Zimbabwe court frees rights lawyer

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — Zimbabwe's top rights lawyer, Beatrice Mtetwa, released by a court after eight days in jail for allegedly obstructing justice, said Monday her arrest was a ploy to intimidate human rights activists and pro-democracy groups ahead of upcoming elections expected in July.

A visibly tired Beatrice Mtetwa walked from the High Court in Harare in the company of two colleagues and her lawyer after her release papers took several hours to complete. 

She told reporters she believed she had been targeted by police.

"It is a personal attack on all human rights lawyers but I was just made the first example. There will be many more arrests to follow as we near elections," Mtetwa said. "The police were all out to get me. They wanted me to feel their might and power because I call myself a human rights lawyer and I felt it."

Mtetwa was arrested on March 17 along with four officials from Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's party. The officials are accused of illegally compiling information on high level corruption and are schedule to appeal for bail on Tuesday. Mtetwa was accused of shouting at police officers who were conducting a search at Tsvangirai's staff offices when she demanded to see a search warrant.

Mtetwa and the four officials deny any wrongdoing.  She said she merely told the police that "what they were doing is illegal, unlawful and undemocratic."

High Court Judge Joseph Musakwa ruled early Monday that Mtetwa was following professional legal procedures when she demanded to see a search warrant from police at the offices of the four officials.

"She was entitled to be appraised of the legality of the search," Musakwa said.

After her release, Mtetwa said she was not well-treated while in police custody. She wasn't allowed to take a bath and was denied access to her lawyers and family.

But she said she will not give up the fight for human rights.

"I will not be cowed," Mtetwa said. "There has to be mutual respect between police and lawyers because we will all be doing our job."

Critics have cited Mtetwa's prolonged jailing as the start of a fresh wave of political intimidation against opponents of President Robert Mugabe by loyalist police and judicial officials ahead of elections.

The European Union said in a statement Monday that European governments were "deeply concerned" by Mtetwa's arrest and the onslaught against civic groups as Zimbabwe prepares for elections to end the shaky and dispute-ridden coalition government.

The European bloc conceded that a referendum vote on March 16 on a new constitution was "credible" and reflected the free will of about 3 million voters who cast their ballots and overwhelmingly accepted the reformed constitution, EU spokesman Carl Skau said Monday.

As a result the EU suspended with immediate effect travel and banking bans on 81 leaders of Mugabe's party. But Mugabe, his wife, military, police and security chiefs and several others key loyalists remain on the ban list.

The restrictions were imposed in 2002 to protest the human rights record, violence, corruption and allegations of vote-rigging by Mugabe's party in past elections.

Regional mediators forged the coalition government between Mugabe and Tsvangirai after the disputed and violent elections in 2008.

So far this year, four rights and advocacy groups have been raided by police searching for alleged subversive materials relating to their activities campaigning for free elections and an end to political intimidation and human rights abuses that have dominated past elections.

Mtetwa had been scheduled to act as lead defense attorney in the trial, resuming Monday, of 29 supporters of Tsvangirai's party charged in the murder of a police inspector in an impoverished township suburb in western Harare.

Most of those suspects were denied bail for more than a year. Defending them, Mtetwa noted that six police officers charged in the assault and murder of a theft suspect received bail within a month of their detention. The officers are still to go to trial in that case nine months ago.

Swaziland-born Mtetwa moved to Zimbabwe in 1983. She has represented key leaders in Tsvangirai's party including its treasurer Roy Bennett, now in self-imposed exile after repeated threats. She has also defended journalists and prominent rights workers, some of whom were tortured, according to evidence in court, and held incommunicado without charge for several weeks late in 2008.

Last week police ignored an earlier High Court order to free Mtetwa and on Wednesday the lower Harare magistrate's court ordered her held in custody to reappear in that court on April 3.

Charges of obstructing justice carry a maximum of two years imprisonment.

The judge said Mtetwa should not have been denied bail because of her "professional standing." He said the police officers conducting the search could have "easily subdued her because she is a woman" if they felt she was hindering them from doing their job.

"She is a lawyer of many years, with a forceful, combative and at times aggressive personality but she remains professional and dignified" when doing her job, the judge said.

Mtetwa is a recipient of an array of awards from international jurists' groups including the American Bar Association over a distinguished career of three decades.

Mtetwa is known for her feisty and outspoken style and for quickly responding to calls for representation around the clock by activists and journalists held by police.

Media freedom groups said her detention, the first time she has been jailed, left independent reporters and rights campaigners fearful of being left without her voice.

The state's Sunday Mail newspaper criticized Mtetwa for thinking she was "untouchable" and said her "stage-managed antics in and outside the courts" earned her "dubious awards" from African and international lawyers groups.

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Ottawa names lawyer to talk energy with native groups

By Jeffrey Jones

CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) - Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper has appointed a British Columbia lawyer to gather views of native groups across the Western province on energy development as the industry struggles to gain acceptance of multibillion-dollar pipelines that would vastly increase oil exports.

However, Harper's new representative for West Coast energy infrastructure, Doug Eyford, insisted on Tuesday his role will not be to cajole holdouts into supporting contentious projects.

Aboriginal opposition to such proposals as Enbridge Inc's C$6 billion ($5.8 billion) Northern Gateway pipeline has been a major stumbling block to the Harper Conservatives' aim of shipping large volumes of oil sands-derived crude to the Pacific Coast to be exported to Asia as a way to increase turns.

Eyford is a veteran of federal negotiations with Indian groups, known in Canada as First Nations, on self-government. Over the next three months, he will meet with communities affected by proposed pipelines, liquefied natural gas plants and marine terminals.

Eyford will issue a draft report to Harper on June 28 and the final document on November 29, Joe Oliver, Canada's natural resources minister, said in a speech in Terrace, British Columbia.

His appointment comes a day after Ottawa said it planned a series of measures aimed at improving tanker safety as proposed pipeline projects point to a major increase in coastal traffic.

Eyford said he has not been asked to advocate on behalf of the government or the energy industry in favor of specific industrial developments.

"My role and responsibility is to provide an accurate and complete report to the prime minister on what I'm told by the people who I interact and engage with as part of my responsibilities," he said.

The federal government has a constitutional requirement to consult with and accommodate native communities when developments will affect their lands, and some aboriginal leaders have suggested their rights and title to lands may amount to veto power.

This has presented legal risks to proponents of Northern Gateway, which would ship 525,000 barrels a day of Alberta oil to the coastal port of Kitimat, British Columbia. Regulators are due to decide whether to approve the project by the end of this year following hearings that began at the beginning of 2012.

Oliver said native people have much to contribute to natural resource development, as they bring traditional knowledge that offers better understanding of environmental impacts and remediation measures. He pointed out that the industry supports 32,000 aboriginal jobs in Canada.

Still, some groups, such as the Coastal First Nations and Yinka Dene Alliance, are staunchly opposed to oil pipelines, saying they fear the risks of oil spills as well as potential loss of traditional ways.

Art Sterritt, executive director of Coastal First Nations, an alliance of nine groups, said it appears the federal government realized it needed someone on the ground with experience in native rights, title and consultation, though it is starting the process very late.

"We don't have a lot of optimism around that, but knowing Mr. Eyford, we think that he's a person who is going to be candid with the prime minister," Sterritt told Reuters. "We're happy that he's not reporting at a lower level. We think this needs to be dealt with at the highest level."

He stressed that the appointment will not lead his people to drop their opposition to the Northern Gateway project.

British Columbia's burgeoning LNG industry appears to have wider support among native groups, some of which are equity partners in proposed multibillion-dollar projects.

Eyford said he did not know if his final report will be made public.

($1=$1.03 Canadian)

(Editing by Phil Berlowitz and Gunna Dickson)

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Zimbabwe rights lawyer bail appeal postponed

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — A Zimbabwean court on Friday postponed a bail appeal to release the nation's top rights lawyer, Beatrice Mtetwa.

Mtetwa was arrested March 17 on allegations of obstructing justice and will spend eight nights in jail before she reappears in court on Monday.

Her jailing and the detention of members of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's office she was defending have been described by rivals of longtime President Robert Mugabe as a campaign of intimidation ahead of elections scheduled around July.

High court judge Joseph Musakwa ruled Friday that state prosecutors needed more time to prepare for the bail hearing.

But defense attorney Harrison Nkomo said Mtetwa's appeal papers were filed early Thursday, giving prosecutors ample time to study them

"This is the state's way of punishing her by letting her spend more time in jail. We are concerned by the way the state is dragging its feet," he said.

Lawyers were planning to demonstrate outside the court Friday where Mtetwa was refused bail on Wednesday and ordered to be held in custody to April 3.

Police say Mtetwa shouted at them and caused a distraction during which three laptops with information police were looking for disappeared and were presumed to have been hidden.

Mtetwa denies any wrongdoing and says she only asked police officers to show her a valid search warrant during a raid on offices of Tsvangirai's staff on Sunday.

Obstructing justice carries a maximum penalty of two years imprisonment.

She was brought to court Tuesday after police ignored a judge's order to release her Monday.

Prosecutors oppose bail on grounds she could hinder police investigations into allegations that officials from Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change illegally collected information on high level corruption and impersonated police in doing so.

Mtetwa's prolonged detention in jail has prompted outcry from the African and international legal groups.

Mtetwa is the recipient of an array of awards from international jurists' groups including the American Bar Association over a distinguished career of three decades.

She has also defended journalists and human rights activists against prosecution by police and Mugabe loyalists in Zimbabwe's judiciary.

"There is absolutely no legal basis for her arrest and continued detention," Mtetwa's defense attorney Nkomo told The Associated Press.

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Zimbabwe court denies bail to human rights lawyer

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — A Zimbabwe court refused Wednesday to free on bail the nation's top rights lawyer, Beatrice Mtetwa, on charges of obstructing justice after her arrest by police Sunday.

The court ordered her to be held in prison until her next court appearance on April 3, but lawyers said they will immediately appeal the ruling.

The ruling by Harare magistrate Marehwanazvo Gofa was "shocking, disappointing and injudicious," said attorney Alec Muchadehama, member of Mtetwa's defense team.

"This is a serious assault on the legal profession in Zimbabwe. The magistrate was wrong and misdirected herself. We are not happy at all about the ruling," Muchadehama said.

A defiant Mtetwa waved at activists and legal colleagues as she was led from the courthouse.

The judgment marked a "sad day" for the rule of law in Zimbabwe, said Irene Petras, head of the independent Lawyers for Human Rights. "Despite what has happened, we need to carry on the fight for justice."

"It is a travesty of justice not founded on fact and law," said Abel Chikomo, head of the Zimbabwe Human Rights Forum.

The next step is to seek an urgent hearing at the High Court to overrule Gofa's decision, said the lawyers.

Mtetwa appeared at the court in the morning in green prison uniform after spending a third night in jail despite a judge's order to authorities to release her on Monday.

Her arrest, the day after a referendum vote on a new constitution that calls for stronger human rights, prompted an outcry from African and international law organizations. On Sunday, she was representing four officials of the Zimbabwe prime minister's party being searched by police on allegations of illegally collecting information on high level corruption.

The four officials, brought to court in leg irons, were also denied bail Wednesday.

Prosecutors said Mtetwa is a citizen of Swaziland and it is feared she might abscond before her next court appearance and she "might hinder further police investigations by causing commotion and shouting."

Police say that Mtetwa shouted at them during house searches Sunday. Mtetwa says that she merely told police that they were violating her clients' rights by carrying out illegal searches and refusing to produce valid search warrants.

Obstructing justice carries a maximum penalty of two years in prison.

Mtetwa's prolonged period in jail is seen as a crackdown on critics of President Robert Mugabe. She has represented Tsvangirai and several of his top aides in past cases brought against them. She has also successfully defended journalists and human rights workers against prosecution by the Mugabe government. Mtetwa is the recipient of an array of awards from international jurists' groups including the American Bar Association.

The American Bar Association on Wednesday condemned Mtetwa's treatment in detention and called on Zimbabwean authorities to "cease further harassment of political opponents and their representatives exercising their rights under international law."

"The eyes of the international legal community are on the Zimbabwe government's flagrant and deplorable disrespect for the rule of law, the authority of the judiciary of Zimbabwe, and the government's unwarranted punishment of lawyers trying to protect the rights of Zimbabwe citizens," said Laurel Bellows, president of the American Bar Association.

Mtetwa is a "victim of arbitrary arrest and unlawful detention and must be released immediately," said Noel Kututwa, Amnesty International's southern Africa director. "It's staggering that while Zimbabwe is in the process of adopting a new constitution which provides a stronger bill of human rights, lawyers in the course of their lawful duty are being so blatantly harassed and intimidated."

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Zimbabwe rights lawyer to spend 3rd night in jail

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — Prominent Zimbabwean rights lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa was set to spend a third night in jail Tuesday after a court adjourned a hearing on charges she faces of allegedly obstructing justice.

Police brought her to court after ignoring a judge's order to release her Monday.

Her arrest, the day after a referendum on a new Zimbabwe constitution, prompted an outcry from African and international law organizations.

"Her arrest is not just an attack on her profession but on the people of Zimbabwe who have just voted yes to a new constitution that enshrines fundamental human rights," said her lawyer, Thabani Mpofu.

Mtetwa, arrested Sunday while representing four officials of the prime minister's party being searched by police, arrived at the Harare magistrate's court in an open-back police truck. She greeted colleagues and activists with a spirited wave but was not allowed to speak to reporters.

In court, state prosecutors alleged the four officials in Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's office, including his chief legal advisor, were compiling information, some of it in breach of official secrets laws, to discredit the nation's judicial officials for allegedly not prosecuting corrupt politicians.

Mtetwa's arrest was a ploy to stop her from defending officials of Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change party, her attorney argued in court Tuesday.

State prosecutors objected to bail for Mtetwa and the officials and Gofa adjourned the court to resume Wednesday.

Mtetwa was led by prison officials to the basement cells of the courthouse for transportation to the main Harare remand prison.

Mtetwa's arrest was "patently senseless" at a time when she wanted to act on behalf of suspects on Sunday, argued Mpofu, her lawyer.

"Her intimidation was of unwarranted proportion which reflects badly on our institutions," he said.

She was abused by the police in "the high-handed manner in which they treated her by handcuffing her and throwing her into the back of an open truck as if she was a threat to police and national security," Mpofu said.

While in custody, police confiscated her mobile phone and went through it in breach of norms of attorney-client confidentiality.

"There is no basis to act in such a manner to a lawyer of over 30 years," said her lawyer.

He said when locked in a cell two male police officers at around midnight even tried to remove prison-issue blankets from her.

To the charge she shouted at police officers and attempted to prevent them from doing their duty, Mtetwa,  in her written testimony, said she told the police she wanted to see their search warrants but was ignored.

"What you are doing is unlawful, unconstitutional and undemocratic," she told the officers, Mpofu said.

The police response was to arrest her, he said.

Justice Charles Hungwe issued an order around 1 a.m.Monday (2300 GMT Sunday) for arresting officers to immediately release Mtetwa.

But police refused to obey the order and Mtetwa was still held in police cells on Monday. 

The action showed that Zimbabwe "is a state that is prepared to act like an outlaw," Mpofu told the court.

Obstructing justice carries a maximum penalty of two years in prison.

Mtetwa has represented Tsvangirai and several of his top aides in past cases brought against them. She has also defended human rights defenders and journalists. She holds an array of international awards, including those from the American Bar Association and the main European Bar Human Rights body.

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Ottawa names lawyer to talk energy with native groups

By Jeffrey Jones

CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) - Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper has appointed a British Columbia lawyer to gather views of native groups across the Western province on energy development as the industry struggles to gain acceptance of multibillion-dollar pipelines that would vastly increase oil exports.

However, Harper's new representative for West Coast energy infrastructure, Doug Eyford, insisted on Tuesday his role will not be to cajole holdouts into supporting contentious projects.

Aboriginal opposition to such proposals as Enbridge Inc's C$6 billion ($5.8 billion) Northern Gateway pipeline has been a major stumbling block to the Harper Conservatives' aim of shipping large volumes of oil sands-derived crude to the Pacific Coast to be exported to Asia as a way to increase turns.

Eyford is a veteran of federal negotiations with Indian groups, known in Canada as First Nations, on self-government. Over the next three months, he will meet with communities affected by proposed pipelines, liquefied natural gas plants and marine terminals.

Eyford will issue a draft report to Harper on June 28 and the final document on November 29, Joe Oliver, Canada's natural resources minister, said in a speech in Terrace, British Columbia.

His appointment comes a day after Ottawa said it planned a series of measures aimed at improving tanker safety as proposed pipeline projects point to a major increase in coastal traffic.

Eyford said he has not been asked to advocate on behalf of the government or the energy industry in favor of specific industrial developments.

"My role and responsibility is to provide an accurate and complete report to the prime minister on what I'm told by the people who I interact and engage with as part of my responsibilities," he said.

The federal government has a constitutional requirement to consult with and accommodate native communities when developments will affect their lands, and some aboriginal leaders have suggested their rights and title to lands may amount to veto power.

This has presented legal risks to proponents of Northern Gateway, which would ship 525,000 barrels a day of Alberta oil to the coastal port of Kitimat, British Columbia. Regulators are due to decide whether to approve the project by the end of this year following hearings that began at the beginning of 2012.

Oliver said native people have much to contribute to natural resource development, as they bring traditional knowledge that offers better understanding of environmental impacts and remediation measures. He pointed out that the industry supports 32,000 aboriginal jobs in Canada.

Still, some groups, such as the Coastal First Nations and Yinka Dene Alliance, are staunchly opposed to oil pipelines, saying they fear the risks of oil spills as well as potential loss of traditional ways.

Art Sterritt, executive director of Coastal First Nations, an alliance of nine groups, said it appears the federal government realized it needed someone on the ground with experience in native rights, title and consultation, though it is starting the process very late.

"We don't have a lot of optimism around that, but knowing Mr. Eyford, we think that he's a person who is going to be candid with the prime minister," Sterritt told Reuters. "We're happy that he's not reporting at a lower level. We think this needs to be dealt with at the highest level."

He stressed that the appointment will not lead his people to drop their opposition to the Northern Gateway project.

British Columbia's burgeoning LNG industry appears to have wider support among native groups, some of which are equity partners in proposed multibillion-dollar projects.

Eyford said he did not know if his final report will be made public.

($1=$1.03 Canadian)

(Editing by Phil Berlowitz and Gunna Dickson)

View the original article here

Zimbabwe police arrest PM's officials, top lawyer

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — Zimbabwe police arrested the country's most prominent rights lawyer and four senior officials with the prime minister's party on Sunday, a day after the nation voted in a referendum on a new constitution that calls for more protection against human rights violations.

Rights lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa is being charged with allegedly "obstructing or defeating the course of justice" and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's chief legal adviser, Thabani Mpofu, is accused of impersonating police by compiling dossiers on unspecified crimes, a police official said.

Mtetwa was called to an address in Harare where police were searching an office used by Mpofu and began "shouting at officers and preventing them from doing their duties," police official Charity Charamba said Sunday. She said all of those arrested were being held for questioning Sunday.

Police had been instructed to search the offices of a private group, the Democratic Alliance of Zimbabwe, where it was believed some information on alleged crimes was being illegally held, she said. Police removed unspecified "exhibits" for evidence against the group that they were engaged in police-type investigations, she said. Witnesses said computer equipment and mobile phones were seized.

Democracy and rights groups routinely gather witness accounts of alleged crimes and abuses of power in state institutions, including the police force, controlled by President Robert Mugabe.

Obstructing justice and impersonating police officers carry a penalty of imprisonment or a fine.

Witnesses said Sunday that Mtetwa demanded that police produce a search warrant at the suburban house used by Mpofu. Officers accused her of trying to take photographs of a security detail on her mobile phone and she was forced into a police vehicle, the witnesses said.

Mtetwa has won an array of awards from international bodies, including the American Bar Association and the European Bar Human Rights Institute, during her legal career of three decades. She has represented Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and his supporters in high profile cases where she has accused police of the wrongful arrest and detention of Mugabe's perceived opponents without sufficient evidence.

Mpofu is a senior attorney who is the head of the research and development department in the prime minister's office. Police on Sunday also raided and searched Harare offices of Tsvangirai's media and communications unit.

Three other members of Tsvangirai's personal staff were arrested Sunday morning, the independent Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights said. They were identified as Warship Dumba, Felix Manditse and Annah Muzvidziwa, all close aides of Tsvangirai.

Voting in a referendum on a new constitution ended late Saturday. All main party leaders called for a "Yes" vote on constitutional reforms. Another official of the former opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change, was arrested before polling began Saturday. No reasons were immediately given for the arrest by four armed police of Sampson Magunise, a party organizer in eastern Zimbabwe, but Charamba said Sunday he was a suspect in an alleged gasoline bomb attack on a the car of a Mugabe party official.

Zimbabwe's official election body said Sunday an estimated 2 million people cast their vote in a referendum on a new constitution that seeks to curb presidential powers and strengthen human rights.

Judge Rita Makarau, head of the electoral commission, said the low estimate came from early returns from the nation's 9,400 polling stations.

Zimbabwe has an estimated 6.6 million registered voters. Full results from isolated areas are expected within five days.

Police enforced a clampdown on rights and pro-democracy groups in the run-up to the referendum vote.

In recent weeks, police have seized documents, equipment and cheap wind-up radio receivers from the offices of several rights and pro-democracy groups.

The radio receivers, capable of receiving broadcasts not controlled by President Mugabe's state broadcasting monopoly, were declared illegal by police under broadcast regulations. The broadcasts were used for Mugabe's ZANU-PF party propaganda and were intensified around the referendum vote. Rights groups have challenged the legality of the radio ban, arguing that regular short-wave receivers and satellite television are not outlawed as long as they are covered by routine state listeners' licenses.

Police regularly mount searches without complete warrants looking for allegedly subversive materials said to be a threat to national security. They insist private rights and media freedom groups are trying to incite tensions between political parties ahead of crucial national elections later in the year to end a shaky and acrimonious coalition between Tsvangirai and Mugabe. The coalition was formed by regional mediators after the last violent and disputed elections in 2008.

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Associated Press reporter Gillian Gotora in Harare, Zimbabwe, contributed to this report

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Zimbabwe police question PM's party, top lawyer

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — The Zimbabwe prime minister's party says police took three of its senior officials from their homes early on Sunday but gave no reasons for their action.

A prominent human rights lawyer, Beatrice Mtetwa, was a fourth person taken to a suburban office of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's media and communications department for questioning.

The party said in a statement the three party officials, including senior attorney Thabani Moyo, work on the prime minister's staff.

Voting in a referendum on a new constitution ended late Saturday. All main party leaders called for a "Yes" vote on constitutional reforms. Another official of the former opposition Movement for Democratic Change was arrested before polling began Saturday.

Police enforced a clampdown on rights and pro-democracy groups in the run-up to the referendum vote.

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Lawyer: Accusations against US senator are false

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) — A Dominican woman who once alleged in a video that she had sex with a New Jersey senator for money is now acknowledging that the allegations are false, according to a sworn statement released by a lawyer enmeshed in the scandal.

The attorney, Vinicio Castillo Seman, told reporters at a Monday press conference that the 23-year-old woman, identified as Nexis de los Santos, now claims in a sworn statement that she not only "never went to bed with" U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez but she never actually met him.

Castillo has been accused of hosting outings on his yacht in which the U.S. senator used the services of prostitutes. He has strongly denied the allegations and said he would seek a criminal probe into the source of the reports. On Monday, Castillo distributed copies of the woman's sworn statement to reporters. The woman did not attend.

According to Castillo, the 23-year-old woman claims that she and a friend were approached by another Dominican lawyer, Melanio Figueroa, who was allegedly responsible for manufacturing the accusations against Menendez. The two women recited the fabricated accusations on a video that was recorded without their consent, he said.

In the video, the two women also claimed they had sex with Castillo and Dr. Salomon Melgen, a Florida eye doctor of Dominican descent who is a prominent Democratic campaign contributor. De los Santos claims that those allegations are also fabricated.

In Washington, Menendez told reporters that the accusations against him were "smears."

"I've always said that these are all false, they're smears, and so I look forward to seeing whatever the Dominican courts have that prove what I've said all along," Menendez said Monday.

Castillo, the son of a presidential adviser and the brother of a member of the Congress, has said he has known the U.S. senator for some 15 years and had never seen him with a prostitute. He said he's never hosted any parties involving prostitutes and never lent it to Melgen.

A watchdog group called Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, or CREW, has said it had received emails starting in April 2012 alleging that Menendez used the services of prostitutes in the Dominican Republic. The emails came from someone identified as "Peter Williams," though that may be a pseudonym.

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