[JURIST] The Italian audit court, Corte del Conti [official website, in Italian], announced Wednesday that the number of corruption cases in Italy have risen by 229 percent over the past year. Court president Tullio Lazzaro [official profile, in Italian] voiced his concerns [Reuters report] over the significant increase in public corruption scandals from 2008 to 2009, saying that legal sanctions are no longer a sufficient deterrent to criminal behavior. In recent years, Italy has seen numerous corruption scandals [JURIST news archive] in both the business and political realms. A recent high-profile corruption scandal involves Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi [BBC profile; JURIST news archive], currently facing a possible third corruption charge [JURIST report].

Berlusconi, who is already facing two separate trials on charges of corruption and bribery, is accused of embezzlement and tax fraud related to his television company Mediaset [media website, in Italian], though his lawyers have dismissed any substance to the charges. Berlusconi's son and 11 other members of Mediaset's board are also implicated. A Milan judge will decide if there is enough evidence to hold a trial, which could begin this month. In January, Italian judges postponed [JURIST report] a separate corruption trial at Berlusconi's lawyers' request. He is charged with paying his British lawyer David Mills [JURIST news archive] to provide false testimony in two trials involving Mediaset. His tax fraud trial has also been postponed [JURIST report]. Berlusconi has been previously acquitted of false accounting and bribery, and has had some other charges against him dropped [JURIST reports].

[JURIST] The Supreme Administrative Court of Ukraine [official website, in Ukrainian] on Wednesday delayed [press release, in Ukrainian] an official declaration of victory for the recent presidential elections pending a suit filed by election runner-up Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko [personal website, in Ukrainian]. Tymoshenko alleges widespread voter fraud allowed Viktor Yanukovych to win the election [official results, in Ukrainian] 49 percent to 45 percent. Tymoshenko filed her suit on Tuesday [JURIST report] after the Ukrainian Central Election Committee [official website, in Ukrainian] rejected a fraud appeal. The court has scheduled the hearing [press release, in Ukrainian] on Tymoshenko's suit for February 19.

Tymoshenko has been a controversial figure in Ukrainian politics during her two terms as prime minister. In March 2009, she called for constitutional changes [JURIST report] to provide more separation between parliamentary and presidential powers. In October 2008, Tymoshenko withdrew a lawsuit [JURIST report] she had brought against Ukrainian President Victor Yushchenko [JURIST news archive] after he suspended a plan to hold early elections following the collapse of the country's coalition government. Before suspending the plan, Yushchenko had issued a decree abolishing a Kiev court after it tried to block [JURIST reports] his order dissolving parliament.

[JURIST] An Internet privacy advocacy group on Wednesday filed a complaint [text, PDF] with the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) [official website] alleging that the new Google [corporate website] social networking service Buzz violates privacy laws. The complaint was filed by the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) [advocacy website] and asks the FTC to investigate possible unfair business practices, privacy violations, and to restore to users greater control over their private information, including e-mail contact lists. Google released Buzz [Google Blog post], a service built into Google's Gmail service, last week to bring about a "new way to start conversations about the things you find interesting." That release prompted almost immediate criticism [CNET op-ed] regarding the possible privacy issues that arise from making information about e-mail contacts available to others. The Privacy Commissioner of Canada [official website] has also raised concerns [press release] about privacy protections with Buzz, and has expressed interest in working with the company to address users' concerns.

Google's entry into the social networking realm has resulted in problems previously experienced by other providers, such as Facebook. In late January, the Canadian Privacy Commissioner launched a new investigation [JURIST report] into Facebook's default privacy settings. The Canadian Commissioner had previously worked with Facebook [JURIST report] in July and August of 2009 to increase users' control over privacy settings. In August, five users filed suit against Facebook [JURIST report] in US Federal Court in California, alleging that the site violates California privacy laws.

[JURIST] The UN announced [press release] on Tuesday that the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM) [text; official website] will enter into force on August 1 after being ratified by 30 countries. Burkina Faso and Moldova both submitted their instruments of ratification [UN News Centre report] Tuesday, becoming the 29th and 30th countries to do so. In a statement, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said that "the Convention's entry into force just two years after its adoption demonstrates the world's collective revulsion at the impact of these terrible weapons." Several major users of cluster munitions, including the US, Russia, China, Israel, India, and Pakistan, have not adopted the convention, arguing that cluster bombs serve legitimate military purposes [AP report]. Ban urged "all States to become a party to the Convention without delay."

The CCM opened for signature [JURIST report] in December 2008 at a conference in Oslo, Norway. More than 100 countries adopted the convention [JURIST report] in May 2008 at a meeting in Dublin, Ireland. Strong supporters of the ban include the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Canada, Japan, Mexico, and Australia. Although the US did not adopt the ban, claiming it would impede humanitarian efforts [JURIST report] by discouraging cooperation with non-signatories, it did adopt a formal policy [text, PDF] on cluster munitions in June 2008 "intended to minimize the potential unintended harm to civilians and civilian infrastructure." Cluster bombs break apart, releasing large numbers of smaller, self-contained explosives which spread out before detonating upon impact. Their design aims to stop large-scale troop movements by maximizing bodily injury over a wide area. Bombs that fail to detonate can present a serious hazard for civilian populations.

[JURIST] A Finnish government commission established to investigate a 2008 school shooting proposed a ban on semiautomatic handguns [press release, in Finnish] in a report [text, PDF; in Finnish] released Wednesday. If approved by the Finnish Parliament [official website, in Finnish], the ban would affect more than 200,000 semiautomatic handguns across the country. The commission made other recommendations [AP report] for stricter gun control laws, including raising the age requirement for owning handguns from 15 to 20, making gun permits temporary, and requiring two years of shooting practice. Finland has 650,000 registered gun owners and a population of 5.3 million. According to the 2007 Small Arms Survey [materials], Finland ranks fifth in the world for gun ownership per capita with over three million civilian firearms.

The commission was set up by the Finnish Ministry of Justice [official website, in Finnish] to examine the September 2008 shooting at a vocational school in Kauhajoki, where a gunman killed nine students and one teacher. Less than one year earlier, a student killed eight people at a high school in Tuusula. Many observers, including Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen [official website] noted the "unfortunate" similarities [press release] between the two incidents, and Finnish government officials said they were ready to consider stricter gun control laws. After the killings, reform efforts began in both Finland and the European Union [JURIST reports].

[JURIST] A judge from the US District Court for the Northern District of Alabama [official website] sentenced former HealthSouth [corporate website; JURIST news archive] executive Ken Livesay to five months in prison on Tuesday for his involvement in the company's accounting fraud. Judge Karon Bowdre sentenced [NBC report] Livesay for the fourth time after the US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit [official website] in November vacated [JURIST report] the trial court's third sentence for being too lenient. The Eleventh Circuit had found that due to the severity of the crime and the possibility of deterring similar behavior, the trial court's sentence of five years probation was "patently unreasonable." The sentence remains below the 78 to 97 months recommended by the Federal Sentencing Guidelines [text]. Livesay pleaded guilty in 2004 to charges that he participated in accounting fraud while at HealthSouth in order to overstate the company's earnings. In exchange for his guilty plea and testimony against fellow conspirators, the government promised to recommend a reduced sentence.

HealthSouth founder and former CEO Richard Scrushy [JURST news archive] was found liable [JURIST report] to the company's shareholders for fraud in June and ordered to pay $2.88 billion in restitution. Also in June, the Eleventh Circuit rejected [JURIST report] Scrushy's challenges to a $445 million settlement against HealthSouth. In May, the Eleventh Circuit denied [JURIST report] Scrushy's petition for an en banc rehearing of his conviction for unrelated federal bribery and corruption charges for paying campaign debts of former Alabama governor Don Siegelman in exchange for a seat on a state-operated review board that regulates Alabama hospitals. In 2007, the US Securities and Exchange Commission [official website] settled its accounting fraud claims [JURIST report] against Scrushy for $81 million. In 2005, Scrushy was acquitted [JURIST report] of criminal charges of wire and mail fraud, money laundering, conspiracy, and violations of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 [text]. In 2003, HealthSouth conceded that its prior financial statements had overstated its income and assets by a substantial amount. Several class action suits were subsequently filed by investors against the company and its officers for alleged violations of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The actions were consolidated and, in 2006, the $445 million settlement was reached.

[JURIST] A Malaysian appeals court on Wednesday denied a request by opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim [official profile; JURIST news archive] to dismiss the charge of sodomy against him. Anwar was appealing the Malaysian high court's December decision [JURIST report] not to dismiss the charge. Anwar is accused of sodomizing his former aide, Mohd Saiful Bukhari, in 2008. He contends the charge is a politically-motivated government conspiracy seeking to undermine his political career. He has pleaded not guilty [JURIST report] to the charge. Anwar had previously sought to have the high-profile trial, which began earlier this month, postponed until the court of appeals had made its decision. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison.

The appeal is only one of numerous attempts by Anwar's defense team to have the trial postponed or dismissed. Last week, the trial was temporarily suspended [JURIST report] when Anwar's lawyers sought the removal of high court Judge Mohamad Zabidin Diah for his failure to control prejudicial media coverage. The defense filed an objection asking Mohamad Zabidin to admonish Utusan Malaysia [media website, in Malay], a government-linked newspaper, for running suggestive headlines and photographs taken during the court's private visit to the scene of the alleged sexual encounter. Mohamad Zabidin denied the request and indicated the defense should file a police complaint against the newspaper instead. Anwar's lawyers are also hoping to have the trial postponed until his appeal of a decision [JURIST report] not to grant him access to the prosecution's evidence has been resolved.

[JURIST] A judge for the US District Court for the District of Columbia [official website] ruled [opinion, PDF] Tuesday that claims of unlawful treatment and wrongful death brought on behalf of two former Guantanamo Bay [JURIST news archive] detainees are barred by the Military Commissions Act of 2006 (MCA) [text, PDF]. The two men, Yasser Al-Zahrani and Salah Ali Abdullah Ahmed Al-Salami, were among three detainees who allegedly hanged themselves [JURIST report] in their cells in July 2006. The claim was brought [JURIST report] against former US defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld [JURIST news archive] and more than 100 military officers and personnel under the Alien Tort Claims Act [text], which provides that district courts have original jurisdiction to hear claims for torts "committed in violation of the law of nations or a treaty of the United States." The defendants moved to dismiss the suit based on section 7 of the MCA, which removes the ability of federal courts to hear challenges to the treatment of aliens who have been "properly detained" as enemy combatants. In the ruling, US District Judge Ellen Huvelle found that since the two men had been properly detained, the court lacked jurisdiction to hear the case.

In January, the UK-based human rights group Reprieve [advocacy website] accused the Obama administration of suppressing information [JURIST report] relating to the investigation of the suicides and urged further inquiries. The statement came after former guards at the prison told Harper's Magazine that the three detainees experienced intense interrogations [Harper's report] in a remote area of the base just hours before the apparent suicide. According to the article, military personnel were instructed by a commanding officer that the media would be told that the deaths were suicides. The Obama administration issued a statement [Reuters report] indicating that it took the matter seriously and found no evidence of wrongdoing during its investigation. A 2008 investigation conducted by the US Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) [official website] concluded [JURIST report] that the cause of death was suicide.

[JURIST] The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) [advocacy website] issued its annual report [text, PDF; materials] on Tuesday confirming the work-related killings of more than 70 journalists worldwide during 2009, the highest in the 30-year history of the CPJ. Of the 71 confirmed killings identified in the report, 51 are believed [NYT report] to be murders, with several others still under investigation. The CPJ also found that the number of journalists currently in prison is near the highest point this decade. The report states:

At a time when technology is changing the way people around the world gather and receive information, when international news organization are cutting back and closing bureaus, freelancers, local reporters, and online journalists are more important than ever. The press critic A.J. Liebling once quipped, "Freedom of the press is guaranteed only to those who own one." In today's world, that's just about everyone. While the rights of each journalist are protected by international law, few have large media organizations that can stand behind them. Instead, their safety and security depends on the ability of press freedom organizations to generate public attention and mobilize action.

[JURIST] Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko [personal website, in Ukrainian] filed a lawsuit [press release, in Ukrainian] on Tuesday with the Supreme Administrative Court of Ukraine claiming that last weekend's presidential election was corrupt. Tymoshenko alleges [Guardian report] that widespread voter fraud allowed her opponent, Viktor Yanukovych [personal website, in Ukrainian], to win the election. An initial fraud appeal to the Ukrainian Central Election Committee [official website, in Ukrainian] was rejected. Tymoshenko said that she hopes that the trial will be televised to ensure that the Ukrainian people know the truth. The likelihood of successful challenge for Tymoshenko is small. Western leaders, including US President Barack Obama, have already acknowledged [Day report] Yanukovych as the winner and even many of Tymoshenko supporters have questioned her motivation for the lawsuit.

Tymoshenko has a history of being at the center of controversial political moments in Ukraine. In March, she called for constitutional changes [JURIST report] to provide more separation between parliamentary and presidential powers. In October 2008, Tymoshenko withdrew a lawsuit [JURIST report] she had brought against Ukrainian President Victor Yushchenko [official website; JURIST news archive] after he suspended a plan to hold early elections following the collapse of the country's coalition government. Before suspending the plan, Yushchenko had issued a decree abolishing a Kiev court after it tried to block [JURIST reports] his order dissolving parliament. Ukraine's leadership is divided in the wake of the 2004 Orange Revolution [Foreign Affairs backgrounder] that brought Yushchenko to power as president.

[JURIST] A member of the "Toronto 18" [Toronto Star backgrounder; JURIST news archive] was convicted on Tuesday for his role in the failed 2006 terrorist plot to bomb the Toronto Stock Exchange and other government buildings. Shareef Abdelhaleem, who pleaded not guilty [JURIST report] last month, was convicted after the Canadian judge found [Toronto Star report] that virtually no evidence existed to support his claims of entrapment. Adelhaleem argued that he was entrapped by Shaher Elsoheny, who was working as a police in informant and provided intelligence against Abdelhaleem and others that directly led to their arrests. The court found Adelhaleem to be the antithesis of a good witness during trial. It also found that the police used the necessary means in order to protect the public.

The "Toronto 18" remain an important symbol in the Canadian government's fight against terrorism. Last month, Amin Mohamed Durrani was released [JURIST report] after pleading guilty to participating in and assisting a terrorist group. Also in January, a Canadian court sentenced [JURIST report] two members of the group, Zakaria Amara and Saad Gaya [JURIST op-ed], to life and 12 years in prison, respectively, for their roles in the plot. Abdelhaleem was the first adult to be tried among the "Toronto 18" originally arrested and charged under Section 83 [Canadian DOJ backgrounder] of the Anti-Terrorism Act [text], Canada's post-9/11 legislation. Five more members of the group face trial in March.