Author: JURIST – Paper Chase

[JURIST] A member of the “Toronto 18” was convicted on Tuesday for his role in the failed 2006 terrorist plot to bomb the Toronto Stock Exchange and other government buildings. Shareef Abdelhaleem, who pleaded not guilty last month, was convicted after the Canadian judge found that virtually no evidence existed to support his claims of entrapment. Adelhaleem argued that he was entrapped by Shaher Elsoheny, who was working as a police in informant and provided intelligence against Abdelhaleem and others that directly led to their arrests. The court found Adelhaleem to be the antithesis of a good witness during trial. It also found that the police used the necessary means in order to protect the public.
The “Toronto 18” remain an important symbol in the Canadian government’s fight against terrorism. Last month, Amin Mohamed Durrani was released after pleading guilty to participating in and assisting a terrorist group. Also in January, a Canadian court sentenced two members of the group, Zakaria Amara and Saad Gaya, to life and 12 years in prison, respectively, for their roles in the plot. Abdelhaleem was the first adult to be tried among the “Toronto 18” originally arrested and charged under Section 83 of the Anti-Terrorism Act, Canada’s post-9/11 legislation. Five more members of the group face trial in March.

[JURIST] A Florida man wrongfully imprisoned for three years and seven months accepted $179,000 in compensation Tuesday, becoming the first person to receive compensation under the state’s Victims of Wrongful Incarceration Compensation Act. Leroy McGee was convicted of robbery in 1991, a crime he did not commit. After his release, McGee refused to accept the compensation offered to him by the state for eight months in effort to bring attention to alleged shortcomings in the Victims of Wrongful Incarceration Compensation Act. The act prohibits people with prior felony convictions from receiving compensation for wrongful imprisonment, commonly referred to as the “clean hands” provision, and does not provide compensation for legal fees incurred by wrongfully convicted people to be exonerated. A bill was filed in Florida’s Senate to eliminate the “clean hands” provision, but a similar bill has not yet been filed in the state’s House of Representatives. Congress has until March 1 to file bills for the year.
According to the Innocence Project, the federal government, the District of Columbia, and 27 states have compensation statutes of some form, while 23 states do not. In addition to the “clean hands” provision and the lack of compensation for legal fees, other shortcomings in the compensation statutes include lack of uniformity and bars on compensation to people who are thought to have “contributed” to their wrongful conviction. In 2006, North Carolina established the Inmate Innocence Commission to exonerate wrongfully imprisoned inmates.

[JURIST] The Bangladesh government announced on Tuesday that prosecutors and investigators for the country’s war crimes tribunal should be appointed by the first week of March. The tribunal will be used to conduct fair and transparent trials for those accused of war crimes during the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War against Pakistan. The announcement came after a meeting between Law Minister Shafique Ahmed and the director general of the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA). The international development agency has offered the Bangladesh government USD 400 million for development projects, some of which may be used for the tribunal. The Bangladesh Parliament has allocated approximately USD 1.5 million for trial expenses. In April, the UN agreed to advise the Bangladesh government on the organization and operation of the tribunal.
In July, Human Rights Watch (HRW) urged Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to improve war crimes laws to bring justice to victims of the 1971 Liberation War. The rights group sent a letter to Hasina applauding the government’s commitment in setting up tribunals to prosecute war criminals and asked for improvements to be made to the International Crimes Act of 1973. HRW requested that the trials be conducted by civilian judges, that the rights of the accused are respected, that there is proper protection for witnesses and victims who testify, that the law is consistent with international standards, and that the death penalty be excluded. HRW Asia director Brad Adams said that the law needs to be comprehensive enough to prevent the accused from challenging the entire process. HRW maintained that justice for the atrocities committed during the 1971 war is long overdue and that a lack of credibility for the Bangladesh tribunals would only benefit the accused war criminals.

[JURIST] A closed prison court in Myanmar on Monday sentenced Naw Ohn Hla and three other women to two years imprisonment with hard labor. The women, supporters of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, were accused of causing public unrest. According to Nyan Win, spokesperson for Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD), the four women were arrested last October for offering religious literature to Buddhist monks at a high-profile monastery. The women additionally held prayer services for Suu Kyi’s release. The judgment was offered the same day that UN special envoy Tomas Ojea Quintana arrived in Myanmar to assess the state of human rights, while hoping to meet with Suu Kyi. On Tuesday, Amnesty International (AI) released a report urging Myanmar to end its practice of repressing ethnic minority activists, lift its restrictions on freedom of association, assembly, and religion, and release all prisoners.
The women’s arrest comes just four days after Suu Kyi learned that her appeal against the extension of her house arrest was rejected. In January, a Myanmar government official said that Suu Kyi would be released from house arrest in November when her sentence is scheduled to end. The extension of Suu Kyi’s house arrest stems from an August conviction for violating state security laws by allowing American John Yettaw to stay in her home after he swam across a lake to get there. Yettaw, who was sentenced to seven years in prison with four years of hard labor, was released in August after negotiations with US Senator Jim Webb (D-VA). Suu Kyi was initially sentenced to three years in prison with hard labor, but her sentence was immediately commuted by junta chief General Than Shwe. Suu Kyi has spent 14 of the last 20 years in detention, and her latest conviction has been condemned by many world leaders as a political move to prevent her from running in the upcoming elections. Her conviction has given rise to international sanctions against Myanmar’s junta and members of the judiciary.

[JURIST] The Icelandic Parliament began considering measures Tuesday aimed at increasing protections for journalists and promoting freedom of speech and transparency in government. The Icelandic Modern Media Initiative (IMMI) was developed by lawmakers in conjunction with Wikileaks, a non-profit website focused on exposing corruption and unethical actions perpetrated by governments and corporations. The measures were developed partially in response to Iceland’s 2008 economic crisis, where a close relationship between the government and the media has been blamed for a lack of warning about the impending crisis. Supporters of IMMI believe if the initiative is implemented, members of the international press and investigative journalists will be drawn to the country by the protective aspects of the law. Stated goals of the initiative include:o make Iceland an attractive environment for the registration and operation of international press organizations, new media start-ups, human rights groups and internet data centers. It promises to strengthen our democracy through the power of transparency and to promote the nation’s international standing and economy. We can create a comprehensive policy and legal framework to protect the free expression needed for investigative journalism and other politically important publishing. While some countries provide basic measures, Iceland now has an opportunity to build an internationally attractive legislative package built from the best laws of other nations.In order to benefit from the initiative, media outlets would need to set up an office or a server and publish from Iceland. Iceland has historically been viewed as a country with strong protections for freedom of the press. That reputation took a hit in 2009, following the economic crisis, when it fell to ninth in the annual Worldwide Index of Freedom released by Reporters Without Borders (RWB). Iceland had been ranked first in 2007 and 2008, and second in 2006.

[JURIST] The European Commission (EC) announced on Monday that it will withdraw trade benefits from Sri Lanka because of alleged human rights violations in the country. The decision to limit trade advantages comes after a year-long EC investigation in Sri Lanka that ended last October. The EC investigation report claimed that Sri Lanka has violated several UN conventions that aim to prevent torture and protect civil, political, and child rights. EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht stressed that the decision is only temporary and suggested that the restrictions will be lifted when Sri Lankan officials address the rights abuses. The Sri Lankan Ministry of Foreign Affairs also released a statement emphasizing the country’s willingness to continue working with the international community to protect citizens’ rights, despite an ongoing struggle with terrorism. Sri Lanka will have six months to show an improvement in human rights before the new trade plan takes effect.
Sri Lanka has faced numerous allegations of human rights violations originating from incidents that took place during the final months of the civil war by both the government and the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Last month, a UN rights expert urged Sri Lanka to conduct a war crimes probe after a video showing the execution of members of LTTE by members of the Sri Lankan military was authenticated. In October, the US State Department released a report on the conflict, urging Sri Lankan officials to investigate reports of human rights violations and war crimes and to prosecute those responsible. While the government of Sri Lanka rejected the findings of the report, President Mahinda Rajapaksa decided in October to appoint an independent committee to investigate allegations of human rights violations.

[JURIST] Egypt’s State Council (Maglis id-Dowla) association, an administrative court system with jurisdiction over cases involving the state, voted Monday to bar the appointment of female judges to the council. Of the 376 judges who participated in the vote, 334 supported the bar against female appointments and 42 rejected it. Despite the overwhelming support the ban received, some are disappointed in the outcome of the vote, as it demonstrates a deep opposition to the government’s campaign to eliminate gender discrimination in the judiciary. The decision could still be overruled by the Special Council, the body that oversees the State Council.
In 2007, 31 Egyptian women were selected as judges by Egypt’s Supreme Judicial Council, and later appointed by presidential decree despite ongoing resistance from the nation’s conservatives. Council chief Mukbil Shakir selected the judges from a pool of state prosecutors who had passed a test for the positions. The move marked the first time in Egypt’s history that women were named to preside over criminal or civil cases. In 2003, Tahany el-Gebaly became the nation’s first female judge as a member of the Egyptian constitutional tribunal.

[JURIST] Controversial full-body scanners currently used in two UK airports may be illegal, the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) announced Monday. The EHRC made the statement in a letter to Department for Transport (DFT) Secretary Lord Andrew Adonis. The commission’s primary concerns relate to passengers’ privacy and right to be free from discrimination:
We are yet to see sufficient evidence that this decision complies with the general or specific equality duties under the Race Relations Act 1976, the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 or the Disability Discrimination Act 1995. These duties require a Secretary of State, in the performance of his or her functions, to give “due regard” to both the elimination of unlawful discrimination and the promotion of equality of opportunity and good relations between members of different racial groups.A DFT spokesperson said the office is committed to ensuring passenger safety through legal means and that an assessment of the practice is currently underway.The UK scanners were introduced February 1 in the Heathrow and Manchester Airports. UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced the move toward body scanner use in January. European Union officials said in January that body scanners would not be installed until further inquiries into privacy issues were made. The body scanners were introduced in part as a response to the failed US bombing attempt by Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab on Northwest Airlines Flight 253 from Amsterdam to Detroit on Christmas Day.

[JURIST] Former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic on Monday appeared before the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) claiming that documents he seeks from former UN peacekeeper countries would provide evidence of arms smuggling to Bosnian Muslims during the 1992-1995 Bosnian conflict. Only Germany, France, and Croatia entered appearances at the hearing to contest the documents’ disclosure. Karadzic alleges that peacekeeping countries supplied arms or were involved in the conflict providing support to Bosnian Muslims, prolonging the conflict and causing Bosnian Serbs to act in self-defense. According to an ICTY spokesperson, Monday’s hearing was the last pre-trial hearing, and the trial is scheduled to resume on March 1.
Last week, the ICTY dismissed Karadzic’s appeal against the imposition of a court-appointed lawyer. In December, the Trial Chamber rejected Karadzic’s motion challenging the legitimacy of the court. The ICTY began Karadzic’s trial in absentia in October after Karadzic failed to appear in court. Karadzic had announced that he planned to boycott his trial because he had not been given adequate time to prepare a defense. The ICTY has also repeatedly rejected Karadzic’s argument that he should be immune from trial based on an alleged agreement with former UN ambassador Richard Holbrooke. Karadzic faces 11 charges, including genocide and murder, for war crimes allegedly committed during the 1992-1995 Bosnian conflict. In June, the ICTY said that Karadzic’s trial was expected to conclude in early 2012. His trial is planned to be the tribunal’s last.

[JURIST] Iranian official Mohammad Javad Larijani told the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) Monday that Iran is fulfilling its human rights obligations. Larijani also said that the nation has implemented long-term plans to protect human rights. Larijani rejected criticism suggesting the nation engaged in the torture and murder of dissidents, characterizing these allegations as politically motivated attempts to undermine Iran in light of the recent developments in its nuclear program. Larijani reiterated that Iran’s nuclear program is intended for civilian use only. The UNHRC is examining Iran’s human rights record, along with the records of 15 other nations, in its two-week Universal Periodic Review session. Amnesty International criticized Iran’s earlier report to the UNHRC, calling its portrayal of the state of human rights in the nation distorted.
Last week, the European Union (EU) and the US government issued a joint statement condemning Iranian human rights violations since the disputed June presidential election. The joint statement declared that the EU and the US were concerned about the possible increase in violence and repression during the anniversary of the founding of 1979 Islamic Republic on February 11 and called on Iran to live up to its international obligations with respect to human rights. Also, US Defense Secretary Robert Gates and French President Nicolas Sarkozy declared that Iran should receive stronger sanctions in response to news that the Iranian government had informed the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) of plans to begin enriching uranium for medical purposes last week.

[JURIST] US Attorney General Eric Holder said in an interview with the New York Times Sunday that he hopes to hold a civilian trial for accused 9/11 conspirator Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, but that a military tribunal must be considered in the wake of mounting public and political pressure. According to the interview, Holder prefers a civilian trial to ensure “swift, sure justice,” but has not ruled out the option of a military commission in Guantanamo Bay. When asked who would make the ultimate decision on where the trial will take place, Holder said, “I think that I make the final call, but if the president is not happy with that final call, he has the ability to reverse it.” Holder also stated that he hopes the Obama administration will be able to announce a venue for the 9/11 trial within the next three weeks.
Holder expressed the same sentiments in a Washington Post interview published last week. Holder said that more important than the location or forum is that the trial be transparent and adhere to the rules. Administration officials said President Barack Obama will take a greater role in deciding where and how the trial takes place, despite originally leaving the decision up to Holder. The possible civilian trial, first announced in November, has received backlash from both New York City officials and members of Congress, including some who support closing Guantanamo Bay.

[JURIST] Hundreds of Pakistani lawyers boycotted the courts Monday in protest of the recent clash between President Asif Ali Zardari and the Supreme Court of Pakistan. Lawyers protested and boycotted the courts, refusing to attend court proceedings in Islamabad, Lahore, Peshawar, Karachi, and Quetta, after the Supreme Court Bar Association of Pakistan (SCBAP) called for the strike. The boycotts come after the the Supreme Court on Saturday issued an emergency ruling denying Zardari’s judicial appointments. The legal community is divided over the issue, with lawyers supporting both the judiciary and Zardari gathering at the protests. Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has distanced himself from the appointments, claiming that his advice was not considered. The court has summoned Attorney General Anwar Mansoor Khan for a hearing on Thursday to determine the constitutionality of Zardari’s actions.
Pakistan’s executive and judiciary have historically had disputes, prompting instability. Last month, the Supreme Court released a detailed judgment in the controversial National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) case, ruling unconstitutional an ordinance granting immunity to President Zardari and 8,000 other government officials from charges of corruption, embezzlement, money laundering, murder, and terrorism between January 1986 and October 1999. A special 17-member panel of the court rendered the original unanimous decision in December, paving the way for corruption charges to be brought against Zardari. Zardari is immune from prosecution while in office, but challenges to his eligibility as a presidential candidate are expected. Many other government officials could face immediate prosecution.

[JURIST] A Beijing court on Friday indicted Huang Guangyu, formerly China’s richest man, with insider trading, bribery, and illegal business practices. The charges, brought by the Supreme People’s Procuratorate come almost 15 months after Huang was initially placed under detention. His case has been the subject of intense media coverage in China involving allegations of bribery to high-level Shanghai police among others. According to reports, Huang has been under investigation by the Beijing Municipal People’s Procuratorate for more than two years. He was previously the chairman of Pengrun Investments and founder of subsidiary GOME Electrical Appliances, both publicly traded on the Shanghai and Hong Kong stock exchanges.
Huang’s indictment is part of a wider campaign in China to crack down on corruption, which is seen by many as a threat to China’s future stability. Last week, the president of the Supreme People’s Court (SPC) called for increased efforts to fight corruption among the judiciary. The president’s statement came just two weeks after former SPC vice president Huang Songyou was convicted on bribery and embezzlement charges. Earlier in January, the Communist Party of China announced increasing oversight of the families of government officials to control corruption. Leader of the People’s Republic, Hu Jintao, has made it a priority to combat grafting in China, utilizing the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection to coordinate anti-corruption efforts among the public security, finance, judiciary, and diplomatic agencies.

[JURIST] Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos announced Monday that Spain will accept five detainees currently being held at Guantanamo Bay. Spain had previously agreed to accept only two detainees, one Yemeni and one Palestinian, in response to a June request by the Obama administration. Moratinos indicated that Spain was willing to increase the number of detainees accepted in order to help remedy what it sees as an unacceptable situation at the detention facility. No timetable has been set for the transfer, but Moratinos stated that it would occur in a way to protect the security of Spain.
The Obama administration continues its push to close the Guantanamo Bay facility, despite missing its self-imposed one-year deadline last month. The administration has run into several hurdles in closing the prison, including opposition from members of Congress and the suspension of detainee transfers to Yemen. Spain joins a growing list of countries that have recently accepted transfers, including Latvia, Switzerland, Slovakia, Algeria, Afghanistan, Palau , Bermuda, Albania and Somaliland.

[JURIST] The New South Wales Supreme Court on Monday sentenced five men for conspiring to commit acts of terrorism. The five men are Australian citizens from Sydney and are of Lebanese, Libyan, and Bangladeshi descent. The lead conspirator and his lieutenant were sentenced to 28 years in prison, while the other three involved in the plot received between 23 and 26 years, all of which were to be dated from the time of their arrest in 2005. The men had pleaded not guilty to the conspiracy charges at the beginning of the 10-month trial, the longest in Australian history. During the trial, the prosecution charged that the five men wanted to terrorize the Australian public in retaliation for Australian involvement in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. It was also charged that one of the men was trained in Pakistan by Lashkar-e-Taiba, and three others were taken into the Australian outback and trained in a paramilitary-like camp. Although their target was unspecified, testimony during trial alleged that the conspirators considered attacking a football game and killing former prime minister John Howard.
The five men were convicted of conspiracy to do acts in preparation of terrorist attacks in October. The men, who could not be named publicly, were found guilty of having stockpiled ammunition and bomb-making materials. Four co-conspirators had previously pleaded guilty to related charges, although this information was kept from the jury during the trial. The five faced a maximum of life in prison. The jury returned the convictions after deliberating for 23 days, hearing from 300 witnesses, and examining 3,000 exhibits, which included 30 days of video surveillance and 18 hours of taped phone calls. The men were arrested in a series of raids in 2005.

[JURIST] US lawmakers on Thursday called for legislation to mitigate the effects of the recent Supreme Court decision easing restrictions on political campaign spending by corporations. The proposal was put forth by Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) and Representative Chris van Hollen (D-MD). As outlined, the legislation would ban foreign companies, or those controlled by foreign companies or governments, from contributing to US elections. Additionally, it would ban government contractors and the recipients of Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) funds from contributing. The legislative outline also proposed that corporate CEOs be required to appear at the end of any political advertising they funded to endorse it, and would require corporate entities to report their spending to the Federal Election Committee. In a press conference explaining the proposal, Schumer said:
The decision was coercive to our democracy, hard to understand, and … an infuriating one. … Unlike most bills, this one has a deadline for action. … If we don’t act quickly, the court’s ruling will have an immediate and disastrous impact on the 2010 elections. So our goal is to advance the legislation quickly, otherwise the Supreme Court will have predetermined the winner of the midterm elections. It won’t be the Republicans or the Democrats. It will be corporate America.In his statements, Schumer also referenced a poll released last Monday, which found that 64 percent of those polled were against the ruling, including a majority of self-described Republicans.Last month, the US Supreme Court decided 5-4 in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission to ease restrictions on political campaign spending by corporations. The court was asked to consider Section 203 of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act, which prohibited corporations and unions from using their general treasury funds to make independent expenditures for speech defined as an “electioneering communication” or for speech expressly advocating the election or defeat of a candidate. President Barack Obama sharply criticized the decision in his State of the Union Address last month. Obama warned of the increased potential for powerful interest groups, both foreign and domestic, to wield excessive influence over American elections and called for bipartisan support of legislation to counteract the decision. The decision has caused a deep partisan divide over the topic, with Democratic officials largely opposing the decision, and Republican officials mostly in support.

[JURIST] The former attorney general for England and Wales Lord Peter Goldsmith called for an investigation into whether British intelligence agencies were complicit in the torture of terror suspects abroad. Goldsmith said that government arguments against their complicity in torture by foreign intelligence services had only created more confusion about the issue. He stopped short of calling for a full public inquiry, stating that the government should decide the proper manner in which to clarify the matter. Goldsmith’s statements are at odds with those of the government, which has adamantly denied any collusion in torture. Last week, Home Secretary Alan Johnson described the allegations as ludicrous lies. The statement by Goldsmith has been viewed as particularly damaging to the government, as it shows the first split in its previously unified response to the allegations, and because Goldsmith was a senior government official throughout the period in which the complicity is alleged to have occurred.
On Friday, Director General Jonathan Evans of MI5 denied accusations that it had collaborated with the US over the alleged torture of former Guantanamo Bay detainee Binyam Mohamed in response to criticisms that the organization did not respect human rights, that it misled parliament, and that is supported a culture of suppression. On Wednesday, the England and Wales Court of Appeal ruled that the government must disclose seven previously withheld paragraphs outlining the alleged torture of Mohamed. British Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs David Miliband accepted the court’s decision, disclosing the information.

[JURIST] The Canadian Human Rights Tribunal (CHRT) on Friday ordered Elections Canada (EC) to comply with the Canadian Human Rights Act by ensuring that polling facilities are accessible to voters with disabilities. The CHRT ruled that in failing to provide accessible facilities for voters with disabilities, the EC “engaged in a discriminatory practice within the meaning of section 5 of the CHRA, the Complaint of James Peter Hughes is substantiated.” The EC will also have to overhaul its policies and conduct training for Returning Officers and officials under their supervision concerning “disability and accessibility issues” as well as implement new procedures for addressing voter complaints on the subject in consultation with the Canadian Human Rights Commission and disabilities advocacy organizations and voters with disabilities. The Tribunal will continue to monitor the EC’s progress on the order. The EC will also have to pay damages to Hughes for the discrimination he suffered. The Council of Canadians With Disabilities (CCD) intervened as an interested party advocating for Hughes’s position.
Since 1992, amendments to the Canada Elections Act have resulted in improvements in access to polls for persons with disabilities. In the US, the General Accounting Office found in June 2009 that access to polling sites for voters with disabilities after the Help America Vote Act of 2002 has improved in comparison to year 2000 conditions from 16 percent to a current estimated 27 percent impediment-free facilities, but much progress is still needed. An estimated 45 percent of polling facilities that have potential impediments offer curbside voting to help voter with disabilities.

[JURIST] The Chinese Embassy in Washington DC claims that prominent Chinese human rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng, missing for more than a year, is working in the Urumqi region, according to human rights organization Dui Hua Foundation on Saturday. The statement characterizes the information as “sparse,” and it contradicts Gao’s family by declaring that the activist has been in contact with his wife and family members. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Ma Zhaoxu said in late January that Gao is “where he should be.” Earlier in January, Chinese lawyers and US-based rights group ChinaAid called on Beijing police to conduct a search for Gao.
Gao drew international attention in September 2007 when he wrote a letter to the US Congress requesting assistance in improving human rights in China. Gao, who has also defended Christians and coal miners in China, claimed that he was tortured after his arrest in 2007. He was convicted of subversion and placed under house arrest in 2006. China has long received criticism from watchdog groups for its treatment of rights activists such as Gao.

[JURIST] The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Saturday deferred the appointment of two judges by President Asif Ali Zardari in an emergency ruling which has once again pitched the country’s judiciary against its executive. Current Lahore High Court Justices Khawaja Muhammad Sharif and Mian Saqib Nisar were to be appointed as a Judge of the Supreme Court and as Acting Chief Justice of the Lahore High Court respectively. The Supreme Court denied the nominations because Zadir had not consulted Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry over the appointment of Sharif to the Supreme Court as required by Article 177 of the Pakistani Constitution. Nisar’s assignment was dependent on Sharif’s placement to the Supreme Court. Minister of Information Qamar Zaman Kaira said that Zardari did consult with the Chief Justice, but it has also been reported that the judges questioned the validity of their appointments.
Last month, the Pakistani Supreme Court released a detailed judgment in the controversial National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) case, ruling unconstitutional an ordinance granting immunity to President Zardari and 8,000 other government officials from charges of corruption, embezzlement, money laundering, murder, and terrorism between January 1986 and October 1999. A special 17-member panel of the court rendered the original unanimous decision in December, paving the way for corruption charges to be brought against Zardari. Zardari is immune from prosecution while in office, but challenges to his eligibility as a presidential candidate are expected. Many other government officials could face immediate prosecution.