A judge for the US District Court for the District of Columbia on Friday granted a Guantanamo Bay detainee’s motion to compel a psychological evaluation by a mixed medical commission. Mohammed al-Qahtani, a Saudi Arabia national who, for the past 18 years, was detained at Guantanamo and subject to torture as a result of his alleged [...]
The US Supreme Court granted certiorari on Monday to decide whether a juvenile must be “permanently incorrigible” to be sentenced to life without parole. The issue comes to the Supreme Court by way of Jones v. Mississippi, a case of a 15-year-old who killed his grandfather in 2004. In 2006 the Mississippi Court of Appeals [...]
Iranian officials stated Monday that 70,000 prisoners have been released to combat the spread of the coronavirus within incarceration facilities. Last Wednesday, the government had announced the figure was 54,000. Iran has been one of the countries hit hardest by the outbreak of the coronavirus. As of Monday morning, Iran has more than 6,500 cases [...]
The Virginia legislature passed a bill Sunday to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana. Governor Ralph Northam is expected to sign the bill into law. HB 972 changes the penalty for simple possession of marijuana. Under current law, individuals who are found to possess marijuana face a maximum fine of $500 and up [...]
The US House Committee responsible for investigating Boeing’s 737 MAX airplanes issued their preliminary report on Friday, identifying failures on the part of Boeing and the Federal Aviation administration (FAA). The investigation was prompted by the two fatal crashes within five months of each other, an event the House recognized as “unprecedented in modern times.” [...]
The House Judiciary Committee filed a petition for a rehearing before the full U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in the case of former White House Counsel Don McGahn. McGahn had been subpoenaed to testify before the committee last May as a witness to allegations that President Trump obstructed Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s [...]
The Justice Department issued a statement on Friday that it would be amending regulations regarding the collection of DNA from persons detained for immigration violations. In 2005, Congress passed the DNA Fingerprint Act, which granted authorization to the Attorney General to collect DNA samples from persons who have been arrested, charged with a crime, or [...]
On Friday, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet suggested that international authorities put human rights “front and centre” while combating the novel coronavirus, COVID-19. As the virus spreads, Bachelet called attention to the negative impact that containment efforts may have on peoples’ lives, noting that “people who are already barely surviving economically, [...]
The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled Wednesday that the government cannot force asylum-seekers waiting for hearings to remain in Mexico. The remain in Mexico Policy will be specifically blocked in the states of Arizona and California, states underneath the Ninth Circuit’s jurisdiction. The court stated that, “evidence also shows that there [...]
The UK’s High Court ruled Thursday that Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) organized the abduction of his two children to Dubai and the intimidation of his wife, Princess Haya. Princess Haya fled to the UK with their two children following allegations of torture and intimidation, after which Sheikh Mohammad [...]
