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 Monday, November 23, 2009 |
FBI report shows reported hate crimes in US up two percent
Hillary Stemple at 2:17 PM ET
[JURIST] Reported hate crimes in the US increased by approximately two percent in 2008, the greatest reported increase since 2001, according to the 2008 Hate Crime Statistics [report; press release] released by the FBI [official website] on Monday. The FBI reported 7,780 single-bias hate crime incidents in 2008, up from the 7,621 reported in 2007 [FBI report; JURIST report]. The FBI noted that the increase does not necessarily reflect an actual rise in incidents, because the number of law agencies participating in the study increased in the last year. Racial discrimination accounted for 51.3 percent of reported hate crimes, a slight increase over the 50.8 percent reported in 2007. Hate crimes motivated by religion also increased slightly while crimes motivated by sexual orientation were reported with approximately the same frequency as in 2007. The only category to show a decrease was in ethnicity- and nationality-based crimes. The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) [advocacy website] responded by issuing a statement [press release] calling for "a coordinated campaign to prevent, deter, and respond effectively to criminal violence motivated by bigotry and prejudice."
The report comes one month after President Barack Obama signed [JURIST report] into law a defense appropriations bill containing a measure extending the definition of federal hate crimes to include crimes motivated by gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability. The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act [S 909 text], passed the US Senate and House of Representatives [JURIST reports] as part of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010 (NDAA) [HR 2647 materials]. Conservative members of Congress in both instances charged that the hate crimes provision was an inappropriate measure to include in a military appropriations bill, while some specifically opposed special protections to victims in those classes.
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Leaked documents question propriety of UK involvement in Iraq
Haley Wojdowski at 2:02 PM ET
[JURIST] UK government reports [The Sunday Telegraph materials] leaked on Sunday revealed many shortcomings in the country's involvement in the Iraq War, some possibly rising to the level of illegality. The documents show that the UK's plans for invasion of Iraq began secretly in February 2002 [Telegraph report], while former Prime Minister Tony Blair misled the public by saying there was no planned military action, but rather a plan for disarmament. Notably, the planning began before a UN resolution was endorsed and the materials suggest that the clandestine operation was rushed and lacked coherence. The reports also indicate that the operations were inadequately supplied, stating that some troops went into battle with only five bullets each and noting that the Foreign Office post-war planning unit was not set up until well after the war began. Plaid Cymru MP Adam Price stated [Wales News report] that the UK government should submit itself to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) [official website] if its actions are found to be illegal.
In October 2009, a UK High Court criticized the Ministry of Defence for its failure to properly set up an independent inquiry into claims that war crimes had been committed by British soldiers following the so-called "Battle of Danny Boy" [BBC backgrounder] in southern Iraq. The documents were leaked before the Iraq Inquiry [official website] also known as the Chilcot Inquiry due to the management of Sir John Chilcot [Guardian profile], could meet. An open session for the Inquiry is still set for Tuesday, but the report is not expected to be released until the end of 2010. The committee was set up in June 2009 by the prime minister in order to “identify lessons that can be learned from the Iraq conflict.”
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Kenya committee unveils new draft constitution
Jay Carmella at 1:04 PM ET
[JURIST] The Kenyan Committee of Experts on Constitutional Review [official website] unveiled the initial Harmonized Draft Constitution [text, PDF] last week. The changes are intended [Xinhua report] to reduce the widespread injustice throughout the country, and specifically address issues that led to the violence following the 2007 presidential elections [JURIST news archive]. Following the issuance of the draft, the Kenyan public has one month to review and express concerns to the Committee of Experts. The Committee identified the executive and legislative branches, devolution of powers and bringing the constitution into effect as the most contentious issues [Committee materials]. The draft constitution alters the distribution of power [Daily Nation report] between the president and prime minister, reducing the power currently in the hands of the president, while putting the prime minister in charge of the daily operations of the government.
The allegations of fraud [JURIST report] following the 2007 elections led to violence that caused the deaths of more than 1,000 people and displacement of 500,000 others, and remains a concern in the international community. Earlier this month, the International Criminal Court (ICC) [official website] assigned three judges [JURIST report] to determine whether to allow Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo [official profile] to initiate a formal investigation into the situation. The investigation may only proceed if Kenya does not conduct its own probe, which it has so far failed to do [JURIST report]. In October, former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan [official profile; JURIST news archive] urged [JURIST report] Kenya to establish a local tribunal to prosecute those responsible for the violence.
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Algeria court acquits two former Guantanamo detainees
Ann Riley at 12:30 PM ET
[JURIST] An Algerian criminal court acquitted former Guantanamo Bay [JURIST news archive] detainees Abdulli Feghoul and Terari Mohamed on Sunday, according to the Algerie Presse Service (APS) [state news website, in French]. Feghoul and Mohamed were repatriated [DOD document, PDF; JURIST report] to Algeria in August 2008 after being held at the Guantanamo Bay detention facility for seven years. The Algerian state prosecutor had sought a 20-year sentence against Feghoul and Mohamed for allegedly belonging to a foreign terrorist group. Defense lawyer Farid Abbache stated [AP report] that while the former detainees admitted to be involved in theft and illegal drug trade, they denied any connection with terrorist groups.
Last week, a federal judge ordered the release [JURIST report] of Algerian Guantanamo Bay detainee Farhi Saeed Bin Mohammed. Earlier this month, lawyers for four Uighurs at Guantanamo Bay filed a petition for certiorari with the Supreme Court, challenging an appellate ruling [JURIST reports] that prohibited courts from preventing the transfer of detainees to foreign countries for fear of prosecution or torture. In September, a judge denied [JURIST report] the habeas petition of Algerian detainee Sufiyan Barhoumi. Since the US Supreme Court's 2008 decision in Boumediene v. Bush [opinion, PDF; JURIST report], 30 Guantanamo Bay detainees have been released based on unlawful detention suits.
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China human rights activist Huang Qi sentenced to 3 years in prison
Zach Zagger at 11:22 AM ET
[JURIST] A Chinese court sentenced human rights activist Huang Qi to three years in prison Monday on the charge of illegally holding state secrets. Huang was a critic [AP report] of the Chinese government's handling of the 2008 earthquake in the Sichuan Province [BBC backgrounder] that killed about 90,000 people. After the quake, he posted articles online criticizing the government's response and talked to foreign media outlets about how some children's deaths were the result of poorly-built schools. Huang was originally detained on June 10, 2008. The human rights group Amnesty International [advocacy website] issued a statement [text] on July 31, 2009 contending that China should drop charges against Huang and free him:
[Huang] will be yet another victim of the Chinese authorities’ use of the extensive, vague, and retroactive state secrets system to penalize lawful rights’ defence activities. [sic]
In February, Huang's trial was delayed [JURIST report] after a Chinese court postponed it for one day, leaving his attorney less than 24 hours to prepare his defense and prompting an immediate legal challenge. Earlier this month, a Human Rights Watch (HRW) [advocacy website] report claimed [JURIST report] that Chinese citizens are being abducted by state agents and illegally detained in "black jails" where they are subjected to a host of human rights violations. China remains the subject of intense scrutiny from the international community due to the alleged failings of its criminal justice system.
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London police settle with family of man mistaken for terrorist
Jonathan Cohen at 11:18 AM ET
[JURIST] London's Metropolitan Police Service (Met) [official website] and the family of Jean Charles de Menezes [BBC profile] on Tuesday announced [press release] an end to litigation stemming from de Menezes' death, caused by two Met officers in 2005. No details were given about the compensation awarded to the family:
[I]n view of the physical and mental distress caused to the members of the family by these events and the understandable publicity and press interest, it has been agreed that it is in the best interests of the family that no further statement in relation to this settlement will be made either by them or the Commissioner.
De Menezes was shot [JURIST report] by two Met police officers who thought he was involved in the London Transit bombings [JURIST news archive], in which four suicide bombers killed 52 people. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) [official website] found that the Met had violated [JURIST report] health and public safety laws during the shooting. CPS concluded that there was not enough evidence to bring charges [JURIST report] against the officers, but former Commissioner Sir Ian Blair [official profile] tendered his resignation [JURIST report] following the de Menezes incident.
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Israel Supreme Court bans for-profit prisons
Jonathan Cohen at 11:05 AM ET
[JURIST] The Israeli Supreme Court [official website, in Hebrew] banned privately-run prisons on Thursday, ruling [opinion, in Hebrew] that they violate prisoners' fundamental rights by introducing an element of profit into the prison system. The court decided that
The arrangement lays the foundation for the transfer of basic law enforcement and imprisonment powers of the state to a private corporation that operates with the aim of making a profit. This transfer of these powers infringes the constitutional rights to personal freedom and human dignity rooted in Israel's Basic Law: Human Dignity and Freedom.
Although the suit has just been decided, the construction company had already completed [Haretz report] the prison and Israel is expected to have to pay hundreds of millions of shekels to them.
The Human Rights Department of Academic College of Law in Ramat Gan sued ALA Management and the Knesset, along with the Ministries of Finance and Public Security [official websites, in Hebrew]. The 2005 suit alleged that the adoption of Amendment 28 [text, in Hebrew] in the previous year would violate prisoners' fundamental human rights. The suit also noted that for-profit prisons would be likely reduce costs in manners that would likely further violate prisoners' rights, such as underpaying guards and skimping on facilities.
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Afghan cabinet ministers investigated under suspicion of corruption
Safiya Boucaud at 9:56 AM ET
[JURIST] The Afghan attorney general's office announced on Monday that two Afghan cabinet ministers are being questioned on corruption charges. The ministers are suspected of embezzlement [Reuters report] and are among 15 government officials currently under investigation. The announcement came a week after President Hamid Karzai [official profile, JURIST news archive] vowed [JURIST report] in his inaugural address to fight governmental corruption. The identities of the ministers will remain unknown, pursuant to Afghan law, which prohibits the naming of suspects until a conviction is upheld by the Supreme Court [official website]. Despite last week's pledge to fight corruption, Karzai has delayed [Telegraph report] signing the necessary arrest warrants needed to begin an official trial.
The international community, including the US and EU, has applied pressure to Karzai over corruption in the Afghan government. Earlier this month, Karzai announced [BBC report] the formation of a commission to investigate corruption in the same week that Afghanistan was ranked [JURIST report] by Transparency International [advocacy website] as the second most corrupt country in the world. The Obama administration has recently increased pressure on the Afghan government amid a major policy review [New York Times report] of the US war effort. The legitimacy and competence of the Afghan government is seen as a major factor in the deliberations by top US officials. Karzai was declared the winner [JURIST report] of the controversial presidential election [JURIST news archive] earlier this month when challenger Abdullah Abdullah [BBC profile] withdrew from the runoff.
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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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Paper Chase is JURIST's real-time legal news service, powered by a team of 30 law student reporters and editors led by law professor Bernard Hibbitts at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law. As an educational service, Paper Chase is dedicated to presenting important legal news and materials rapidly, objectively and intelligibly in an accessible, ad-free format.
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