Chile judge sentences Pinochet secret police chief for 1974 car bombing- July 1, 2008 JURIST A Chilean judge Monday sentenced General Manuel Contreras TrialWatch profile to two consecutive life terms in prison for a 1974 car bombing that killed another general and his wife. At the time of the bombing, Contreras was the head of the country's infamous secret police, the National Intelligence Directive (DINA), under former dictator Augusto Pinochet JURIST news archive. Thehttp://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2008/07/chile-judge-sentences-former-head-of.php Italy court overrules 'racial hatred' convictions of anti-Roma group- July 1, 2008 JURIST The Italian Court of Cassation official website Monday overturned the convictions of six Italians, including Verona Mayor Flavio Tosi, for distributing anti-Roma literature in 2001. The court found that the men were motivated by a belief that all Roma are thieves, but held that this motivation did not amount to "racial hatred" under existing Italian anti-discrimination laws. Thehttp://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2008/07/italy-court-overrules-racial-hatred.php Ruling released on Uighur enemy combatant status at Guantanamo- July 1, 2008 JURIST A three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit Monday released declassified portions of last month's decision PDF text that a US Combatant Status Review Tribunal DOD materials had improperly designated a Chinese Uighur Muslim JURIST news archive detained at Guantanamo Bay as an enemy combatant. In the opinion, Circuit Judge Merrick Garland dismissed governmenthttp://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2008/07/ruling-released-on-uighur-enemy.php Hungary constitutional court strikes down hate speech amendments- July 1, 2008 JURIST The Constitutional Court of Hungary official website Monday ruled that two proposals passed by the country's parliament to criminalize hate speech were unconstitutional infringements on the freedom of expression. The court held that the extremist speech that the amendments sought to prevent was not a danger to society because it was already marginalized. The first bill, passed lasthttp://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2008/07/hungary-hate-speech-amendments.php Poland president refuses to sign EU reform treaty- July 1, 2008 JURIST Polish President Lech Kaczynski official website Tuesday refused to sign the EU reform treaty JURIST news archive, properly known as the Treaty of Lisbon PDF text; website, saying that to do so would be "pointless" after Irish voters rejected JURIST report the treaty in a June referendum. The treaty's future has been uncertain since the Irish vote, as the instrument requireshttp://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2008/07/poland-president-refuses-to-sign-eu.php Ex-Khmer Rouge official appeals detention for Cambodia genocide- July 1, 2008 JURIST Ieng Sary TrialWatch profile; JURIST news archive, former Foreign Minister during the Khmer Rouge regime BBC backgrounder, appeared before the Extraordinary Chambers in the Court of Cambodia (ECCC) court website for the second day Tuesday to appeal his detention on genocide charges. Lawyers for Sary, whose appearance at the ECCC had been set last weekend scheduling order, PDF;http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2008/07/cambodia-ex-khmer-rouge-official.php Federal appeals court dismisses Arar rendition lawsuit- July 1, 2008 JURIST The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit official website Tuesday dismissed decision, PDF a lawsuit brought by Canadian citizen Maher Arar advocacy website; JURIST news archive, who sought a declaratory judgment against US government officials for deporting him to Syria. The court ruled that Arar had failed to state a claim for which it had jurisdiction to grant relief: We dohttp://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2008/07/federal-appeals-court-dismisses-arar.php France court orders eBay to pay $63 million for permitting sale of fake goods- July 1, 2008 JURIST A French court Monday ordered Internet auction house eBay corporate website to pay $63 million in damages to LVMH Mot Hennessy Louis Vuitton (LVMH) corporate website, finding that the website failed to prevent the sale of counterfeit luxury goods that infringed on registered designs. LVMH praised the holding as a victory for designers seeking to control the distribution of theirhttp://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2008/07/france-court-orders-ebay-to-pay-63.php Suspect in Russia journalist murder hiding in Western Europe: investigator- July 1, 2008 JURIST The man suspected of killing Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya BBC obituary; JURIST news archive has fled to Western Europe, an investigator at the Russian Prosecutor General's Office official website, English version said Tuesday. In May, Russian authorities named Chechen Rustam Makhmudov as the main suspect in the murder, charging him in absentia Moscow News report andhttp://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2008/07/suspect-in-russia-journalist-murder.php China accused of using courts to retaliate against journalists critical of government- July 1, 2008 JURIST A Chinese reporter for US-based Chinese news website Boxun.com news website, in Chinese received a four-year prison sentence Tuesday in Nanjing on charges of illegal weapons possession and public disorder. Sun Lin, who writes under the pen name Jie Mu, has reported on sensitive topics including crime, police brutality, and corruption in China, and Boxun said Sun was being punished forhttp://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2008/07/china-accused-of-using-courts-to.php |