Maldives President Yameen Abdul Gayoom on Thursday signed into law a controversial bill criminalizing defamation with fines and jail terms despite widespread criticism. The UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of expression David Kaye issued a warning ...

The Belize Supreme Court on Wednesday struck down a law banning sodomy, declaring it unconstitutional. Section 53 of the Belize Criminal Code banned "carnal intercourse against the order of nature." The law was challenged in 2010 by Caleb...

A Bangladesh court on Wednesday granted bail to former prime minister Khaleda Zia in 10 pending cases, allowing her to go free. Zia, the head of the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) , is facing charges...

The Brazil Senate officially indicted President Dilma Rousseff on Wednesday, marking the beginning of an impeachment trial against the embattled president. The Senate, which held a 16-hour session while deliberating on how to...

The International Crimes Tribunal Bangladesh (ICTB) on Wednesday sentenced a former member of parliament to death and seven others to life in prison for crimes committed during the 1971 war for independence. Sakhawat Hossain, a former...

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein on Tuesday urged the Maldives to abide by a decades-old moratorium on the death penalty. The country has operated according to the de facto moratorium for...

The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit on Monday affirmed a lower court ruling that barred Ecuadoran plaintiffs from collecting a USD $8.646 billion Ecuadoran judgment against Chevron Corp. The lower court had concluded...

The District Court in Braunschweig, Germany, ruled Monday that a collective complaint against Volkswagen AG (VW) may move forward. Like US-style class-action lawsuits, the collective complaint was launched on behalf of multiple investors who...

Filipino President Rodrigo Duterte on Sunday identified approximately 150 serving and former state officials who are allegedly involved in the nation's illegal drug trade. Duterte stated that all named officials, which includes mayors, judges, legislators, policeman and...

An Iranian judiciary spokesman announced on Sunday that a nuclear scientist was executed for providing the US with state secrets. Shahram Amir previously went missing in 2009 while embarking on a pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia. Amir reemerged...