[JURIST] A Florida man wrongfully imprisoned for three years and seven months accepted $179,000 in compensation Tuesday, becoming the first person to receive compensation under the state's Victims of Wrongful Incarceration Compensation Act [text]. Leroy McGee was convicted of robbery [press release] in 1991, a crime he did not commit. After his release, McGee refused to accept the compensation offered to him by the state for eight months in effort to bring attention to alleged shortcomings in the Victims of Wrongful Incarceration Compensation Act. The act prohibits people with prior felony convictions from receiving compensation for wrongful imprisonment, commonly referred to as the "clean hands" provision, and does not provide compensation for legal fees incurred by wrongfully convicted people to be exonerated. A bill [text] was filed in Florida's Senate [official website] to eliminate the "clean hands" provision, but a similar bill has not yet been filed in the state’s House of Representatives [official website]. Congress has until March 1 to file bills for the year.

According to the Innocence Project [advocacy website], the federal government, the District of Columbia, and 27 states have compensation statutes of some form, while 23 states do not. In addition to the "clean hands" provision and the lack of compensation for legal fees, other shortcomings [Innocence Project report] in the compensation statutes include lack of uniformity and bars on compensation to people who are thought to have "contributed" to their wrongful conviction. In 2006, North Carolina established [JURIST report] the Inmate Innocence Commission to exonerate wrongfully imprisoned inmates.

[JURIST] The Bangladesh government [official website] announced on Tuesday that prosecutors and investigators for the country's war crimes tribunal should be appointed by the first week of March. The tribunal will be used to conduct fair and transparent trials for those accused of war crimes during the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War [GlobalSecurity backgrounder] against Pakistan [JURIST news archive]. The announcement came after a meeting between Law Minister Shafique Ahmed and the director general of the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) [official website]. The international development agency has offered the Bangladesh government USD 400 million for development projects, some of which may be used for the tribunal. The Bangladesh Parliament [official website] has allocated approximately USD 1.5 million for trial expenses. In April, the UN agreed to advise [JURIST report] the Bangladesh government on the organization and operation of the tribunal.

In July, Human Rights Watch (HRW) [advocacy website] urged Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina [BBC profile] to improve war crimes laws [JURIST report] to bring justice to victims of the 1971 Liberation War. The rights group sent a letter to Hasina applauding the government's commitment in setting up tribunals to prosecute war criminals and asked for improvements to be made to the International Crimes Act of 1973. HRW requested that the trials be conducted by civilian judges, that the rights of the accused are respected, that there is proper protection for witnesses and victims who testify, that the law is consistent with international standards, and that the death penalty be excluded. HRW Asia director Brad Adams said that the law needs to be comprehensive enough to prevent the accused from challenging the entire process. HRW maintained that justice for the atrocities committed during the 1971 war is long overdue and that a lack of credibility for the Bangladesh tribunals would only benefit the accused war criminals.

[JURIST] A closed prison court in Myanmar on Monday sentenced Naw Ohn Hla and three other women to two years imprisonment with hard labor. The women, supporters of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi [BBC profile; JURIST news archive], were accused [AP report] of causing public unrest. According to Nyan Win, spokesperson for Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) [party website], the four women were arrested last October for offering religious literature to Buddhist monks at a high-profile monastery. The women additionally held prayer services for Suu Kyi's release. The judgment was offered the same day that UN special envoy Tomas Ojea Quintana [official profile] arrived in Myanmar to assess the state of human rights [UN News Centre report], while hoping to meet with Suu Kyi. On Tuesday, Amnesty International (AI) [advocacy website] released a report [text, PDF] urging Myanmar to end its practice of repressing ethnic minority activists [press release], lift its restrictions on freedom of association, assembly, and religion, and release all prisoners.

The women's arrest comes just four days after Suu Kyi learned that her appeal against the extension of her house arrest was rejected [News24 report]. In January, a Myanmar government official said that Suu Kyi would be released from house arrest [JURIST report] in November when her sentence is scheduled to end. The extension of 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. 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 was initially sentenced to three years in prison with hard labor, but her sentence was immediately commuted by junta chief General Than Shwe. 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 as a political move to prevent her from running in the upcoming elections. Her conviction has given rise to international sanctions [JURIST report] against Myanmar's junta and members of the judiciary.

[JURIST] The Icelandic Parliament [official website, in Icelandic] began considering measures Tuesday aimed at increasing protections for journalists and promoting freedom of speech and transparency in government. The Icelandic Modern Media Initiative (IMMI) [text] was developed by lawmakers in conjunction with Wikileaks, a non-profit website focused on exposing corruption and unethical actions perpetrated by governments and corporations. The measures were developed [CP report] partially in response to Iceland's 2008 economic crisis [BBC backgrounder], where a close relationship between the government and the media has been blamed for a lack of warning about the impending crisis. Supporters of IMMI believe [BBC report] if the initiative is implemented, members of the international press and investigative journalists will be drawn to the country by the protective aspects of the law. Stated goals of the initiative include:

[T]o make Iceland an attractive environment for the registration and operation of international press organizations, new media start-ups, human rights groups and internet data centers. It promises to strengthen our democracy through the power of transparency and to promote the nation's international standing and economy. We can create a comprehensive policy and legal framework to protect the free expression needed for investigative journalism and other politically important publishing. While some countries provide basic measures, Iceland now has an opportunity to build an internationally attractive legislative package built from the best laws of other nations.

[JURIST] The European Commission (EC) [official website] announced on Monday that it will withdraw trade benefits from Sri Lanka [press release] because of alleged human rights violations in the country. The decision to limit trade advantages comes after a year-long EC investigation in Sri Lanka that ended last October. The EC investigation report claimed that Sri Lanka has violated several UN conventions [text, PDF] that aim to prevent torture and protect civil, political, and child rights. EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht [official website] stressed that the decision is only temporary and suggested that the restrictions will be lifted when Sri Lankan officials address the rights abuses. The Sri Lankan Ministry of Foreign Affairs [official website] also released a statement emphasizing the country's willingness to continue working with the international community [text] to protect citizens' rights, despite an ongoing struggle with terrorism. Sri Lanka will have six months to show an improvement in human rights before the new trade plan takes effect.

Sri Lanka has faced numerous allegations of human rights violations originating from incidents that took place during the final months of the civil war by both the government and the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) [JURIST news archive]. Last month, a UN rights expert urged Sri Lanka [JURIST report] to conduct a war crimes probe after a video showing the execution of members of LTTE by members of the Sri Lankan military was authenticated. In October, the US State Department [official website] released a report [text, PDF] on the conflict, urging [JURIST report] Sri Lankan officials to investigate reports of human rights violations and war crimes and to prosecute those responsible. While the government of Sri Lanka rejected [statement] the findings of the report, President Mahinda Rajapaksa [official website] decided in October to appoint an independent committee [JURIST report] to investigate allegations of human rights violations.

[JURIST] Egypt's State Council (Maglis id-Dowla) [POGAR backgrounder] association, an administrative court system with jurisdiction over cases involving the state, voted Monday to bar the appointment of female judges to the council. Of the 376 judges who participated in the vote [AFP report], 334 supported the bar against female appointments and 42 rejected it. Despite the overwhelming support the ban received, some are disappointed in the outcome of the vote, as it demonstrates a deep opposition to the government's campaign to eliminate gender discrimination in the judiciary. The decision could still be overruled by the Special Council, the body that oversees the State Council.

In 2007, 31 Egyptian women were selected [JURIST report] as judges by Egypt's Supreme Judicial Council, and later appointed by presidential decree despite ongoing resistance from the nation's conservatives. Council chief Mukbil Shakir selected the judges from a pool of state prosecutors who had passed a test for the positions. The move marked the first time in Egypt's history that women were named to preside over criminal or civil cases. In 2003, Tahany el-Gebaly became the nation's first female judge [Arabic News report] as a member of the Egyptian constitutional tribunal.

[JURIST] Controversial full-body scanners [CNN backgrounder] currently used in two UK airports may be illegal, the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) [official website] announced [press release] Monday. The EHRC made the statement in a letter [text, PDF] to Department for Transport (DFT) [official website] Secretary Lord Andrew Adonis [official profile]. The commission's primary concerns relate to passengers' privacy and right to be free from discrimination:

We are yet to see sufficient evidence that this decision complies with the general or specific equality duties under the Race Relations Act [of] 1976, the Sex Discrimination Act [of] 1975 or the Disability Discrimination Act [of] 1995. These duties require a Secretary of State, in the performance of his or her functions, to give “due regard” to both the elimination of unlawful discrimination and the promotion of equality of opportunity and good relations between members of different racial groups.

[JURIST] Former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic [case materials; JURIST news archive] on Monday appeared before the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) [official website] claiming that documents he seeks from former UN peacekeeper countries would provide evidence of arms smuggling to Bosnian Muslims during the 1992-1995 Bosnian conflict [PPU backgrounder]. Only Germany, France, and Croatia entered appearances at the hearing to contest [AFP report] the documents' disclosure. Karadzic alleges that peacekeeping countries supplied arms or were involved in the conflict providing support to Bosnian Muslims, prolonging the conflict and causing Bosnian Serbs to act in self-defense. According to an ICTY spokesperson, Monday's hearing was the last pre-trial hearing [DPA report], and the trial is scheduled to resume on March 1.

Last week, the ICTY dismissed Karadzic's appeal against the imposition of a court-appointed lawyer [JURIST reports]. In December, the Trial Chamber rejected Karadzic's motion [JURIST reports] challenging the legitimacy of the court. The ICTY began Karadzic's trial in absentia in October after Karadzic failed to appear [JURIST reports] in court. Karadzic had announced that he planned to boycott [JURIST report] his trial because he had not been given adequate time to prepare a defense. The ICTY has also repeatedly rejected [JURIST report] Karadzic's argument that he should be immune from trial based on an alleged agreement with former UN ambassador Richard Holbrooke. Karadzic faces 11 charges [amended indictment, PDF], including genocide and murder, for war crimes allegedly committed during the 1992-1995 Bosnian conflict. 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.