is not the only issue that has come under fire for the administration's handling of Guantanamo Bay. The Center for American Progress (CAP) [advocacy website] released a report [JURIST report] on Tuesday criticizing the White House for several shortfalls in its decision-making process. According to CAP, these shortfalls include failing to sufficiently staff the review task force and misreading Congress on key issues. The report also claims that the administration's most significant mistakes were the decisions to keep a modified version of the Bush-era military commissions and its request of Congress for $80 million to close the facility and relocate the detainees, which provided impetus for Congressional opponents to obstruct the process. In October US Attorney General Eric Holder [official profile] announced that the Obama administration may miss its January deadline for closing Guantanamo Bay, echoing prior statements [JURIST reports] by top administration officials.

[JURIST] The Greek Orthodox Church [church website] is urging Europeans to unite in protesting a European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) [official website] decision [judgment, in French] to ban the crucifix from state schools, according to Thursday reports. The Archbishop of the Greek Orthodox Church, Ieronymos of Thebes and Livadia [church profile], has called an emergency meeting [BBC report] of the Holy Synod [church backgrounder] to discuss a plan to stop the ruling [JURIST report], which pertained specifically to the display of crucifixes in Italian schools, from setting a precedent throughout Europe. The Church fears that the Greek arm of human rights group Helsinki Monitor [advocacy website] will succeed in using the ruling to challenge the presence of religious icons in public settings in Greece. The chamber judgment, seen as threat to Christian symbolism, could ally the Roman Catholic and Greek Orthodox churches, which split more than 1,000 years ago.

The ECHR ruling has been met with harsh criticism [Il Giornale report, in Italian] across Italy, and responses have included suggestions of holding a referendum on the subject. Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi derided the ruling, stating that Italy is not bound to adhere to it [JURIST report]. His remarks were made on the same day that the Council of Ministers gave its approval [press release, in Italian] to appeal the decision. Berlusconi went so far as to say [Corriere della Sera report, in Italian] that even if Italy loses its appeal, he considers it to be disrespectful and that Italy would not be coerced into upholding it.

[JURIST] Opposition pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi [BBC profile; JURIST news archive] filed an appeal in Myanmar's highest court on Friday challenging the 18-month extension of her house arrest. The head of Suu Kyi's legal team Kyi Win said that now that the appeal [AFP report] has been submitted to the High Court, they must wait to learn whether the court will agree to hear the case. Earlier this week, it was reported that a Senior Burmese official said there was a plan to release [AP report] Suu Kyi so she can organize her political party for next year's elections, but the international community remains skeptical.

Suu Kyi's house arrest stems from an August conviction [JURIST report] for violating state security laws by allowing American John Yettaw to stay in her home after he swam across a lake to get there. In October, the Divisional Court in Rangoon rejected Suu Kyi's appeal, after denying her request to attend [JURIST reports] the hearing. Yettaw, who was sentenced to seven years in prison with four years of hard labor, was released [JURIST report] in August after negotiations with US Senator Jim Webb (D-VA). Suu Kyi has spent 14 of the last 20 years in detention, and her latest conviction has been condemned [BBC report] by many world leaders and has given rise to international sanctions [JURIST report] against Myanmar's junta and members of the judiciary.

[JURIST] US Attorney General Eric Holder [official website] on Friday announced [transcript; press release] that the government will pursue federal charges against five men accused of conspiring to commit the 9/11 terrorist attacks [JURIST news archive]. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Ramzi Bin Al Shibh, Walid Bin Attash, Ali Abdul-Aziz Ali, and Mustafa Ahmed Al Hawsawi, all currently detained at Guantanamo Bay [JURIST news archives], will be tried in a Manhattan district court by prosecutors from the Southern District of New York and the Eastern District of Virginia [official websites]. Holder said that he recommended that the men be tried in civilian court after a case-by-case review conducted by the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Department of Defense (DOD) [official websites] according to a new protocol announced in July. Addressing concerns [NLJ op-ed] that the civilian court system would be unable to prosecute high-level terrorism cases, and that bringing the men to New York would pose a security risk, Holder said that he was "confident in the ability of our courts to provide these defendants a fair trial, just as they have for over 200 years."

The men have previously faced charges in military commissions [JURIST news archives] at the detention facility, but those proceedings were delayed in May and September after being suspended [JURIST reports] for 120 days in January. Saying that "it is important that we be able to use every forum possible to hold terrorists accountable for their actions," Holder also announced that five other men held in connection with the October 2000 attack on the USS Cole [official website; JURIST news archive] in Yemen will be tried by military commissions, which were amended [JURIST report] last month to ensure that due process rights were afforded to suspected terrorists.

Earlier this month, the US Senate [official website] voted 54-45 [roll call vote; JURIST report] to defeat an amendment [S AMDT 2669 materials] to an appropriations bill [HR 2847 materials] that would have prevented Guantanamo detainees accused of involvement in 9/11 from being tried in federal courts. In October, US President Barack Obama signed [JURIST report] into law the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act of 2010 [HR 2892 materials], which allows for Guantanamo Bay detainees to be transferred to the US for prosecution and, among other provisions, requires certain information about each transferred detainee to be disclosed to Congress including costs, legal rationales, and possible risks. The legislation came after Holder indicated that the Obama administration might miss its January deadline for closing the military prison at Guantanamo Bay, echoing prior statements [JURIST reports] by top administration officials.

[JURIST] UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) [official website] Director of Defense and Strategic Threats, Simon Manley, criticized [Guardian report] Britain's High Court Thursday for jeopardizing national security by ordering the public release of evidence [judgment, PDF] of alleged torture of terrorism suspects. Manley accused the British judges of eroding trust between UK and foreign security officials, which he said would limit the willingness of foreign intelligence agencies to disclose sensitive information to UK authorities. The statement is a response to an October order [JURIST report] to disclose previously redacted portions of a judgment in the case of former Guantanamo Bay [JURIST archive] detainee Binyam Mohamed [ACLU profile, JURIST archive].

Manley's statement is the latest criticism against the British high courts for moving to release security information. Last month, UK Foreign Secretary David Miliband [official profile] expressed concern [JURIST report] that the release of alleged torture information would pose a risk to the national security of the UK and its relations with the US. Miliband has denied [JURIST report] allegations published [text] by the UK Parliament Joint Committee on Human Rights [official website], saying that the UK does not participate in or condone the use of torture. Mohamed claims [JURIST report] 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] The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) [official website] filed a new plan [text, PDF] Thursday for reducing prison overcrowding [JURIST news archive] in the state. The new plan includes revisions made possible because of legislative enactments, including summary parole for lower-level offenses to reduce the amount of inmates re-entering the prison system for parole violations and credit earning enhancements to reduce time served. The Schwarzenegger administration [official website] promised [press release] that the revised plan would comply with a federal court order to reduce the prison population [JURIST report] issued by a three-judge panel in August. The panel issued its own benchmarks [text, PDF] insisting that California reduce its prison overcrowding rate from 190 percent to 137.5 percent by 2011.

The panel rejected [LAT report] CDCR's first plan [JURIST report], filed in September, which fell short of the order's requirements. That plan did not include the legislative enactments but provided various ways of reducing overcrowding, including transferring more prisoners to out-of-state prisons, GPS monitoring of inmates who violate parole, commuting sentences of inmates who are eligible for deportation, and building new facilities or converting unused space. Earlier in September, the US Supreme Court [official website] refused to grant a request [JURIST report] by the state of California to temporarily stay the court order.

[JURIST] The Salt Lake City Council [official website] has passed an a ordinance [text, PDF] prohibiting employment and housing discrimination based on sexual orientation, after the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon) [church website] gave its support. The ordinance, passed unanimously on Tuesday, makes Salt Lake City the first city in Utah to outlaw such discrimination. Michael Otterson, a Mormon Church official, said [remarks] that the church supported the legislation because it "does not do violence to the institution of marriage." Mormon endorsement of the ordinance was especially surprising given the church's support and funding of Proposition 8 [NYT report] in California, which banned same-sex marriage after it had been approved [JURIST reports] by the state Supreme Court. Opinions on the church's endorsement of the Salt Lake City ordinance varied, with groups praising [NYT report] and condemning [Sutherland Institute release] the move.

The US Congress is currently considering legislation [S 1584 materials; HR 3017 materials] to ban workplace discrimination motivated by an employee’s sexual orientation or gender identification. The Employment Non-Discrimination Act, if passed, would protect employees from discriminatory hiring and firing practices, and from segregation or classification on the basis of sexual preference or gender identity. The bill would be the first federal legislation aimed at ensuring workplace equality for individuals who identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, or queer (GLBTQ). The bill was introduced in the Senate [JURIST report] in August and in the House in June.

[JURIST] The US government on Thursday amended a complaint against Islamic charity the Alavi Foundation [organization website] to include a request for the seizure of assets, including four mosques, claiming that the organization is actually controlled by the Iranian government. The amended complaint [text], originally filed in 2008, alleges that Alavi is funneling assets to fund Iran's nuclear program in violation of 18 USC § 981 [text]. The government had already sought to seize Alavi's 40 percent interest in a New York office building, but the amended complaint adds properties in Maryland, Texas, California, New York, each of which contains an Islamic center or mosque, 100 acres of land in Virginia, and the funds in nine US bank accounts. Alavi has not released an official statement, but a lawyer for the organization did express disappointment [NYT report] at the developments.

The attempted seizure of assets from an organization that promotes Persian culture comes at a time of sensitive US-Iranian relations. The same day that the government filed the amended complaint against Alavi, US President Barack Obama renewed many long-standing sanctions [Reuters report] against Iran. Earlier this week, Iran's prosecutor general charged three US backpackers with espionage after they illegally entered the country [JURIST reports] in August. Last week, Obama observed the 30th anniversary [press release] of the taking of the US embassy in Tehran by reiterating US respect for Iran and calling for Iran to normalize relations for the benefit of its citizens.

[JURIST] More than 18,000 refugees have been unfairly denied permanent residency or asylum [press release] in the US due to the expanding definition of "terrorist activity" in the USA Patriot Act [text, PDF; JURIST news archive] and Real ID Act [text, PDF; JURIST news archive], according to a report [text, PDF] released Wednesday by Human Rights First (HRF) [advocacy website]. The report specifically cites the widening definitions of "terrorist organization" and "material support" and their strict application by federal immigration agencies since 2001 as the reasons individuals "[posing] no threat to American security" have been affected. Under the current interpretation of these laws, persons may fall within such categories on a number of bases, including ties to US-supported opposition groups or actions considered legal under international law. The report's author, Anwen Hughes, said:

These were not the people Congress intended to target. In fact many of these refugees supported the same causes the United States supports, or were victimized by forces the U.S. government also opposes. But attempts to solve this problem through piecemeal "waiver" announcements are not working.