Georgia claims the attacks amount to a persistent campaign of racial discrimination.

The International Court of Justice says it will hear arguments from both sides beginning Sept. 8 at its seat in The Hague.

Georgia has filed a suit seeking compensation for what it claims are nearly two decades of ethnic cleansing of Georgians in the breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. Russia so far has not responded to Georgia's claims.

By scheduling the hearings, the court responded Friday to Georgia's request for emergency action to halt operations by Russia and Russian-backed separatists.

Georgia claims the attacks amount to a persistent campaign of racial discrimination.

The International Court of Justice says it will hear arguments from both sides beginning Sept. 8 at its seat in The Hague.

Georgia has filed a suit seeking compensation for what it claims are nearly two decades of ethnic cleansing of Georgians in the breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. Russia so far has not responded to Georgia's claims.

By scheduling the hearings, the court responded Friday to Georgia's request for emergency action to halt operations by Russia and Russian-backed separatists.

The appeals court issued the ruling Thursday, saying the Saudi defendants are protected by sovereign immunity. It also agreed with a lower court that a Saudi banker and a charitable organization cannot be held liable.

The Saudi defendants were among hundreds of other defendants sued by victims of the attacks, including the families of those who died.

Other defendants in the case include foreign governments, charities and individuals alleged to have provided financial and logistical support to al-Qaida.

The trial of New York-based lawyer Emmanuel Zeltser, a specialist in Russian law and organized crime, was held behind closed doors. The verdict was announced by the defendant's lawyer, Dmitry Goryachko.

"My position is that he did not commit these crimes," Goryachko told Reuters. "We will, of course, be making an appeal."

Zeltser's secretary, Vladlena Bruskova, was jailed for a year.

The U.S. State Department has repeatedly expressed concern over his arrest and sought his release on grounds of ill health.

On Monday, the U.S. embassy said it could not judge whether the trial met international standards as it had not been present. It repeated calls to be granted access to Zeltser.

"We have not been granted consular access to him for more than two months," it said. "We ... call upon the Belarsussian authorities to provide him with all the medication which has been prescribed to him."

Zeltser was detained in March on his arrival in Belarus, where he was to represent the interests of Josef Kay, a relative of the late Georgian businessman Badri Patarkatsishvili.

A handwritten statement from Thaksin issued Monday said he fled because he could not expect justice in Thai courts. It came amid newspaper reports that he would seek asylum in Britain.

"My wife and I have traveled to reside in England," Thaksin said in the statement. "If I still have luck, I would come back and die on Thai soil like every other Thai person.

Thaksin's statement, which did not mention asking for asylum, was read Monday afternoon on state-run television.

"What happened to my family and me is like fruit from a poisonous tree — the fruit will also be poisoned," the statement said. "There is a continuation of dictatorship in managing Thai politics ... which is followed by interference in the justice system."

Thaksin and his wife Pojaman failed to appear Monday morning before the Supreme Court's Criminal Division for Holders of Political Positions in a case involving an allegedly unlawful purchase of real estate.

The couple left Thailand last week after the court gave them permission to attend the Olympic Games in Beijing but ordered them to report Monday. News reports in Bangkok said Thaksin and Pojaman flew from China to England, where the former leader owns several properties and the Manchester City football club.

Thaksin lived in exile in Britain after he was ousted in a 2006 military coup. He returned to Thailand earlier this year to face corruption charges against him after his political allies won new elections and formed a coalition government.

Two Spanish pro-Tibet groups filed a lawsuit, claiming the seven officials were responsible for at least 203 deaths, more than 1,000 injured and nearly 6,000 illegal arrests and disappearances during the March protests.

Investigative magistrate Santiago Pedraz said the court is entitled to investigate under Spain's principle of universal jurisdiction for cases dealing with charges, such as genocide and crimes against humanity, regardless of where they were allegedly committed.

The statement names Defense Minister Lian Guanglie and State Security Minister Geng Huichang among the seven. Two army officials and two senior Communist Party officials are also being probed.

After studying the evidence, the judge will decided if there is sufficient evidence to file charges.

The Chinese foreign ministry in Beijing said it had seen the news reports on the matter but had no immediate comment.

The groups filing the suit were named as the Tibet Support Committee and the House of Tibet Private Foundation.

In recent years, Spanish magistrates have used the principle of universal jurisdiction several times to pursue cases in different countries, most notably against members of former military regimes in Latin America, but extraditions and convictions have been rare.

In a separate case, the Madrid court has also been reviewing since 2006 another lawsuit filed by the Tibet Support Committee against several former Chinese officials for alleged genocide in the years after Chinese Communist troops entered Tibet in 1951.

Security guards swiftly tackled and pinned the man to the ground following the incident in St. Peter's Square in June 2007.

The 28-year-old, who suffers from a bipolar disorder, was put Monday on four years' probation, the Waldshut-Tiengen state court in southwestern Germany said in a statement.

To avoid being sent to a psychiatric hospital during that period, he must begin psychotherapy and continue with medication he is already taking and undergo regular checkups, the court said.

He also was banned "categorically" from consuming alcohol and drugs, and must undergo regular urine tests, the court said. The man was not identified in the statement, in keeping with German court practice.

It said the man's health has "stabilized significantly" over the year since the incident, and that the conditions attached to Monday's verdict should encourage a further improvement.

The German-born pontiff was not harmed in last year's incident and appeared not to have even noticed. He did not look back and kept on waving and blessing the crowd.