The Supreme Court of Pakistan Feb. 25 upheld a lower court ruling that bars Nawaz Sharif, former prime minister and current leader of the opposition Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), from holding elected office based on a past criminal conviction for "hijacking." Sharif was convicted of the offense for attempting to divert a plane carrying Army commander Pervez Musharraf during a 1999 coup against Sharif that ultimately succeeded.

Some US forces likely to remain in Iraq after President Barack Obama fulfills his pledge to "withdraw combat troops" would still have a combat role, unnamed Pentagon officials told the New York Times. Obama plans to announce his withdrawal strategy this week, and is expected to choose a compromise 19-month plan that leaves behind as many as 50,000 troops for clean-up and protection operations—potentially for years to come. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has said that a "residual" force would number in the tens of thousands. There are currently some 142,000 US troops in Iraq, including 14 combat brigades and thousands of support troops. Even after August 2010, as up to 50,000 would remain, including some combat units reassigned as "Advisory Training Brigades" or "Advisory Assistance Brigades," the officials said. (NYT, Newsday, CSM, Feb. 26)

The Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL) Feb. 25 found three former guerrilla leaders guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity for their roles in the country's civil war. Issa Hassan Sesay, Morris Kallon, and Augustine Gbao are the three highest-ranking surviving Revolutionary United Front (RUF) leaders, after founder Foday Sankoy died before being tried in 2003. Of 18 charges, Sesay and Kallon were found guilty of 16 offenses and Gbao was found guilty of 14 offenses.

Former Serbian President Milan Milutinovic was acquitted Feb. 26 of all charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY). Five other former high-ranking Yugoslav officials were convicted of crimes against humanity that same day. Of the five, former Yugoslav Deputy Prime Minister Nikola Sainovic, Yugoslav Army General Nebojsa Pavkovic and Serbian Police General Sreten Lukic were each sentenced to 22 years in prison, and former Yugoslav Army General Vladimir Lazarevic and Chief of General Staff Dragoljub Ojdanic were each sentenced to 15 years in prison.

A judge in Lebanon Feb. 25 granted bail to three men suspected of involvement in the February 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. The judge did not explain why he released them within days of the planned start-up date for the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (SLT). Of the three men, who have been detained for three years, Mahmoud and Ahmed Abdel-Aal are Lebanese brothers whose phone records allegedly link them to the bombings, and are members of a pro-Syrian Sunni Muslim group. Ibrahim Jarjoura is a Syrian who was arrested for allegedly misleading the investigation. Four more suspects, who are high ranking Lebanese generals, are still being held. The SLT is expected to request their transfer to The Hague within two months.

The US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ruled Feb. 24 that two former lobbyists may use classified documents in their defense against charges under the 1917 Espionage Act. Steven Rosen and Keith Weissman, previously with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), are charged with conspiring to convey classified US intelligence to the Israeli government. The decision affirms a ruling of the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia that the defendants would be allowed to use certain classified materials in their defense under the Classified Information Procedures Act (CIPA).

US Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano has called for a review of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) workplace immigration raid that occurred in Bellingham, WA, on Feb. 24. In a hearing one day later, Napolitano told lawmakers that she was not made aware of the raid which resulted in the arrest of 28 Mexicans and Central Americans. The ICE raid on the Yamato Engine Specialists plant was the first since President Barack Obama took office, and sparked protests by local immigrants' rights groups. Most of those arrested are being detained at a federal facility in Tacoma and face deportation.

US Attorney General Eric Holder Feb. 25 confirmed the Obama administration's intention to close Guantánamo Bay in 2010 despite his belief that the facility is now well-run and that detainees are treated appropriately by guards. After visiting the prison earlier this week, Holder told reporters that he was impressed with what he saw there. His comments stand in direct contrast to statements made earlier this week by Reprieve human rights lawyer Ahmed Ghappour, who said that complaints of beatings and other abuses have increased substantially since December as guards supposedly anticipated closure and stricter restraints imposed by the new administration. Reprieve currently represents 31 Guantanamo detainees.