A Philippines trial court Monday convicted one US Marine and acquitted three other Marines on charges of raping a 23-year-old Filipino woman at a Navy base in Manila last year. The verdict is subject to an automatic appeal. Lance Corporal Daniel Smith will serve a 40 year sentence in a Filipino prison and will pay around $2,000 in compensation to the victim. The Marines were charged within the framework of the US-Philippines Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA), which requires US personnel to "respect the laws of the Republic of the Philippines," and provides the Philippines with "jurisdiction over United States personnel with respect to offenses committed within the Philippines and punishable under the law of the Philippines." The US retains the power to enforce the US Military Code as appropriate and to punish all acts that are punishable under US but not Philippine law.

This case was the first tried under the VFA since it was ratified by both countries in 1999. The VFA was motivated in part by the large number of reported rape incidents in the 1980s involving US soldiers stationed in the Philippines, which resulted in zero convictions.

They also claim that they endured difficulty acclimating to Japanese culture when they were repatriated in the 1970s. According to the lawsuit, the government failed to assist the repatriation process although many of the plaintiffs did not speak Japanese or were shunned by living relatives. In the 1930s, the government transported 320,000 settlers to the Manchuria province to establish a base of operations for Japan's 1937 invasion of China. Many Japanese settlers were left behind after the war, however, and many children were raised by Chinese citizens. The plaintiffs remained displaced until 1975 when the government began locating them.

In 1994, the Japanese government passed legislation providing financial assistance to Japanese nationals who returned to Japan. Last year, an Osaka court rejected similar claims from a different group of plaintiffs, declaring that the government had no obligation to provide compensation.

Chinese authorities have executed the founder of a Chinese Christian church and two of his close associates for allegedly ordering the murders of several members of a rival religious sect, a lawyer for Xu Shuangfu said Wednesday. The death penalty apparently imposed last week on the former head of the Three Grades of Servants Church without any notification to his family or defense team is part of a crackdown by the government of China on underground religious organizations that authorities label as cults. Making the sects illegal prohibits them from recruiting members or raising money, so the churches go underground to worship. Xu's conviction and July 2006 sentencing stemmed from the 2002 murders of members of the Eastern Lightning Church, which attempted to steal followers away from the Three Grades of Servants Church. Christian groups say that 15 members of the Three Grades Church have been executed by Chinese authorities so far.

Xu's family does not claim that the murders never happened, but contends that his trial was wrought with flaws and included no physical evidence linking Xu to the deaths. Prosecutors instead relied on confessions of fellow church members, which Xu's lawyer says were garnered by torture. Earlier this year, the Falun Gong spiritual group, also banned by the Chinese government, alleged that thousands of its followers were being held in a Chinese "concentration camp" to be killed for organ-harvesting.

North Korea will not unilaterally abandon its nuclear weapons programs, Kim Gye-gwan, Pyongyang’s nuclear envoy to the six-party talks, said on Thursday.
His remarks came right after he held a closed-door meeting with his South Korean counterpart Chun Yung-woo at a restaurant in Beijing, the first meeting of its kind in seven months.

"There are many commitments in the Sept. 19 joint statement and at this stage we will not unilaterally give up the nuclear program," he said.

Kim’s attitude is still stubborn, but it does not necessarily mean that the chance is slim for the six-party talks to be resumed, diplomatic sources in Beijing said.

They said Kim’s U.S. counterpart, Christopher Hill presented the North Koreans a "new message," which is believed to have reflected U.S. President George W. Bush’s hope to resolve the nuclear standoff soon.

"Kim needed to come back to Pyongyang to consult with the leadership there," a source said, implying that the talks in Beijing between North Korea and the United States was "not fruitless."

Hill said the North was considering the U.S. proposals, which he described as "ideas that are designed to make rapid progress (toward denuclearization)."

The American envoy said he was "hopeful" that the talks would resume in December. "We hope to hear back from the North Koreans soon," he added.

He said the main issue in Beijing this time was how to get the North Koreans to make some "tough decisions"  to move out of the nuclear business.

Kim told reporters after the meeting with Chun that North Korea is ready to implement the joint statement, which was adopted in September last year, saying the denuclearization is the last instruction of Kim Il-sung, the late founding leader of North Korea.

Kim also said more time is needed to pin down the resumption date.

Chun underlined that there is no difference between North Korea and the United States on the idea the denuclearization talks should be held soon. But the South Korean said detailed coordination is still necessary. He declined to go into detail.

All head delegates to the six-way talks, except the official from Russia, gathered in Beijing this week to hold a flurry of diplomatic action aimed at restarting the disarmament negotiations that have been in limbo over the past year.

Pyongyang boycotted the multilateral forum in November last year in protest at the U.S.-imposed restrictions on its overseas bank accounts, starting with a bank in Macau.

Hill insisted that North Korea must abandon its nuclear programs first to get the benefits promised in the joint statements, including the security guarantee and diplomatic normalization with the United States, according to wire news reports

Judge Alejandro Solis initially placed Pinochet under house arrest in October, marking Pinochet's first detention on torture charges, in connection with 36 cases of kidnapping, 23 cases of torture and a single case of homicide at the Villa Grimaldi prison, an infamous political detention center operated by Pinochet's secret police between 1974 and 1977. AP has more. El Mercurio has local coverage. In an extraordinary statement released on his 91st birthday Saturday Pinochet publicly assumed "full political responsibility" for the actions of his 1973-90 military regime. Pinochet nonetheless justified the military coup against Socialist Salvador Allende that brought him to power as having being necessary to preserve Chile's integrity amid "the continuation and worsening of the worse political and economic crisis than one can remember."

WASHINGTON — U.S. Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales and Canadian Minister of Public Safety Stockwell Day today signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) at the ninth annual United States-Canada Cross-Border Crime Forum. The agreement allows for the electronic exchange of ballistics information between the two countries.

Prior to the agreement, there was a limited manual exchange of ballistics information, which was time-consuming and cumbersome.  Now, through electronic access, both countries will be able to connect firearms and bullets used in one or more crime scenes across North America. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) will be the lead agencies responsible for implementing this important law enforcement agreement.

"This agreement paves the way for greater law enforcement collaboration between the United States and Canada," said Attorney General Gonzales. "It will aid criminal investigations involving firearms on both sides of the border and will help ensure the safety of citizens of both nations."

"Criminals are not afraid of crossing the border and committing more crimes using the same illegal weapons," said Minister Day. "With today's agreement, our law enforcement agencies will be able to solve more crimes by connecting firearms and bullets used in one or more crime scenes across North America."

This agreement is one instance of a long track record of collaboration between the United States and Canada, including the establishment of the ATF Office of Assistant Country Attaché in Toronto, mutual assistance with firearms tracing, and joint training initiatives.

The United States and Canada have consistently engaged in collaborative efforts to effectively share intelligence and information in an effort to stem the illegal flow of U.S.-sourced firearms to Canada. The two nations have instituted the following measures to help fight transnational crime:

*Sharing Forensic Firearms Data – The MOU signed today by Attorney General Gonzales and Minister Day enhances the ability of the ATF and the RCMP to share forensic ballistics information electronically and in real time through the Integrated Ballistics Identification System (IBIS). IBIS allows law enforcement officials to collect and search images of bullets and cartridge cases recovered from crime scenes and from the test fires of firearms seized by law enforcement officers. Previously, this information could only be shared by the two countries on a case-by-case basis. This agreement will help connect the two systems and will save law enforcement officers time and effort, allowing them to spend more time solving crimes and less time filling out paperwork.

*Assistant Country Attaché – In an effort to properly address the issue of illegal U.S.-sourced firearms in Canada, ATF has expanded its presence in Canada and in August, 2005, assigned an Assistant Country Attaché to focus on the Greater Toronto area’s rise in firearms related violence. ATF works closely with the Provincial Weapons Enforcement Unit (PWEU) to support its mandate of tracing firearms used in crimes. ATF facilitates collateral investigations and coordinates efforts in the U.S. to investigate, arrest, and prosecute individuals who traffic firearms illegally into Canada.

*Comprehensive Gun Analysis and Tracing – In the fall of 2005, in the wake of an increase in gun violence in the Toronto area, ATF and the RCMP signed an agreement that allows RCMP to use ATF’s eTrace system to electronically trace firearms recovered at crime scenes in Canada. Systematic tracing of firearms assists with interdiction efforts of those firearms originating in the U.S. and allows for the identification of sources of such firearms. Canada’s Firearms Tracing and Enforcement Program, which is a PWEU initiative, has been providing analysis on guns sourced to the United States for the past several years. The RCMP’s National Tracing Unit and PWEU are successfully using ATF’s e-Trace to submit requests to ATF’s National Tracing Center Division.

*Joint Collaboration with Initiatives – ATF is currently working with the Crime Gun Analysis Team in Toronto on firearms-related investigations, coordinating any assistance requested by the Ontario PWEU under this new initiative, assisting with firearms tracing, and any collateral investigations requested from ATF in the United States. ATF also coordinates mutual training initiatives with Canadian law enforcement, such as International Firearms Trafficking Schools and the Serial Number Restoration Training.

www.usdoj.com

Robin Sheen

WASHINGTON – (USDOJ) Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales announced on Monday that the United States signed an Executive Agreement with Eurojust, the judicial cooperation unit of the European Union (E.U.), which will improve transatlantic law enforcement coordination and enhance the ability of the U.S. and the E.U. to fight international crime. The Agreement will foster the exchange of information between law enforcement communities in the U.S. and the E.U. and will strengthen cooperative efforts to prevent and prosecute organized crime, human trafficking, cybercrime and terrorism.

Specifically, the agreement establishes the position of U.S. Liaison Prosecutor to Eurojust. The Liaison Prosecutor will be based at Eurojust headquarters in The Hague, Netherlands, and will facilitate law enforcement cooperation between the U.S. and the E.U. on a day-to-day basis. The Agreement particularly ensures the protection of personal information and individual privacy for both citizens of the U.S. and the E.U.

"This agreement is just one more example of the strong relationship that exists between the United States and the European Union on law enforcement issues," said Attorney General Gonzales. "It represents an important part of our ongoing efforts to combat transnational crime and international terrorism while protecting the civil liberties of our citizens."

The Executive Agreement was signed following troika meetings hosted by Attorney General Gonzales at the Department of Justice with Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff, Minister of Justice of Finland Leena Luhtanen, Minister of Interior of Finland Kari Rajamaki and Vice President of the European Commission Franco Frattini.