Author: JURIST – Paper Chase

[JURIST] The Russian State Duma voted 437-0 Friday to approve a bill giving amnesty to veterans as well as concentration camp and Leningrad siege survivors for most crimes committed during World War II by. If approved in the upper house, the bill would apply to an estimated 100-200 persons, but the amnesty would not apply to crimes of murder or sexual crimes against minors. The legislative action commemorates the sixty-fifth anniversary of the Great Patriotic War, as the period of the war along the Eastern Front between 1941 and 1945 is known in Russia.
The legislative measure may be part of Russian efforts to rehabilitate the image of the Soviet Union. In October, a Russian historian who was researching Soviet treatment of German prisoners of war during World War II was charged with violating privacy laws. Also in October, a Russian court rejected a libel suit brought by Stalin’s grandson Yevgeny Dzhugashvili against the Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta for a report that Stalin ordered the death of Soviet citizens. In September, critics of this rehabilitation expressed outrage when a renovated Moscow train station was unveiled with inscriptions praising Stalin. A controversial December 2008 poll found that Russians considered Stalin the third most popular Russian in history, a result criticized by many.

[JURIST] Former commander of the Bosnian army during the 1992-1994 Bosnian civil war Rasim Delic died Friday of cancer in his home. Delic was awaiting a decision from the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) on his appeal from his 2008 conviction. Delic was found guilty of cruel treatment for failing to prevent abuses committed by his army detachment to detained Bosnian Serb Army soldiers, although he did not order them. He was sentenced to three years in prison after a majority of the trial chamber judges found Delic “to have had imputed knowledge of these crimes, as opposed to actual knowledge.”
Delic is one of the highest-ranking Bosnian military leaders to stand trial before the tribunal. The ICTY trial of former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic resumed earlier this week after multiple delays. In March, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said that the ICTY will continue to operate beyond its originally planned end of 2010 until 2013 because two high-ranking subjects remain at large. The ICTY has indicted 161 political and military officials since its creation in 1993.

[JURIST] An Arkansas judge ruled Friday that a state law prohibiting all unmarried couples from adopting or fostering children violates the Arkansas Constitution. Critics claimed that the Arkansas Adoption and Foster Care Act of 2008, or Initiated Act I, was discriminatory because it prohibited all gay couples from adopting or fostering children as Arkansas does not recognize gay marriage. Judge Christopher Piazza of the Pulaski County Circuit Court agreed and said that while the the law, passed via ballot initiative, was valid under the federal Constitution, it violates the Arkansas state constitution:
Initiated Act 1 prohibits cohabiting same-sex couples and heterosexual couples from becoming foster or adoptive parents. It does not prohibit them from becoming foster or adoptive parents if they do not cohabitate. However, the act significantly burdens non-marital relationships and acts of sexual intimacy between adults and forces them to choose between becoming a parent and having any type of meaningful intimate relationship outside of the marriage. This infringes upon the fundamental right to privacy guaranteed to all citizens of Arkansas.The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which brought the challenge against Initiated Act I, welcomed the ruling, saying it would allow more children in Arkansas to be adopted or fostered.The ballot measure was approved in November 2008 after being certified the previous August. The measure followed a 2006 Arkansas Supreme Court decision that struck down an administrative regulation specifically prohibiting homosexuals from rearing foster children. Reacting to that decision, then-governor Mike Huckabee suggested that such a ban be implemented through legislation. Arkansas, like many states, has amended its constitution to prohibit the recognition of same-sex marriages.

[JURIST] A federal grand jury on Friday indicted five former Blackwater executives on charges of weapons violations and lying to criminal investigators. The 15-count indictment charges five former executives, including former president Gary Jackson, with giving away certain weapons to the King of Jordan to curry favor and then lying on federal forms about where the weapons went. The indictment also charges the executives with trying to hide weapons purchases by acting through an intermediary, avoiding regulations on the export of short-barreled rifles, and making false statements to investigators. Jackson and other Blackwater officials have said that federal officials knew of the weapons purchases for years but did nothing.
In February, the Iraqi government ordered approximately 250 former Blackwater employees to leave Iraq. The government was reacting to a US federal court’s December decision to dismiss charges against five former Blackwater employees accused of killing 17 innocent Iraqi civilians in 2007 because information against the defendants was obtained unconstitutionally. Earlier that month, the New York Times reported that the US Department of Justice is investigating Blackwater, now known as Xe, to determine whether the company bribed the Iraqi government to allow Blackwater to continue operating in Iraq following the 2007 shootings. In January, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki announced that Iraq will file lawsuits against Blackwater for the 2007 killings in both US and Iraqi courts. US Vice-President Joe Biden has said that the DOJ will appeal the dismissal. Blackwater ceased operations in Baghdad in May 2009 when its security contracts for the protection of US diplomats expired.

[JURIST] The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a civil suit on Friday alleging securities fraud against Goldman, Sachs & Co.. The complaint, filed in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, alleges that Goldman made misleading statements and omissions to investors in early 2007 in violation of the Securities Act of 1933 and Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Goldman’s alleged conduct in marketing collateralized debt obligations (CDOs) to investors lies at the core of the controversy. Goldman responded to the allegations by denying all wrongdoing. The SEC is seeking “injunctive relief, disgorgement of profits, prejudgment interest, civil penalties and other appropriate and necessary equitable relief from both defendants,” remedies considered appropriate in securities fraud cases.
The SEC action continues a trend in bringing action against financial corporations and their agents that engaged in allegedly illegal conduct at the start of the subprime mortgage downturn in 2007. Last year, two former Bear Stearns hedge fund managers were acquitted of securities-related charges. The June 2008 SEC complaint alleged that the managers had taken leveraged positions in financial derivatives based on subprime mortgage-based assets and then taken steps to conceal ensuing losses from investors.

[JURIST] Internal Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) documents released Thursday reveal that the former head of the agency Porter Goss may have agreed with the destruction of videotapes showing harsh interrogations of terror suspects. The heavily redacted documents reveal that, despite being unaware of the order before it was carried out, Goss agreed with the order from Jose Rodriguez, then head of the CIA clandestine services, to destroy videotapes of the interrogations of two terror suspects. Some of the documents reveal an e-mail in which Rodriguez said that “the heat from destroying is nothing compared to what it would be if the tapes ever got into the public domain … they would make us look terrible; it would be devastating to us.” The documents were released as part of a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). Ben Wizner, senior staff attorney with the ACLU National Security Project said that the “documents provide further evidence that senior CIA officials were willing to risk being prosecuted for obstruction of justice in order to avoid being prosecuted for torture. If the Department of Justice fails to hold these officials accountable, they will have succeeded in their cover-up.”
Last year, it was revealed that 12 of the 92 videotapes destroyed by the CIA contained evidence of “enhanced interrogation techniques.” The US Department of Justice (DOJ) had previously acknowledged that the CIA destroyed 92 videotapes, in response to an August 2008 judicial order that the CIA turn over information regarding the tapes or provide specific justifications on why it could not release the information.

[JURIST] UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay on Friday decried the recent decision by Hamas to execute several of its prisoners. On Thursday, the de-facto government of Palestinian Gaza executed Naser Abu Furaih and Mohamed al-Sabaa, both of whom were convicted of treason last February in connection with the Israeli occupation of Gaza. Pillay, who said that she was “alarmed” by reports that Hamas planned to execute several more prisoners soon, called on the Islamist authority to abolish the use of the death penalty:
It is extremely disappointing that Hamas is contemplating a return to the use of the death penalty, despite the fact that no officially-sanctioned death sentences have been carried out in Gaza since 2005. … I call on Hamas to reconsider its position and exhibit respect for the international community’s firm rejection of the death penalty … and to fully uphold and promote the right to life.Human rights groups have also denounced the executions. On Thursday, Israeli human rights organization B’Tselem condemned Hamas, saying that the prisoners’ trial “did not meet even minimal standards of due process.” Also Thursday, the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) said that any execution conducted without the ratification of Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the secular Palestinian National Authority (PNA), was unconstitutional.Hamas has recently fallen under fire from human rights groups recently for its failure to conduct an independent investigation into accusations of war crimes during the January 2009 Gaza conflict. The UN called on the Islamist authority to conduct a thorough investigation in a report last October.

[JURIST] The Regensburg District Court in southern Germany convicted British Bishop Richard Williamson of incitement on Friday for denying the Holocaust and ordered him to pay a 10,000 euro fine. The case stemmed from an interview to Swedish TV channel SVT1, broadcast in January 2009,in which Williamson said he doubted that six million Jews were killed in gas chambers. Last year, the same court issued a 12,000 euro fine against Williamson in connection with this case, but Williamson contested the decision, forcing the public trial. When Williamson gave the interview to the Swedish TV channel he asked the crew not to broadcast the interview in Germany, because denial of the Holocaust is a criminal offense there. The lifting of Williamson’s excommunication last year by Pope Benedict XVI caused international outrage.
In February, the Hungarian Parliament passed a bill that prohibits denials of the Holocaust. In November, the German Federal Constitutional Court upheld legislation prohibiting public support and justification of the Nazi regime. In 2007, the European Union approved a framework aimed at criminalizing denial of the Holocaust and other genocides after six years of contentious debate. Also in 2007, a German court sentenced anti-Semitic writer Ernst Zundel to five years in prison after finding him guilty on 14 counts of incitement, libel and disparaging the dead.

[JURIST] A judge for the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York on Thursday ordered Imam Ahmad Afzali to leave the country within 90 days. Afzali pleaded guilty in March to lying to FBI agents in connection with the investigation of a plot to detonate explosives in the New York City subway system. Judge Frederic Block ordered electronic surveillance of Afzali until he leaves the country. Afzali will serve no prison sentence for the crime, but will be deported to Afghanistan if he does not comply with the order to leave the country voluntarily.
Afzali’s case stems from his role as a police informant in an investigation of Najibullah Zazi, who pleaded guilty in February to terrorism charges for planning the subway attacks. Afzali has admitted to telling Zazi that the FBI was investigating him, but later denying the fact to the FBI. Also in February, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) announced superseding indictments against Adis Mendunjanin and Zaerein Ahmedzay, two other men accused of planning to bomb subways in New York City. Mendunjanin previously pleaded not guilty to similar charges.

[JURIST] A judge for US District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin ruled Thursday that the National Day of Prayer is an unconstitutional government endorsement of religion. Judge Barbara Crabb issued summary judgment in favor of the Freedom from Religion Foundation, which challenged 36 USC § 119, establishing a day of prayer. The statute, passed in 1952 and amended in 1988 to make it the first Thursday in May, says the president will declare the day so people “may turn to God in prayer and meditation at churches, in groups, and as individuals.” In her ruling, Crabb said the National Day of Prayer violates the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause:
It goes beyond mere “acknowledgment” of religion because its sole purpose is to encourage all citizens to engage in prayer, an inherently religious exercise that serves no secular function in this context. In this instance, the government has taken sides on a matter that must be left to individual conscience. “When the government associates one set of religious beliefs with the state and identifies nonadherents as outsiders, it encroaches upon the individual’s decision about whether and how to worship.”The White House said that President Barack Obama still intends to recognize the day of prayer as he did last year.Last month, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that a teacher-led recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance in public schools does not violate the Constitution’s Establishment Clause. The court also upheld the use of the phrase “In God We Trust” on currency. In November, the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit ruled that a school district’s policy prohibiting the performance of religious holiday songs does not violate the Establishment Clause. Also that month, a judge for the US District Court for the District of South Carolina ruled that license plates produced by the state bearing a picture of a cross in front of a stained glass window and the words “I Believe” violate the Constitution.

[JURIST] US President Barack Obama on Thursday ordered Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to expand the rights of patients and non-related visitors in hospitals that receive funding from Medicaid and Medicare. The rules that Obama asked HHS to establish are designed to ensure that hospitals respect the rights of patients’ advance directives, such as designating visitors and powers of attorney, and that visitors may not be denied rights for discriminatory purposes. Obama requested that HHS:
ensure that hospitals that participate in Medicare or Medicaid respect the rights of patients to designate visitors. It should be made clear that designated visitors, including individuals designated by legally valid advance directives (such as durable powers of attorney and health care proxies), should enjoy visitation privileges that are no more restrictive than those that immediate family members enjoy. You should also provide that participating hospitals may not deny visitation privileges on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability.Gay rights group the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) welcomed the order as an “important step to protect the visitation and healthcare decision-making rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people.”Obama pledged during his presidential campaign to make expanding gay rights a priority of his administration. Last month, US Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced changes to the enforcement of the controversial Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy to make it more difficult to expel openly gay service members from the military. Obama has made clear that repealing the policy is a top priority for his administration, pledging to end it in October and reiterating his commitment in the State of the Union address. In August, a bill aimed at banning workplace discrimination motivated by an employee’s sexual orientation or gender identification was introduced in the US Senate. The Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), if passed, would protect employees from discriminatory hiring and firing practices, and from segregation or classification on the basis of sexual preference or gender identity.

[JURIST] The Kyrgyzstan Prosecutor General’s Office announced Friday that the son of deposed president Kurmanbek Bakiyev, Maksim Bakiyev, faces charges of abuse of power and misuse of state credit. Maksim Bakiyev ran Kyrgyzstan’s Central Agency for Development, Investment and Innovation and is accused of transferring USD $35 million of a $300 million loan from Russia into private bank accounts. In separate criminal cases, Maksim Bakiyev, along with his brother Marat and paternal uncle Janysh are also facing three charges of premeditated murder and attempted murder.
Also Friday, Kyrgyzstan interim leader Roza Otunbayeva announced that the government is working on a new constitution that will provide for a parliamentary democracy for the country. Kurmanbek Bakiyev officially resigned from the presidency on Thursday after a week of political chaos following violent political protests.Earlier this week, Otunbayeva said that Kurmanbek Bakiyev should stand trial for the recent violence. The protests, prompted in part by a drastic increase in utility costs, led to at least 84 deaths and many more injuries. On Tuesday, Kyrgyzstan’s interim government announced that the country’s highest court will be suspended until a permanent government is established. Roza Otunbayeva launched the interim government last week after violence forced Bakiyev to flee the capital. The protests came just one week after UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged Kyrgyzstan to protect all forms of human rights, including “free speech and freedom of the media.”

[JURIST] A German court ruled Thursday that persons from the former East Germany do not constitute a unique ethnic group for discrimination prevention purposes. The matter arose when an East Berlin woman sued a Stuttgart company after the company rejected her employment application and returned her resume with the term “Ossi,” a derogatory term for someone with ties to the former East Germany, written alongside a minus sign. Though admitting the term’s negative connotation, the judge concluded that place of birth alone is inadequate to qualify as an ethnic group. Additional attributes such as tradition, culture, language, and religion must be considered, and the former East Germany is not sufficiently disparate from West Germany, per the court.
Many Germans believe that, though the physical barriers that once divided Germany no longer exist, a “wall in the mind” persists that leads to continued prejudice. A 2008 study concluded that 64 percent of those from the former East Germany believe they are regarded as “second-class citizens,” while 77 percent believe that those from West Germany receive preferential treatment. The same study revealed that 59 percent of those surveyed feel the country continues to consist of two distinct communities.

[JURIST] US District Judge James Selna on Thursday ordered a May 13 pre-trial conference for the consolidated litigation against Toyota Motor Corporation surrounding the company’s auto safety failures. The court found that, “ecause this docket involves both personal injury actions and actions for economic loss, the Court believes a somewhat unique structure is required.” Toyota will defend itself in US District Court for the Central District of California against nearly 100 consumer fraud class action and personal injury claims. In addition to civil suits, Toyota faces a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) probe into investor disclosures, as well as a criminal investigation by federal prosecutors surrounding “sudden acceleration” in Toyota cars.
Last week, the US Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (MDL) consolidated more than 150 pending lawsuits against Toyota, transferring them to the district court. Earlier this month, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced that it will seek a record civil penalty of $16.375 million against Toyota for a four-month delay in notifying the agency about a problem with “sticky” gas pedals in various car models. In March, the California Orange County District Attorney (OCDA) filed a consumer protection suit against Toyota, alleging that the company knowingly sold vehicles with acceleration defects. Toyota has been under federal scrutiny since December and has recalled approximately eight million cars.

[JURIST] An independent UN commission has blamed the Pakistani government and police forces for the 2007 assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto in its investigatory report released Thursday. According to the report, the Pakistani federal government “lacked a comprehensive security plan” and failed to provide adequate security for Bhutto by relying on local officials without giving them “necessary instructions.” In the report, the commission accused the government of failing to launch a proper investigation into those responsible for the attack. The report also accused the government of hindering their investigation and called their various failures “deliberate”:
A range of Government officials failed profoundly in their efforts first to protect Ms. Bhutto and second to investigate with vigour all those responsible for her murder, not only in the execution of the attack, but also in its conception, planning and financing. … The Commission believes that the failures of the police and other officials to react effectively to Ms. Bhutto’s assassination were, in most cases, deliberate.The commission ultimately concluded that Bhutto’s assassination could have been prevented, if not for governmental ignorance. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon praised the commission’s work and left the responsibility for any criminal investigation with Pakistani authorities. The three-member commission was formed in June. Members included Chilean Ambassador to the UN Heraldo Munoz, former attorney general of Indonesia Marzuki Darusman, and Peter Fitzgerald, a former deputy police commissioner in the Irish National Police who has served with the UN in other capacities. Bhutto was killed in a suicide attack in December 2007 that claimed the lives of at least 20 other people. At that time, Bhutto was the head of the opposition Pakistan People’s Party, which was challenging then-prime minister Pervez Musharraf’s Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) in the lead-up to parliamentary elections.

[JURIST] Council of Europe Commissioner on Human Rights Thomas Hammarberg on Thursday criticized an agreement reached Wednesday between Germany and Kosovo that would return to Kosovo thousands of refugees who fled to Germany during the 1998-1999 Kosovo War. The agreement calls for Germany to repatriate up to 2,500 refugees per year and ensures that refugees from all ethnic groups will face repatriation, rather than only Roma, who may face persecution in Kosovo. Hammarberg worried that Kosovo does not yet have the infrastructure to care for the returning refugees or to protect them from ethnically motivated violence.
Kosovo is currently struggling to be recognized as an independent nation. In December, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) began oral arguments regarding an advisory opinion requested by Serbia on the effectiveness of Kosovo’s 2008 declaration of independence. Last year, in an effort to further the legitimacy of their independence, Kosovo began operations of its own judicial system. In March 2009, more than 100 Serbian judges, prosecutors, and legal professionals prevented the opening of the first EU-backed trial in Kosovo by protesting in front of the Mitrovica court house. A panel of three judges had been set to preside over a criminal case involving two Serbian defendants. As Serbia and Kosovo’s Serbian population have refused to accept Kosovo’s independence, the demonstration was intended to bar the EU from holding trial in Kosovo except under UN laws. The trial court was established by European Union Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo (EULEX), an EU mission designed to guide Kosovo toward independence in accordance with the Rule of Law.

[JURIST] The Nova Scotian government officially pardoned and issued an apology to Canadian civil rights icon Viola Desmond in a ceremony Thursday attended by Premier Darrell Dexter and Minister of Justice Landry Ross. Desmond, an African-Canadian woman who died in 1965, was fined $20 and jailed overnight in 1946 on charges that stemmed from her refusal to leave an area of a theater reserved for white patrons. Dexter apologized to Desmond’s family, including her sister Wanda Robson who was at the ceremony, and all African Nova Scotians for the government’s actions against Desmond. Dexter stated:
The arrest, detainment and conviction of Viola Desmond is an example in our history where the law was used to perpetuate racism and racial segregation – this is contrary to the values of Canadian society. We recognize today that the act for which Viola Desmond was arrested, was an act of courage, not an offence.Robson said her parents would be proud to know that Desmond had become a Canadian hero and urged people to learn from the incident to prevent similar situations. This marked the first posthumous “free pardon” in Canadian history, recognizing that Desmond was innocent and her conviction was in error.Last year, Birmingham, Alabama Mayor Barry Langford pardoned about 2,500 people arrested for non-violent civil rights protests in the city during the 1960’s. In April 2006, Alabama Governor Bob Riley authorized pardons for Rosa Parks, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and other civil rights activists convicted of violating Jim Crow laws in the state. Parks helped trigger the civil rights movement across the US after she was arrested in Montgomery, AL, in 1955 for refusing to give up her seat on a bus to a white man. Parks died in 2005 at the age of 92.

[JURIST] Former Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert was named a suspect Thursday in an investigation into the Holyland bribery scandal that occurred during his time as mayor of Jerusalem. It is expected that law enforcement will interrogate Olmert over the alleged bribery scandal in which top Jerusalem officials are believed to have taken bribes for enabling the construction of a high-rise luxury housing development. Seven former officials have been arrested including former Jerusalem mayor Uri Lupolianski, who was deputy mayor under Olmert. Lupolianski accused Olmert of being responsible for the scandal, saying the deputy mayor is nothing more than a mere title with no real authority. Police believe Olmert alone received $940,000 to approve zoning change, rejecting hundreds of objections, to allow for a twelve-fold increase in the number of residential units allowed in the area, enabling the construction of a high-rise complex. Olmert is denying involvement in the scandal.
Olmert has been embroiled in accusations of scandal for much of his political career. He is already facing trial, the first of a former or current Israeli prime minister, for corruption and fraud charges that led to his resignation from being prime minister in 2008. He is accused of illegally accepting cash contributions from an American businessman, double billing travel expenses to the state and charitable donors, and giving his former law partner access to state information. In April 2007, Olmert was investigated for improperly favoring his supporters in distributing business grants during his time as trade minister. In January 2007, the Israeli Ministry of Justice announced plans to launch an investigation into allegations that he promoted the interests of two business associates during the 2005 state sale of Bank Leumi.

[JURIST] Victims of paramilitary violence in Colombia filed suit Wednesday against Chiquita Banana International, which has admitted to funding Marxist rebels in Colombia. In the complaint filed in the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida, 242 Colombians alleged that they had been seriously injured or had family members killed by the right-wing paramilitary group, United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC). The AUC has been accused of mass killings during the Colombia guerrilla warfare movement before disarmament in 2003. The plaintiffs, who are seeking over $1 billion in damages, brought suit under a 1992 law that allows US citizens to sue for terrorist acts committed by US firms abroad. The complaint alleges that Chiquita aided and abetted in the murders and provided material support and resources to terrorists.
In February, a federal judge ruled that a lawsuit accusing Chiquita of assisting Marxist rebels who killed Colombian missionaries may go forward. The suit was brought by family members of five North American missionaries who had worked for the New Tribes Mission (NTM) in South America and were killed in separate incidents between 1995 and 1996. Chiquita admitted it had paid paramilitary group, Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), for protection of its workers but it argued that it did not condone the killings. In 2007, Chiquita was fined $25 million after it admitted to making payments of around $1.7 million from 1997 to 2004 to FARC and AUC. Following that admission, hundreds of family members of Colombians killed by FARC filed lawsuits in the US against Chiquita under the Alien Tort Claims Act (ATCA). In January, Chiquita settled a shareholder lawsuit over the illegal payments.

[JURIST] Pakistan’s Senate on Thursday unanimously passed a constitutional amendment that would curtail the powers of the president. The 18th Amendment Bill would reverse the expansion of presidential powers under former military leader Pervez Musharraf by transferring presidential powers to the office of the prime minister, effectively reserving the presidency as a figurehead. Among other changes, the president would no longer have the power to dissolve parliament, dismiss the prime minister, or appoint the chief of the armed forces. Because Pakistan’s lower house, the National Assembly, unanimously passed the bill last week, the amendment will now go to President Asif Ali Zardari to be signed into law.
The introduction of the bill comes amid controversy over reopening corruption investigations against Zardari. Earlier this month, Pakistan’s Attorney General Anwar Mansoor announced his resignation over controversy surrounding a Supreme Court order to investigate corruption allegations against Zardari. Last month, Swiss authorities denied a request from Pakistan’s National Accountability Bureau, refusing to reopen a corruption investigation against Zardari. Aides to Zardari believe that presidential immunity protects him from prosecution, even after the Supreme Court overturned an amnesty law implemented by Musharraf. The amnesty was signed by Musharraf as part of a power-sharing accord allowing former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto to return to the country despite corruption charges she had faced.