JURIST - Paper Chase: Monday, September 3, 2012

[JURIST] A South African prosecutor on Monday announced that the government had withdrawn murder charges against 270 miners who were participating in a strike when police officers shot and killed 34 participants. The miners were charged with murder last week under an old South African law that deems the striking miners as complicit [Reuters report] in their co-workers' deaths. Acting national director of prosecutions Nomgcobo Jiba said that her office withdrew the murder charges on Sunday, but noted that the charges could be reintroduced if the investigation revealed further evidence. Charges for violence are still being pursued against several of the miners. Police said that they fired on the strike after the crowd began advancing toward them with weapons [BBC report]. The government has said no charges will be filed against the police until an investigation is conducted.

Violence erupted outside the South African Markina mine last Thursday when police officers monitoring a strike opened fire on the crowd [Huffington Post report], killing 34 and wounding 78. The workers had been participating in the strike for over a week, demanding higher pay and better living conditions. While police claim to have been defending themselves during the shooting, some video evidence suggests the protesters were running from tear gas when the shots were fired.

[JURIST] Russia's Ambassador to the UK Alexander Yakovenko [official website] asked the British government [press release] on Monday to confirm or deny the existence of a visa blacklist for Russian officials linked to the the 2009 death of Russian lawyer Sergei Magnitsky [JURIST news archive], after a British newspaper reported that the British embassy in Moscow has implemented the "Magnitsky list" to flag entry of the officials for human rights reasons. The British government has not responded to the allegations, published in The Sunday Times [official website], but a British official told reporters [RIA Novosti report] that the government has a general policy of denying entry to human rights offenders. The list allegedly contains the names of 60 Russian officials suspected of committing human rights violations leading up to Magnitsky's death. A private investigative report into his death last year detailed the denial of medical treatment [JURIST report] to and severe physical abuse of Magnitsky, a former Russian lawyer and purported whistle-blower. Magnitsky died [JURIST report] in a Moscow prison in November 2009. Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev admitted in 2011 that Magnitsky's death was the result of criminal acts, differing from his previous explanation which had blamed prison doctors. Yakovenko said that Russia would await the response of the UK, but noted that "if London introduces any sanctions against Russian citizens the Russian side will react pursuant to the diplomatic practice."

The UK is not the only country to respond to human rights allegations in the death of Magnitsky. The US Senate Foreign Relations Committee unanimously approved a bill in June that would impose sanctions on officials linked to Magnitsky's death [JURIST report] despite a statement from Russian President Vladimir Putin saying that the Russian government will retaliate if the bill is passed. Prior to his death, Magnitsky was held in prison for 358 days with little to no access to legal representation, his family or medical professionals. In a controversial move last August, Russian investigators reopened the case [JURIST report] against Magnitsky on the basis of a new ruling permitting criminal cases against the dead. Critics of this action, such as JURIST Contributing Editor David Crane, argue that the ongoing posthumous prosecution of Magnitsky is a violation of the rule of law [JURIST op-ed] and an embarrassment for the Russian judicial system. Last year, US lawmakers introduced the bill [JURIST report] to sanction individuals who are connected to Magnitsky's death.

[JURIST] Egypt lifted a decades-long ban on veiled female news reporters on Sunday by having Fatma Nabil read the noon news in a headscarf. This broadcast marked the first time a woman appeared on Egyptian state TV wearing a veil in over 50 years. The ban had been perpetuated by previous regimes [Al Jazeera report] and had long been criticized by human rights activists as a restriction on women's freedom of choice. Previously, women who wished to wear a veil were encouraged to take off-camera jobs. Some women had successfully sued the previous regime to halt the policy, but the information ministry ignored the rulings and continued to enforce the ban.

Egypt President Mohammed Morsi [BBC profile; JURIST news archive] has made several changes to Egypt social policy recently. Earlier this month Morsi issued a new law that bans pre-trial detentions of journalists [JURIST report] for speaking out against the government. This decree ended the previous regime's practice of jailing journalists who commit so-called "publication offenses," which include "offending the president of the republic." Last month Morsi ordered the release [JURIST report] of 572 people convicted in tribunals by the Egyptian military. 9,714 individuals have been released out of the 11,879 Egyptians detained by the military since last year's uprising. Also that month Morsi appointed a fact-finding committee to investigate the deaths of protesters [JURIST report] in last year's demonstrations. The committee is charged with reopening files related to the deaths of nearly 1,000 protesters in the uprising last year that led to the ousting of Hosni Mubarak [JURIST news archive].

[JURIST] The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) [official website] on Monday denied [order, PDF] the request for a new trial of former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic [ICTY case summary, PDF; JURIST news archive]. Karadzic accused prosecutors [JURIST report] of failing to disclose crucial information until after the start of the trial. However, the court ruled that the delay in disclosing evidence has not infringed [RFE/RL report] Karadzic's right to a fair trial, although the court noted that "the number of disclosure violations in this case has reflected badly on the Prosecution." Karadzic currently faces 10 war crimes charges, including counts of genocide and murder, for crimes he allegedly committed during the 1992-1995 war in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). He has been accused of participating in the planning of the 1995 Srebrenica Massacre [BBC backgrounder; JURIST news archive], which resulted in the death of more than 8,000 Muslim men.

In early June the judges from the ICTY went on a five-day visit [JURIST report] to locations relevant to the indictment of Karadzic. They visited BiH and Srebrenica and surrounding areas. This visit came just months after the ICTY sentenced [JURIST report] former president of the municipality of Sokolac, BiH, Milan Tupajic to two months in prison for refusing to testify against Karadzic. In February former Commander of the Bosnian Serb Army Ratko Mladic [BBC profile; JURIST news archive] accused [JURIST report] the ICTY of being biased. In January the ICTY accepted a plea deal [JURIST report] in the trial of the former case manager for Bosnian war criminal Milan Lukic, convicting her of five counts of contempt for procuring false witness statements. In December the ICTY convicted [JURIST report] former Yugoslav intelligence officer Dragomir Pecanac of contempt for failing to testify before the tribunal.