[JURIST] The US Department of Justice (DOJ) is investigating whether Blackwater [JURIST news archive], now known as Xe, bribed Iraqi officials to allow them to continue operating in the country following shooting deaths in 2007 [JURIST report], the New York Times reported [text] Monday. The fraud division of the DOJ reportedly began an inquiry into the alleged $1 million bribery in late 2009. Bribery of foreign officials is a violation of 15 USC § 78dd-1 [text], a provision of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) [text]. Blackwater will likely claim that the $1 million was restitution [AP report] to the families of the individuals killed in 2007, which would exempt the company from violation of federal law. A conviction under the FCPA may include both criminal and civil penalties.

In December, a federal judge dismissed charges against the five Blackwater employees believed to be responsible for the 2007 shooting deaths, prompting Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to announce that Iraq will file lawsuits against Blackwater [JURIST reports] in both US and Iraqi courts. US Vice-President Joe Biden has said that the DOJ will appeal the dismissal [JURIST report]. Blackwater ceased operations in Baghdad [JURIST report] in May 2009 when its security contracts for the protection of US diplomats expired.

[JURIST] Police in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) on Monday arrested [press release] former Bosnian Army commander Zulfikar Alispago for war crimes allegedly committed during the Bosnian civil war [JURIST news archive]. Alispago, the former commander of a special unit known as "Zulfikar," is under investigation by the BiH war crimes prosecutor [official website] and is suspected of leading a 1993 attack on the village of Trusina, in which 19 civilians and three soldiers of the Croatian Defense Council were killed. According to the BiH prosecutor's office, Alispago was apprehended after an order was issued by the prosecutor for the department of war crimes:

The BiH Prosecutor's Office has collected sufficient evidence to support the claim that the suspect is responsible for the crimes committed and arrested him. The suspect shall be handed over to the Assigned Prosecutor of the BiH Prosecutor's Office within the legal deadline, and the Prosecutor will question him and later decide whether to file a motion to order custody.

[JURIST] Top Iranian judge Sadeq Larijani said Monday that any further executions of anti-government protesters [JURIST news archive] will be based on the law [statement, in Persian] rather than on political pressure. Refusing to heed calls for more executions to stop opposition demonstrations, Larijani emphasized that all penalties will observe Iranian law, which is rooted in Islamic Sharia law [CFR backgrounder]. The comments come just days after two protesters were executed by hanging [JURIST report] and nine others sentenced to death [press release, in Persian] on charges of mohareb, or being enemies of God. Larijani, who was appointed head of the Supreme Judiciary [official website, in Persian] by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei [Telegraph profile] previously declared the 2009 post-election protests illegal [FNA report, in Persian], stating that they were based on unrealistic claims of election fraud.

In January, Iran's Prosecutor-General Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejei [GlobalSecurity profile] called for sedition trials [JURIST report] against leaders of protests following last June's contested presidential election [JURIST news archive]. The Iranian government has faced significant international scrutiny for its handling of the post-election protests and treatment of thousands arrested as a result. Last month, Amnesty International labeled [JURIST report] human rights violations committed by the Iranian government following the election among the worst of the past 20 years. In September, human rights groups called for [JURIST report] the UN General Assembly [official website] to appoint a special envoy to investigate allegations of rights violations. Alleged human rights abuses of detainees include sexual assault, beatings, and forced confessions [JURIST reports].

[JURIST] Two high-ranking Israeli military officers have been disciplined for firing shells into a populated area of the Gaza strip during last year's Operation Cast Lead [GlobalSecurity backgrounder], it was revealed Monday. The information was contained in a 46-page report [materials] presented to the UN on Friday describing Israel's role in the January 2009 Gaza conflict [JURIST news archive]. According to the report, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) [official website] fired several artillery shells near populated areas in the Tel el-Hawa neighborhood of Gaza City, destroying a UN compound and a Palestinian hospital. The UN maintains [press release] that the compound was hit with white phosphorus [GlobalSecurity backgrounder] shells, while the report concludes that the "use of this weapon in the operation was consistent with Israel's obligations under international law." The two officers involved have since been disciplined for "exceeding their authority in a manner that jeopardized the lives of others," but the Military Advocate General will not pursue a criminal investigation, and the officers will keep their rank and pay.

In November, the UN General Assembly [official website] adopted a resolution [JURIST report] giving Israel and Palestine three months to conduct independent investigations into possible war crimes committed during the Gaza conflict. Earlier this week, Hamas [GlobalSecurity backgrounder] reported to the UN that its independent investigation had absolved Palestinian forces of any wrongdoing. The UN General Assembly has expressed support for the Goldstone Report [text, PDF], the result of a UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) [official website] fact-finding mission, which accused both IDF and Hamas fighters of war crimes during the conflict. In October, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu [official profile] announced [JURIST report] the formation of a task force to respond to the Goldstone Report. The formation of the task force came just two weeks after the UNHRC passed a resolution officially endorsing [JURIST report] the report's findings.

[JURIST] Haitian authorities confirmed Sunday that 10 US citizens have been arrested after attempting to bus 33 children across the border into the neighboring Dominican Republic. Haitian Social Affairs Minister Yves Christallin said that a total of 12 people were arrested [AP report] Friday, including the 10 Americans and two Haitians. The Idaho-based Baptist group New Life Children's Refuge [BBC profile] planned to take 100 Haitian orphans across the border to an orphanage in the resort town of Cabarete as part of the "Haitian Orphan Rescue Mission." Christallin, however, characterized the actions as abduction, and police chief Mario Andresol said that the Americans were awaiting a hearing [Al Jazeera report] before a judge in Port-au-Prince Monday on charges of violating Haiti's immigration laws. The group claims to have obtained the children from the care of Jean Sanbil of the Sharing Jesus Ministries. Haitian authorities have imposed new requirements for adoptions since the earthquake, amid growing fears of child trafficking. The government now requires Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive [BBC profile] to personally authorize [Miami Herald report] the departure of any child.

Last week, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay [official profile] said that strengthening human rights is an integral part [JURIST report] of the rebuilding process in Haiti. In her remarks, Pillay mentioned the role that the inhumane living conditions may have had in the high casualty numbers resulting from the January 12 earthquake [NYT backgrounder; JURIST news archive], placing blame on the regime of Francois Duvalier [BBC profile] for those conditions. Last month, US President Barack Obama signed a bill [JURIST report] that will allow US citizens to claim donations to Haitian relief efforts as a deduction on their 2009 tax returns. Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano [official profile] announced that Haitian nationals present in the US before the earthquake will be given temporary protected status and will not be deported for the next 18 months, but Haitian refugees who arrive in the US illegally will be sent back to their home country [JURIST reports]. The US has also granted humanitarian parole to Haitian orphans [JURIST report] to allow them to enter the US for medical treatment. The 7.0 magnitude earthquake caused massive damage to property and infrastructure in Haiti, and the death toll has been estimated at 150,000.

[JURIST] Ambassadors from eight countries met with Japanese Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada [official profile] on Saturday to urge Japan to sign an international treaty that will help prevent parental child abductions across borders. Representatives from the US, Canada, the UK, Australia, France, New Zealand, Italy, and Spain encouraged Japan to join the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction [text], which requires a country to return a child who has been "wrongfully removed" from his or her country of habitual residence. Japan is the only G-7 country [backgrounder] that has not signed the treaty. The ambassadors released a joint statement [press release] after the meeting, stating:

We signalled our encouragement at recent positive initiatives by the Government of Japan, such as the establishment of the Division for Issues Related to Child Custody within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, at the same time repeating calls for Japan to accede to the Convention, which would also benefit left-behind parents of Japanese origin. We also urged Japan to identify and implement interim measures to enable parents who are separated from their children to maintain contact with them and ensure visitation rights, and to establish a framework for resolution of current child abduction cases.

[JURIST] More than 50 countries, including the US, China, and EU member states, submitted plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions [JURIST news archive] to the UN Framework on Climate Change (UNFCC) [official website] prior to a Sunday deadline set by the non-binding Copenhagen Accord [text, PDF; JURIST report]. Relative to 2005 levels, the US has pledged to reduce emissions to 17 percent, while China has targeted a 40 to 45 percent reduction per GDP unit. EU members pledged a 20 percent reduction below 1990 levels. The countries submitting plans to the UNFCC represent two-thirds [BBC report] of worldwide emissions. Critics of the Copenhagen Accord say it lacks the enforcement mechanisms needed to ensure compliance, and is unlikely to limit global temperature rise to the indicated levels. Another round of climate change talks are scheduled for December [DW report], with the hope being that a binding resolution can be developed from the pledges made under the current accord.

The US has already taken several steps to reduce carbon emissions. President Obama issued an executive order [JURIST report] last week requiring the federal government to reduce its emissions by 28 percent by 2020. Executive Order 13514 [text, PDF] requires federal agencies to increase their energy efficiency and measure and report their greenhouse gas emissions. The order comes a month after the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) [official website] announced a finding that greenhouse gases threaten [JURIST report] public health and the environment. The findings will enable the EPA to act without Congressional action on emissions.

[JURIST] As many as 100 anti-Kremlin demonstrators were arrested by Moscow authorities Sunday as they protested against the perceived government curtailing of the right to peaceful assembly. The 300-strong group chanted [BBC report] slogans calling for Prime Minister Vladimir Putin [official website, in Russian; JURIST news archive] to step aside. Among those detained were Boris Nemtsov [advocacy website, in Russian; BBC profile], a former deputy prime minister and the leader of the opposition group Solidarity [advocacy website, in Russian], and Oleg Orlov [JURIST news archive], the head of rights group Memorial [advocacy website]. Protests have been held on the thirty-first of every month by rights activists defending the Article 31 of the Russian Constitution [text], which outlines the right to peaceably protest. Applications to hold the rallies have often been rejected. The day before, a state-sanctioned demonstration in Kaliningrad protesting the rise in the cost of living grew [Reuters report] into a 10,000-strong opposition protest, chanting anti-Putin slogans and demonstrating against the economic conditions of the Baltic enclave.

The actions of the Russian government in breaking up similar protests in December earned criticism from US President Barack Obama after the founder of Russia's oldest rights group, the Moscow Helsinki Group [advocacy website], 82-year-old Lyudmila Alexeyeva was arrested. In December, human rights activist Sergei Kovalev called [JURIST report] on the European Union [official website] to hold Russia accountable for human rights violations in a speech after receiving the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought [official website]. Kovalev, joined by Orlov and Alexeyeva, accepted the award on behalf of Memorial. In October, a report by the UN Human Rights Committee [official website] found [JURIST report] that Russia is failing to protect important human rights in a number of areas, including freedom of expression.