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 Sunday, November 22, 2009 |
Iran court sentences ex-VP for role in post-election unrest
Safiya Boucaud at 11:45 AM ET
[JURIST] Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Court has sentenced former vice president and reformer Mohammad Ali Abtahi [archived blog profile] to six years in jail for his role in the unrest that followed the disputed June 12 presidential elections [JURIST news archive], according to Iranian news agencies Saturday. Abtahi, who had been in custody since just after the election has been temporarily released on $700,000 bail [IRNA report] pursuant to Iranian law which allows any person sentenced to more than three months in jail to be released on bail pending appeal. He served as vice president under Mohammad Khatami [BBC profile] from 1997 to 2005. Abtahi has 20 days to appeal his sentence.
Last week, an Iranian court sentenced five people to death [JURIST report] for their roles in post election protests. In August, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad [BBC profile; JURIST news archive] called [JURIST report] for the prosecution of opposition leaders who allegedly conspired to orchestrate widespread protests.
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Rights group says Israel-Palestinian conflict claimed almost 9,000 lives in twenty years
Steve Czajkowski at 10:30 AM ET
[JURIST] Marking its own 20th anniversary, Israeli human rights group B'Tselem [advocacy website] claimed Sunday that almost 9,000 people have been killed [materials; press release] in the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians since 1989. A majority of the deaths - 7,398 - were Palestinians. Of that number, 1,537 were thought to be minors. The report also said that 2009 has resulted in the highest casualties for Palestinians - 1033 - most of which were incurred in fighting in Gaza during Operation Cast Lead [JURIST news archive]. During the same period, there were 1483 Israelis deaths, including 139 minors. The worst year for Israel was 2002, when 420 Israelis were killed during the second Palestinian intifada [BBC backgrounder]. The report also discussed the increase of Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem [JURIST news archives] over the same time. In 1989 there were 69,800 Israelis living in the West Bank and 118,100 in East Jerusalem, compared to present numbers of about 300,000 and 190,000 respectively.
Earlier this month, the UN General Assembly [official website] adopted a resolution giving Israel and Palestine three months to conduct independent investigations into possible war crimes committed during last winter's Gaza conflict [JURIST news archive]. The General Assembly voted 114-18 with 44 abstentions [press release] expressing support for the Goldstone Report [text, PDF], the result of a UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) [official website] fact-finding mission, which accused both Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) [official website] and Hamas [GlobalSecurity backgrounder] fighters of war crimes during the conflict. Israel has criticized the report as biased, questioned the objectivity of the fact-finding, and has urged the UN not to adopt the report's findings in a statement to the General Assembly [statement text].
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DOJ dropping charges against Blackwater guard involved in 2007 Iraq shootings
Steve Czajkowski at 9:40 AM ET
[JURIST] Federal prosecutors from the US Department of Justice (DOJ) [official website] indicated Friday that they will drop manslaughter charges against a Blackwater Worldwide [JURIST news archive] security guard who had been involved in the September 2007 shooting incident in Baghdad [JURIST report] that killed 17 Iraqis. According to the 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 [Reuters report] that they be allowed to resubmit the charges at a later date if desired. Since the incident Blackwater has changed its name to Xe Services [corporate website].
Slatten was one of six guards indicted [text, PDF; JURIST report] in December on charges of voluntary manslaughter, attempt to commit manslaughter, and using and discharging a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, which carries a 30-year mandatory minimum sentence. Five of the guards pleaded not guilty [JURIST report] in January. However, a sixth guard pleaded guilty [text, PDF] to charges of voluntary manslaughter and attempt to commit manslaughter for his role in the same incident. The Blackwater incident caused domestic outrage in Iraq and has prompted legal controversy in the US. In November 2008, a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) investigation into the incident concluded that the shootings were unjustified [JURIST report]. Blackwater ended its operations in Iraq [JURIST report] in May.
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Saturday, November 21, 2009 |
Key ICTR witnesses threatening to boycott genocide trials after acquittals: report
Jay Carmella at 12:56 PM ET
[JURIST] Groups representing key witnesses appearing before the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) [official website; JURIST news archive] told Reuters Saturday that they may no longer participate in court trials following the acquittal of two suspects involved in the 1994 Rwandan genocide [HRW backgrounder]. The umbrella organization for the various survivor groups in Rwanda, IBUKA [advocacy website, in French], threatened [Reuters report] that if the ICTR did not reverse its decisions, the relationship between the ICTR and the survivor groups will end. Approximately 200 protesters marched in Kigali in opposition the ICTR's decisions.
The protests are in response to two decisions by the ICTR last week. On Tuesday, the ICTR overturned [JURIST report] the conviction and 20-year prison sentence of Protais Zigiranyirazo [case materials; Trial Watch profile]. The ICTR found that there was not sufficient evidence to convict him. Also on Tuesday, the ICTR acquitted [JURIST report] Catholic priest Hormisdas Nsengimana [case materials; Trial Watch profile] and ordered his immediate release. A three-judge panel concluded there was insufficient factual and legal basis to convict Nsengimana.
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UN rights resolution criticizes Iran for post-election violations
Jay Carmella at 10:28 AM ET
[JURIST] The UN Human Rights Committee [official website] Friday passed a resolution criticizing Iran for human rights violations, especially in the aftermath of the controversial reelection [JURIST news archive] earlier this year of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad [JURIST news archive]. The committee flagged detentions, arrests and the disappearance of individuals for exercising their freedoms of assembly and expression as areas of particular concern [JURIST report]. The committee resolution, which passed 74-48, will go before the UN General Assembly for approval in December. The Iranian government immediately downplayed the significance of the committee action, insisting that the majority of the General Assembly does not support it.
Last week, an Iranian court sentenced [JURIST report] five people to death for protesting the election result. Iran began trying some of the arrested protesters [JURIST report] in August. In July, Iranian officials announced [JURIST report] a plan to either press charges against or release most of those held after the riots. Also in July, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran (ICHRI) [advocacy website] reported that the number of deaths that occurred during the election protests exceeded governments reports [JURIST report].
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Canada court orders review of US lesbian soldier refugee claim
Christian Ehret at 10:09 AM ET
[JURIST] Canada's Federal Court [official website] Friday ordered a review [judgment, PDF] of a denial of refugee status for a lesbian US soldier who deserted the US Army in 2007 and fled to Canada. The Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) originally rejected Bethany Smith's application in February, finding that she had failed to seek protection within the US and that such protection would have been adequate. Smith claimed that she was severely harassed and discriminated against based on her sexual orientation while stationed in Kentucky and that she faced possible persecution if she returned to the US. Judge Yves de Montigny held that Smith had presented clear and convincing proof that the US was unable to protect her and found that the IRB member who reviewed the application reached an "unreasonable" conclusion.
US President Barack Obama recently pledged [JURIST report] to end the controversial "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" [10 USC § 654 text] policy, which subjects openly gay individuals to military discharge. After the US Supreme Court [official website] denied certiorari [JURIST report] to review the policy in June, the US Senate Armed Services Committee [official website] announced [JURIST report] that it would hold hearings to review it. Last year, more than 100 retired admirals and generals of the US military called for a repeal [JURIST report] of the policy.
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Federal judge orders release of Algerian held at Guantanamo
Christian Ehret at 8:59 AM ET
[JURIST] A federal judge on Friday ordered the release [order, PDF] of Algerian Guantanamo Bay [JURIST news archive] detainee Farhi Saeed Bin Mohammed. Judge Gladys Kessler directed the government to "take all necessary and approrpriate steps to facilitate [Fari Saeed's] release forthwith." The order resulted from a civil action brought against the US government for unlawfully detaining [Miami Herald report] Farhi Saeed since 2002. Kessler's opinion remains classified pending review.
Thirty other Guantanamo Bay detainees have been released based on unlawful detention suits since the US Supreme Court's 2008 decision in Boumediene v. Bush [opinion, PDF; JURIST report]. Earlier this month, lawyers for four Uighurs at Guantanamo Bay filed a petition for certiorari [JURIST report] with the Supreme Court, challenging an appellate ruling [JURIST report] which prohibited courts from preventing the transfer of detainees to foreign countries for fear of prosecution or torture.
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Friday, November 20, 2009 |
ICTY appoints UK lawyer to represent Karadzic
Patrice Collins at 3:05 PM ET
[JURIST] The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) [official website] on Friday appointed [press release] British lawyer Richard Harvey to represent Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic [case materials; JURIST news archive] if he continues to boycott his trial when proceedings resume in March. Harvey is currently joint head of the British defense firm Garden Court Chambers [firm website] and has extensive experience in high profile criminal defense cases in both the ICTY and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) [official website]. He served as lead defense counsel for Lahi Brahimaj [Trial Watch profile], who was accused of ordering the torture and murder of detainees at Jablanica detention center as local commander of the Kosovo Liberation Amy [CFR backgrounder] and co-counsel in the ICTY Haradin Bala and ICTR Juvenal Kajelijeli [Trial Watch backgrounders] prosecutions. It is unlikely that Karadzic, whose trial was adjourned [JURIST report] just days after it began because of his refusal to participate, will cooperate with Harvey. Karadzic claims that he is boycotting his trial because of inadequate time [JURIST report] to prepare a defense.
The ICTY announced earlier this month that it would appoint counsel [JURIST report] after a tribunal judge again denied Karadzic's request for a 10-month delay. Before requesting delay, Karadzic asked the UN Security Council to grant him immunity from trial after the ICTY appeals chamber rejected [JURIST reports] his argument that he was promised immunity by former US ambassador to the UN Richard Holbrooke in exchange for his resignation. Karadzic faces 11 charges [amended indictment, PDF], including genocide and murder, for war crimes committed during the 1992-1995 Bosnian war.
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Islamic countries lobbying for treaty against religious defamation: report
Sarah Miley at 2:05 PM ET
[JURIST] The Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) [official website] has begun lobbying for the UN General Assembly [official website] to pass an international treaty protecting religious beliefs and symbols from defamation, according to an AP report [text] Friday. The efforts of the OIC are being led by Pakistan and Algeria with full support of the organization's 54 remaining members. The proposal is strongly opposed by western countries due to the effects the ban could have on freedom of speech and expression. The US government has openly condemned [AP report] the idea of a bar on defamation of religion, which could have the adverse affect of suppressing dissidents and reformists in Muslim countries. Pakistani diplomat, Marghoob Saleem Butt, defended the OIC's proposal telling the AP that, "[t]here has to be a balance between freedom of expression and respect for others. ... Taking the symbol of a whole religion and portraying him as a terrorist, that is where we draw the line." Butt was referring to a string of satirical Muslim comics published in Denmark four years ago, one of which depicted the Prophet Mohammed as a terrorist. The proposed ban does not state who would determine which actions would incite criminal liability, but these decision would likely be initially decided by each country's criminal court.
Last month, the US State Department [official website] released [JURIST report] its annual Report on International Religious Freedom [materials], criticizing Islamic countries for limiting religious expression. The report found that countries such as North Korea and Iran have attempted to prevent religious defamation as a way to limit religious expression. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton [official profile] said [transcript] that freedom of religion is essential not only in the US but in every society, and limiting an individual's right of expression reduces that freedom. In addition to North Korea and Iran, the report criticized Myanmar, China, Sudan, Eritrea, Saudi Arabia, and Uzbekistan.
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Federal judge orders health benefits for same-sex spouse of federal employee
Steve Dotterer at 1:03 PM ET
[JURIST] A judge for the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit [official website] on Thursday ordered [text, PDF] the director of the Administrative Office of the US Courts (AO) [official website] to provide health benefits to the same-sex spouse of a federal employee. Karen Golinski, the federal court employee who sued for the benefits, was married in California during the six-month period during which same-sex marriage [JURIST news archive] licenses were granted under state law. The director of the AO, Jim Duff, refused to certify Golinski's eligibility for the benefits to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) [official website], citing the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) [text], which prohibits federal recognition of gay and lesbian families. Judge Alex Kozinski rejected that argument, finding that the Federal Employee Health Benefits Act "permit[s] the coverage of same-sex spouses."
A similar order [JURIST report] was issued by the Ninth Circuit Wednesday, when a judge ordered the Office of the Federal Public Defender for the Central District of California [official website] to compensate a gay man denied benefits for his male spouse. Also this week, New York's highest court ruled that same-sex spouses of state employees married in other states are entitled to benefits [JURIST report].
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Senate confirms Obama's earliest judicial nominee after delay
Zach Zagger at 12:19 PM ET
[JURIST] The US Senate [official website] on Thursday voted 59-39 [roll call vote] to confirm Judge David Hamilton to the US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit [official website], overcoming Republican opposition to secure President Barack Obama's first and longest-delayed judicial nominee. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) [official website] said a Republican filibuster delayed [press release] the vote for five-and-a-half months, since it was first put on the Senate's executive calendar on June 4. On Tuesday, the Senate broke the Republican filibuster, voting 70-29 [roll call vote] to bring debate over the nomination to an end. Obama nominated Hamilton on March 17 and he is Obama's eighth judicial nominee [materials] to be confirmed by the Senate. The American Bar Association Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary [official website], which rates judicial nominees, unanimously gave Hamilton its highest rating [ratings, PDF] of "well qualified."
Hamilton's confirmation comes less than two weeks after the Senate confirmed [JURIST report] Judge Andre Davis to the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit [official website], by a vote of 72-16 [roll call vote]. Obama's other judicial nominee confirmations [materials] include Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor [JURIST news archive], Second Circuit Judge Gerard Lynch, and three federal district court judges.
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US only holdout on UN child rights treaty after Somalia announces intent to ratify
Ann Riley at 10:15 AM ET
[JURIST] The Somali Transitional Federal Government [official website] on Friday announced its intention to ratify the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) [official website], which, if successful, would make the US the only UN member state not to have done so. The UN International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) [official website] welcomed [Xinhua report] the announcement that Somalia's ministers had agreed in principle [Reuters report] to work toward ratification of the convention defining universal children's rights [official backgrounder, PDF]. The convention has been ratified by 193 nations, making it the world's most widely ratified human rights treaty. In commemoration of the 20th anniversary [press release] of the UN’s adoption of the CRC, UNICEF released a report [text, PDF; press release] detailing the progress and challenges remaining in protecting the rights of children. Noting that the Convention is largely compliant with US laws and that the US played a significant role in drafting the treaty, Human Rights Watch [advocacy website] said Thursday that "US ratification is long over-due" and urged [press release] the president and Senate to ratify the convention.
In June, US Ambassador to the UN Susan Rice [official profile] said [AP report] that the Obama administration is seeking ways to have the US sign on to the treaty. In 1995, then-president Bill Clinton signed the CRC, but never submitted [AP report] it to be ratified by the Senate. Opponents of the CRC allege that the treaty puts US sovereignty in jeopardy and undermines parental rights [advocacy website]. Earlier this year, Obama signed [JURIST report] the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) [official website], the first international human rights treaty the US has signed in nearly a decade. The CRPD is awaiting ratification [Senate materials] in the Senate.
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