[JURIST] The American Civil Liberties Union, (ACLU), the Constitution Project (CP), and the Rutherford Institute [advocacy websites] filed amici curiae briefs [ACLU brief, PDF; CP brief, PDF] Tuesday backing a challenge [JURIST report] to a federal law [18 USC § 2339B(a)(1)] that prohibits providing material support to terrorism. The groups supported a Humanitarian Law Project (HLP) [advocacy website] argument that the law defines "material support" too broadly. In a press release [text] that accompanied the filings, ACLU staff attorney Melissa Goodman summarized that group's view on the law:

The material support law is so vague and broad that peace, human rights and aid groups are left hopelessly guessing whether their constitutionally-protected speech could land them in jail...Cutting off aid to terrorism is undoubtedly an important government interest, but criminalizing legitimate peace-building and humanitarian work – including advocacy to end terrorism and violence – does nothing to further that interest and actually makes it more difficult to achieve.

[JURIST] Argentina's Chamber of Deputies [official website, in Spanish] has passed a bill that would decriminalize defamation, bringing the government's policies more in line with the American Convention on Human Rights [text] and garnering praise [CPJ press release] from international human rights groups. Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner [BBC profile] proposed the bill [transcript, in Spanish; JURIST report] in September, but the Senate [official website, in Spanish] must pass the bill before it can become law. The legislation would eliminate prison terms and lessen fines [IPI press release] for libel and slander as part of a broader plan to increase freedom of expression in Argentine telecommunications.

Kirchner's proposal came after the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) reversed [opinion, PDF] an Argentine court conviction in the case of journalist Eduardo Kimel, who was charged [WPFC press release] with a fine and jail term after he criticized a judge in 1991. Last month, Kirchner signed into law [JURIST report] a controversial bill giving her government more power to regulate the media, while limiting the power of private media companies.

[JURIST] The International Criminal Court (ICC) [official website] at The Hague began proceedings [press release] on Tuesday for the trial of two Congolese nationals [ICC backgrounder] believed to be responsible for the killings of more than 200 men, women, and children in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in 2003. Germain Katanga and Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui [ICC profiles] both pleaded not guilty to three crimes against humanity and seven war crimes, including murder, sexual slavery, pillage, and the use of child soldiers. Katanga, a former commander in the Front for Patriotic Resistance of Ituri (FRPI), and Ngudjolo Chui, a former commander in the Nationalist and Integrationist Front (FNI) [IRIN backgrounders], allegedly led two groups of child soldiers and militia in the attack against the village of Bogoro. Bogoro is located in the DRC's mineral-rich Ituri province, which has caused the territory to be an ongoing point of contention between Congolese militias. The prosecution will present 26 witnesses, 21 of whom will hide their identities due to ongoing hostility in the DRC. Lawyers for over 300 victims, including child soldiers, will also take part in the trial.

This trial is only the ICC's second case since its formation since 2002. The first trial began in January for the Congolese militia leader Thomas Lubanga Dyilo, whose militia base in Bogoro was the object of the 2003 attack. Lubanga [Al-Jazeera backgrounder] stands accused of war crimes for allegedly recruiting child soldiers to fight in the DRC in 2002-2003. Lubanga's trial was halted soon after it began when one of the child witnesses recanted his testimony [JURIST report] that Lubanga had recruited him for the militia. The prosecution has since concluded its case [JURIST report] and defense proceedings were recently postponed [press release] from their original date in October. Lubanga maintains he is innocent [JURIST report] of the charges against him.

[JURIST] The Iraq Inquiry [official website; BBC backgrounder], charged with investigating UK involvement in Iraq, began its public proceedings in London on Tuesday. The committee is expected to assess the legality of the UK’s participation in the Iraq War, although several legal authorities have questioned [BBC News report] its ability to thoroughly evaluate the issue, since none of the five members are legal professionals. Chair of the Inquiry Sir John Chilcot [Guardian profile] opened the meeting [statement]:

The Iraq Inquiry was set up to identify the lessons that should be learned from the UK’s involvement in Iraq to help future governments who may face similar situations. To do this, we need to establish what happened. We are piecing this together from the evidence we are collecting from documents or from those who have first hand experience. We will then need to evaluate what went well and what didn’t – and, crucially, why.

[W]e are not a court or an inquest or a statutory inquiry; and our processes will reflect that difference. No one is on trial. We cannot determine guilt or innocence. Only a court can do that. But I make a commitment here that once we get to our final report, we will not shy away from making criticisms where they are warranted.

[JURIST] The US Justice Department (DOJ) [official website] on Monday unsealed [press release, PDF] charging documents against eight defendants for recruiting for and providing financial support to the Somali terrorist organization al-Shabaab [JURIST news archive]. The defendants are being charged [Ahmed Omar et al. indictment, PDF; Mahamud Omar indictment, PDF; Faraax-Isse complaint, PDF] with recruiting approximately 20 individuals in the Minneapolis area on behalf of al-Shabaab, providing financial support for travel and weapons, and conspiring to kill, kidnap, maim or injure persons outside the US. Discussing the charges, Assistant Attorney General for National Security David Kris [official profile] said:

The recruitment of young people from Minneapolis and other US communities to fight for extremists in Somalia has been the focus of intense investigation for many months. While the charges unsealed today underscore our progress to date, this investigation is ongoing. Those who sign up to fight or recruit for al-Shabaab's terror network should be aware that they may well end up as defendants in the US or casualties of the Somali conflict.

[JURIST] The chairwoman of Russia's Council for Promoting Civil and Human Rights [official website] on Monday called the death of Russian lawyer Sergei Magnitsky a murder and a tragedy. Magnitsky, who was arrested on allegations of tax fraud and held for over a year without a trial after representing London-based hedge fund Hermitage Capital [corporate website] in a suit against Russian officials, died [JURIST report] last week in a Moscow prison. Ella Pamfilova met [RFE/RL report] with Russian President Dmitri Medvedev [official profile; JURIST news archive] to discuss the situation, as well as the overall state of affairs for human rights in Russia. Following the meeting, Medvedev ordered [NYT report] a government inquiry into Magnitsky's death. Magnitsky's family and employers have made allegations that on several occasions he was denied medical treatment that could have saved his life.

Pamfilova referenced Magnitsky as the latest in a series of high-profile individuals to die under uncertain circumstances in Russia. Earlier this month, a suspect was arrested for the double murder [JURIST reports] of human rights lawyer Stanislav Markelov and journalist Anastasia Baburova. Markelov had represented famed journalist Anna Politskovskaya [BBC obituary; JURIST news archive] who was killed [JURIST report] in 2006. Russia has also received a great deal of criticism for apparently baseless detentions such as Magnitsky's. The expropriation of OAO Yukos Oil Co. [Time backgrounder] and the indictment against and detention of company founder, Mikhail Khordorkovsky [defense website] have provoked the condemnation [JURIST op-ed] of many legal experts abroad.

[JURIST] The Iraqi parliament [official website, in Arabic] approved a new election law [press release, in Arabic] following last Wednesday's veto of a similar bill [JURIST report] by Sunni Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi [personal website, in Arabic]. Al-Hashemi indicated that he plans to veto the bill a second time [AFP report] because it has not adequately addressed his concerns, including representation for Iraqis living abroad. An estimated 1.5 million Iraqis live outside the country, and many are thought to be Sunnis who fled after Saddam Hussein's regime fell. The parliament may be able to overturn the second veto with a 60 percent majority if enough Shiite and Kurdish members approve the next bill. US Ambassador to Iraq Christopher Hill [official website] remarked,

[S]ome slippage would be okay, but we don't want a lot of slippage, so I hope they'll look very carefully at this and I hope we can get moving...I think what is most important is we get these elections going and get on with this process.

[JURIST] China announced on Tuesday that two people had been executed for their roles in last year's melamine tainted milk scandal [JURIST news archive], in which almost 300,000 children were sickened and at least six were killed. The two men, Zhang Yujun and Geng Jinping, were found responsible for selling at least three million pounds of the tainted milk powder, and were executed for the crimes of endangering public safety by dangerous means and for producing and selling toxic food. The men were originally sentenced to death [JURIST report] in January, but appealed their sentences. The Hebei Provincial Higher People's Court upheld the convictions [Xinhua report] in March. To date a total of 21 people have been tried and sentenced [Times Online report] for their involvement in the milk scandal. Of the 21, two were sentenced to death, one received a suspended death sentence, three were jailed for life, with the other 15 imprisoned for terms ranging from two to 15 years. Among those sentenced to life imprisonment is the former chairwoman for the Chinese dairy company at the heart of the scandal, who has since appealed [JURIST report].

In January, lawyers for the families of 213 Chinese children sickened or killed by melamine-contaminated milk petitioned the Supreme People's Court [official website, in Chinese], China's highest court, to hear a class action lawsuit against 22 dairy companies involved in the contamination. The petition seeks more than $5 million in compensation [Shanghai Daily report] from the companies, including individual amounts more than double those provided for in a government-sanctioned payout plan [JURIST report]. News of possible milk powder contamination by the chemical melamine first broke in September [Guardian report], following the death of an infant and reports that at least 50 other infants had fallen ill after consuming baby formula, leading to massive recalls [BBC report] of both liquid milk products and milk powders.

[JURIST] A three-judge panel for the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit [official website] on Monday affirmed [opinion, PDF; press release] a lower court decision which held that Congressional restrictions on organizations receiving federal grants through the Legal Services Corporation (LSC) [official website] do not violate the First Amendment [text]. In a 2-1 ruling, the Ninth Circuit found that limiting these legal aid groups' activities with respect to lobbying, client solicitation, participation in class actions, and attorneys’ fees was not unconstitutional. The suit was originally brought in 2005 by plaintiffs including Legal Aid Services of Oregon and the Oregon Law Center [official websites], claiming that the restrictions, also known as the Program Integrity Rules (PIR) [text, PDF] violated the First Amendment both facially and as applied. The court relied on US Supreme Court [official website] precedent in rejecting the plaintiff's complaint:

Congress did not discriminate against any particular viewpoint or motivating ideology, much less did it aim to suppress "ideas inimical to the Government’s own interest." The Restrictions simply limit specific procedural tools and strategies that grantee attorneys may utilize in the course of carrying out their legal advocacy...Because the Restrictions do not discriminate against a particular viewpoint, they are constitutional under Velazquez III.

[JURIST] The Trial Chamber of International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) [official website] on Monday denied a motion [decision, PDF] filed by former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic [case materials; JURIST news archive] requesting appellate review of the court's decision to assign standby counsel [decision, PDF; JURIST report]. Karadzic's motion [text, PDF] argued that the court did not give appointed counsel enough time to prepare a defense and that Karadzic should have been allowed to select his attorney. Karadzic currently represents himself and sought immediate Appeals Chamber review as provided by the ICTY's Rules of Procedure and Evidence [text, PDF], arguing that the assignment of an attorney had twice been found to materially affect the fair and expeditious conduct of proceedings against defendants. The court rejected Karadzic's motion as "vague" and noted that while Richard Harvey had been appointed standby counsel [decision, PDF; JURIST report], Karadzic retained the right to represent himself so long as he did not interfere with or unreasonably delay the proceedings. The court held that certification to the Appeals Chamber would not materially advance the proceedings. The trial is scheduled to resume March 1, 2010.

The ICTY began Karadzic’s trial in absentia last month after proceedings were temporarily adjourned when Karadzic failed to appear [JURIST reports] in court. Karadzic announced earlier that he planned to boycott [JURIST report] his trial because he had not been given adequate time to prepare a defense. He faces 11 charges [amended indictment, PDF], including genocide and murder, for war crimes allegedly committed during the 1992-1995 Bosnian genocide [PPU backgrounder]. In June, the ICTY said that Karadzic's trial was expected to conclude in early 2012 [JURIST report]. His trial is planned to be the Tribunal's last.

[JURIST] A US military court at Camp Arifjan [Global Security backgrounder] in Kuwait convicted Sergeant Jarret Taylor of abusing fellow troops and making a false official statement on Friday. Taylor's rank was reduced to private, he was sentenced to six months in jail, and was fined nearly $6,000. The behavior was discovered [CNN report] during the investigation of Private Keiffer Wilhelm's suicide in August, but it is unclear whether Taylor's actions contributed to the suicide. Taylor was one of four soldiers in a platoon stationed at Forward Operating Base Hunter in southern Iraq who have been charged [AFP report] with cruelty and maltreatment of soldiers. Two of the soldiers face future court martial, while another was dishonorably discharged.

Last week, federal prosecutors from the US Department of Justice (DOJ) [official website] indicated they would drop [JURIST report] manslaughter charges against a Blackwater Worldwide [JURIST news archive] security guard who had allegedly been involved in the September 2007 shooting incident in Baghdad [JURIST report] that killed 17 Iraqis. According to US Attorney for the District of Columbia Channing Phillips [official profile], a motion was filed under seal to dismiss the charges against Nicholas Slatten. No reason was given as to why the indictment was being dismissed, but prosecutors asked that they be allowed to resubmit the charges at a later date if desired.