JURIST's legal news service, powered by a team of over 40 law student reporters and editors led by Professor Bernard Hibbitts at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law. http://jurist.org/paperchase JURISTremove_this@jurist.org (Jurist Webmaster) Wed, 16 May 2012 15:20:56 -0500 [JURIST] Amnesty International (AI) [advocacy website] urged [press release] the Sudanese government on Tuesday to stop its alleged press censorship. AI reports that Sudanese authorities have on several occasions have seized newspapers from the printing press. Additionally, a prominent columnist was arrested and remains in custody after publishing a report on an alleged rape by a Sudanese security agent. In a statement, AI's Sudan researcher Jean-Baptiste Gallopin condemned the government's actions:The Sudanese government is continuing its relentless harassment of journalists... http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/05/ai-sudan-government-must-stop-harassment-of-journalists.php Wed, 16 May 2012 15:20:56 -0500 http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/05/ai-sudan-government-must-stop-harassment-of-journalists.php Rebecca DiLeonardo ... [JURIST] A judge for the US District Court for the District of Columbia [official website] on Monday awarded [opinion, PDF] victims' families over $300 million dollars in damages from the governments of Syria and Iran for their roles in an April 2006 terrorist attack in Israel. The lawsuit was filed by the Shurat HaDin Israel Law Center [advocacy website] on behalf of plaintiffs who were injured or lost family members in a suicide bombing attack at the Rosh Ha'ir restaurant... http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/05/families-of-bombing-victims-win-lawsuit-against-syria-iran.php Wed, 16 May 2012 14:07:43 -0500 http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/05/families-of-bombing-victims-win-lawsuit-against-syria-iran.php Rebecca DiLeonardo ... [JURIST] Mali is facing its worst human rights crisis [press release] since it gained independence in 1960, Amnesty International (AI) [advocacy report] reported Wednesday. In a report [text, PDF], "Mali: Five months of crisis, armed rebellion and military coup," AI claims that hundreds of thousands of citizens have been displaced while dozens have been subjected to arbitrary detention, extrajudicial executions or sexual violence. After a three-week research mission to the country, AI concluded that all parties to the conflict are... http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/05/mali-facing-human-rights-crisis-amnesty.php Wed, 16 May 2012 12:01:29 -0500 http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/05/mali-facing-human-rights-crisis-amnesty.php Jaclyn Belczyk ... [JURIST] Mass arrests and incommunicado detentions persist at Camp Honor, a prison in Iraq's capital Baghdad that the Iraqi government promised to close [JURIST report] last year, Human Rights Watch (HRW) [advocacy website], reported [text] Tuesday. According to HRW, the Iraqi government is reportedly holding hundreds of detainees incommunicado for months at a time at Camp Honor, as well as two unnamed facilities in the Green Zone. Those being held at these facilities were reportedly rounded up by security troops... http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/05/incommunicado-detentions-persist-at-iraq-prison-earmarked-for-closure-hrw.php Wed, 16 May 2012 10:08:55 -0500 http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/05/incommunicado-detentions-persist-at-iraq-prison-earmarked-for-closure-hrw.php Sarah Paulsworth ... [JURIST] A judge for the US District Court for the Southern District of New York [official website] on Tuesday denied petitions [opinion, PDF; press release] by book publishers and Apple [corporate website] to dismiss a class action lawsuit alleging that companies are illegally conspiring to fix electronic book (e-book) prices. The lawsuit was originally filed [JURIST report] in August. The complaint alleges that Apple and five major book publishing companies, including HarperCollins, Hachette Book Group, Macmillan, Penguin and Simon &... http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/05/federal-judge-denies-motion-to-dismiss-e-book-conspiracy-suit.php Wed, 16 May 2012 09:02:49 -0500 http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/05/federal-judge-denies-motion-to-dismiss-e-book-conspiracy-suit.php Sarah Posner ... [JURIST] UN experts and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) [official website] on Monday urged [press release] an end to the threats and killings of human rights advocates and journalists in Mexico. The UN and IACHR called on the Mexican government to implement the "Law for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders and Journalists" in order to avoid the imminent threats faced by these two groups in Mexico. Both chambers of Congress have already approved this bill in hopes... http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/05/rights-experts-urge-mexico-to-end-threats-on-journalists-advocates.php Wed, 16 May 2012 07:48:53 -0500 http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/05/rights-experts-urge-mexico-to-end-threats-on-journalists-advocates.php Sarah Posner ... [JURIST] Kansas Governor Sam Brownback [official website] has signed a bill [SB 62 materials] allowing pharmacists to refuse to dispense drugs that they "reasonably believe" might result in the termination of a pregnancy, his office announced [press release] Monday. Critics of the legislation claim that it will allow pharmacists to refuse to distribute emergency contraception [Kansas City Star report], but supporters claim that the bill was aimed at the abortion drug RU-486 and is only a narrow amendment to a... http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/05/kansas-governor-signs-bill-allowing-phamacists-to-refuse-drugs-that-might-cause-abortion.php Tue, 15 May 2012 14:15:00 -0500 http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/05/kansas-governor-signs-bill-allowing-phamacists-to-refuse-drugs-that-might-cause-abortion.php Jaclyn Belczyk ... [JURIST] Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chafee [official website] on Monday signed an executive order [text, PDF] requiring government agencies to recognize same-sex marriages [JURIST backgrounder] performed out-of-state. Rhode Island law currently allows civil unions [JURIST report] for same-sex couples, but the law was silent on whether same-sex marriages performed in other jurisdictions should be recognized. In 2007, the attorney general issued an opinion in favor of recognizing same-sex marriage, but it was not legally binding and later that year the... http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/05/rhode-island-governor-signs-order-recognizing-same-sex-marriages.php Tue, 15 May 2012 11:25:40 -0500 http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/05/rhode-island-governor-signs-order-recognizing-same-sex-marriages.php Jaclyn Belczyk ... [JURIST] The US Supreme Court [official website] denied certiorari [order list, PDF] on Monday in Igartua v. United States, a case challenging Puerto Ricans' inability to vote in US presidential elections. The US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit [official website] ruled [opinion, PDF] in November 2010 that Puerto Ricans could not vote because Puerto Rico is not a state. The court pointed out that the Constitution explicitly distinguishes between states and territories and only state citizens received congressional... http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/05/supreme-court-declines-to-rule-on-puerto-rico-voting-rights.php Tue, 15 May 2012 10:50:59 -0500 http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/05/supreme-court-declines-to-rule-on-puerto-rico-voting-rights.php Michael Haggerson ... [JURIST] The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit [official website] partially on Monday reversed [opinion, PDF] the district court's refusal to grant a temporary injunction for Apple [corporate website; Bloomberg backgrounder] against Samsung [corporate website; Bloomberg backgrounder] for Samsung's "Galaxy" line of products. The appeals court agreed with the district court in denying a temporary injunction on three of the four appeals but remanded the case for further consideration of US Patent No. D504,899 [text]. The district court... http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/05/federal-appeals-court-remands-apples-injunction-request-against-samsung.php Tue, 15 May 2012 09:42:34 -0500 http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/05/federal-appeals-court-remands-apples-injunction-request-against-samsung.php Michael Haggerson ... [JURIST] International Criminal Court (ICC) [official website] Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo announced Monday that his office will seek arrest warrants [press release] for two rebel leaders in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) for war crimes and crimes against humanity. The office filed an arrest warrant application [UN News Centre report] for Sylvestre Mudacumura [ICC fact sheet, PDF], a foreign militia leader in the DRC, and sought a warrant establishing additional charges against General Bosco Ntaganda [JURIST news archive],... http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/05/icc-prosecutor-seeks-arrest-of-two-drc-rebel-leaders.php Tue, 15 May 2012 08:05:12 -0500 http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/05/icc-prosecutor-seeks-arrest-of-two-drc-rebel-leaders.php Rebecca DiLeonardo ... [JURIST] The US Supreme Court [official website] ruled 5-4 [opinion, PDF] Monday in Hall v. United States [SCOTUSblog backgrounder] that family farmers filing bankruptcy under Chapter 12 of the bankruptcy code [text] cannot discharge a capital gains tax incurred by a post-petition sale of a farm, as the profit of that sale is not considered part of the estate. The majority, in an opinion authored by Justice Sonia Sotomayor, declared that a taxes incurred by a post-petition sale of the... http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/05/supreme-court-rules-on-chapter-12-bankruptcy-tax-issue.php Tue, 15 May 2012 08:02:01 -0500 http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/05/supreme-court-rules-on-chapter-12-bankruptcy-tax-issue.php Julia Zebley ... [JURIST] A judge for the District Court of Oklahoma County on Friday ruled [docket materials] that an Oklahoma law [HB 1970 text] restricting how doctors may use abortion-inducing drugs to treat patients was a violation of the Oklahoma Constitution [text]. The law required doctors prescribing abortion drugs to meet stricter requirements, including administering the drug on location in the medical facility, scheduling mandatory follow-up appointments, explaining drug labels to patients and reporting possible negative drug reactions to the pharmaceutical manufacturers.... http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/05/oklahoma-judge-strikes-down-law-restricting-use-of-abortion-drugs.php Tue, 15 May 2012 07:02:53 -0500 http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/05/oklahoma-judge-strikes-down-law-restricting-use-of-abortion-drugs.php Rebecca DiLeonardo ... [JURIST] The International Crimes Tribunal in Bangladesh (ICTB) [Facebook page] on Sunday indicted a former opposition leader for alleged human rights atrocities committed during the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War [GlobalSecurity backgrounder] against Pakistan. Ghulam Azam, 89, is the former head of the Jamaat-e-Islami party (JI) [GlobalSecurity backgrounder]. He opposed the independence of Bangladesh and reportedly aided the Pakistani Army during the war. Azam stands accused of crimes against humanity, genocide, murder, rape, arson and other international crimes carried out during... http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/05/bangladesh-war-crimes-tribunal-indicts-89-year-old-opposition-leader.php Mon, 14 May 2012 13:56:44 -0500 http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/05/bangladesh-war-crimes-tribunal-indicts-89-year-old-opposition-leader.php Dan Taglioli ... [JURIST] Ugandan military forces Saturday captured one of the highest leaders of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) [BBC backgrounder], the rebel militia group headed by alleged Ugandan war criminal Joseph Kony [BBC profile; JURIST news archive]. The Uganda People's Defence Force (UPDF) ambushed and captured [Al Jazeera report] Major General Caesar Achellam along the banks of the River Mbou in Central African Republic (CAR). Achellam is said to be a top rebel military strategist [BBC News report] and close ally... http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/05/lra-commander-captured-by-uganda-military.php Mon, 14 May 2012 12:24:16 -0500 http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/05/lra-commander-captured-by-uganda-military.php Dan Taglioli ... [JURIST] UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay [official profile] on Friday remarked on her visit [press release] to South Sudan, praising the country's development and calling on the new nation to commit to a human rights infrastructure of laws, institutions and practices. Pillay met with top government officials, civil society organizations and other UN divisions working in the country, offering the continued support of her office and urging South Sudan's speedy ratification of all the main international human... http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/05/un-human-rights-chief-comments-on-visit-to-south-sudan.php Mon, 14 May 2012 11:00:52 -0500 http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/05/un-human-rights-chief-comments-on-visit-to-south-sudan.php Dan Taglioli ... [JURIST] The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) [official website] should acknowledge civilian casualties from air strikes in Libya and investigate possible unlawful attacks [press release], Human Rights Watch (HRW) [advocacy website] urged Monday. In a 76-page report [text, PDF], "Unacknowledged Deaths: Civilian Casualties in NATO's Air Campaign in Libya," HRW examined eight NATO air strikes which resulted in 72 civilian deaths, claiming that "the absence of a clear military target at seven of the eight sites Human Rights Watch visited... http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/05/nato-has-failed-to-acknowledge-civilian-deaths-in-libya-hrw.php Mon, 14 May 2012 10:17:37 -0500 http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/05/nato-has-failed-to-acknowledge-civilian-deaths-in-libya-hrw.php Jaclyn Belczyk ... [JURIST] Egypt's Supreme Administrative Court on Saturday overturned the ruling of a lower court that would have postponed the upcoming presidential elections. Last Wednesday, a provincial court in the town of Benha ruled to suspend the elections following alleged administrative errors. The Supreme Administrative Court's decision to overturn clears the way for elections to go forward as scheduled on May 23-24. The court also declared that the Egyptian Constitutional Court [official website, Arabic] can review the legitimacy of a... http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/05/egypt-court-rules-that-presidential-elections-can-go-forward-on-schedile.php Sun, 13 May 2012 17:21:22 -0500 http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/05/egypt-court-rules-that-presidential-elections-can-go-forward-on-schedile.php Keith Herting ... [JURIST] The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) on Friday implored the Moldovan government [official website] to adopt a comprehensive anti-discrimination law [statement]. The proposed law, in development since 2008, is seen as a large step forward for religious minorities, the Roma population and LGBT rights in the nation. OHCHR spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani, noted that:One of the most contentious provisions of the law is that it will outlaw discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.... http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/05/moldova-pushed-by-un-to-adopt-anti-discrimination-law.php Sun, 13 May 2012 16:18:09 -0500 http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/05/moldova-pushed-by-un-to-adopt-anti-discrimination-law.php Keith Herting ... [JURIST] The Sri Lanka Police [official website] on Sunday released the names of thousands of people being held under that country's anti-terror laws. The release [AFP report] comes three years after the end of the country's 26-year civil war with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) [JURIST news archive]. The announcement is the first release of this type of information by the Sri Lankan government. This information release is likely in response to continued calls from the international community... http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/05/sri-lanka-releases-information-on-thousands-detained-since-civil-war.php Sun, 13 May 2012 12:29:06 -0500 http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/05/sri-lanka-releases-information-on-thousands-detained-since-civil-war.php Jerry Votava ... [JURIST] The Supreme Court of Chile [official website, in Spanish] on Friday issued a ruling preventing the construction of a new hydroelectric dam in Patagonia. The dam was one of three hydroelectric plants proposed by Energia Austral [project website], a private joint-venture between Xstrata Copper and Origin Energy Limited, to supply power to nearby communities and copper mines. The court found [Reuters report] that the project failed to file a required land study despite the project's proposed construction in a... http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/05/chile-high-court-blocks-new-hydroelectric-dam-in-patagonia.php Sun, 13 May 2012 12:03:46 -0500 http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/05/chile-high-court-blocks-new-hydroelectric-dam-in-patagonia.php Jerry Votava ... [JURIST] A 14-judge panel for the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit [official website] ruled 12-2 [opinion, PDF] Friday that the earlier dismissal [JURIST report] of lawsuits against two Abu Ghraib [JURIST news archive] contractors on the grounds that they have immunity as government contractors was premature. The court sent the cases against CACI International Inc. and L-3 Communications Holdings Inc. [corporate websites] back to the district court for fact-specific scrutiny to determine the validity of their... http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/05/federal-appeals-court-revives-lawsuits-against-abu-ghraib-contractors.php Sun, 13 May 2012 07:58:44 -0500 http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/05/federal-appeals-court-revives-lawsuits-against-abu-ghraib-contractors.php Keith Herting ... [JURIST] The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit [official website] heard arguments Friday from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) [advocacy website] which is appealing a dismissal of a challenge over the no-fly list maintained by the Transportation Safety Association (TSA) [official website]. The lower court [opinion, PDF] dismissed the case [JURIST report] claiming that the suit would have to be filed against the TSA itself and not the FBI [official website] and its subagency, the Terrorist Screening... http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/05/ninth-circuit-hears-arguments-in-no-fly-list-challenge.php Sat, 12 May 2012 17:07:24 -0500 http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/05/ninth-circuit-hears-arguments-in-no-fly-list-challenge.php Keith Herting ... [JURIST] Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights Ivan Simonovic [official profile] on Friday addressed [UN News Centre] the recent increase in violence in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) [BBC backgrounder; JURIST news archive] and the resulting human rights violations.The tension between government forces and dissident groups and militia has escalated during the recent weeks and fighting has resumed. This has detrimental effects on civilians who are forced to be displaced and are victims of human rights violations. Simonovic... http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/05/un-rights-expert-concerned-about-renewed-violence-in-congo.php Sat, 12 May 2012 15:11:48 -0500 http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/05/un-rights-expert-concerned-about-renewed-violence-in-congo.php Sung Un Kim ... [JURIST] The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit [official website] on Friday rejected [opinion, PDF] a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) [official website] request arising out of 2010 cyber attack on Google [JURIST news archive] targeting Gmail accounts of Chinese human rights activists. The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) [advocacy website] sought any communications between the National Security Agency (NSA) [official website] and Google concerning cybersecurity in 2010, but the NSA responded by issuing a Glomar... http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/05/federal-appeals-court-rejects-nsa-google-disclosure-request.php Sat, 12 May 2012 14:13:46 -0500 http://jurist.org/paperchase/2012/05/federal-appeals-court-rejects-nsa-google-disclosure-request.php Sung Un Kim ...