The Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) on Sunday released the former “First Lady” of the Khmer Rouge regime, Ieng Thirith. The court ruled that due her degenerative illness, said to likely be Alzheimers, she should be released from detention . Thirith, the sister-in-law of former leader Pol Pot , has continued to [...]

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay on Friday urged religious and political leaders around the world to encourage an end to violence that erupted after a US citizen released an anti-Islam film last week. While Pillay said she “fully understand why people wish to protest strongly against” the film, she “utterly condemn” the [...]

Gambian President Yahya Jammeh announced Friday that he will implement an indefinite moratorium on executions due to “numerous appeals.” The international community was very critical of Jammeh when he executed nine prisoners last month after vowing to execute all death row inmates by the middle of September, ending a 27-year moratorium on executions in the [...]

A Wisconsin judge on Friday struck down a controversial law that limits the collective bargaining rights of public sector unions. Juan Colas, a judge for the Dane County Circuit Court , held that the collective bargaining law, known as the Budget Repair Bill, violated union workers’ rights to freedom of speech, freedom of association and [...]

Prosecutors in the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) on Friday urged the tribunal to seize the passport of former Khmer Rouge leader Ieng Thirith whose release was ordered after she was declared mentally unfit to stand trial. The ECCC ruled on Thursday that Ieng Thirith is suffering from a mentally debilitating illness, [...]

The Supreme Court of Russia upheld the Arkhangelsk region’s ban on “gay propaganda” on Thursday, but ruled that gay pride parades and other demonstrations in support of gay rights are legal. According to the court, the ban applies only to direct appeals to minors to engage in homosexual activity and even then information about homosexuality [...]

Apple won an injunction against Motorola Mobility on Thursday in a German court due to patent infringement in Motorola’s smart phones and tablets. The patent at issue, EP2126788 which corresponds to US Patent No. 7,469,381 , is for “rubber-banding” technology which allows users to continue scrolling beyond the end of a list and then have [...]

A Norwegian court on Friday upheld a the country’s display ban on tobacco products. The law prevents stores from displaying tobacco products or their logos anywhere in a store, requiring the products to be stored in cabinets or otherwise hidden from sight. Philip Morris brought suit against Norway in March 2010, arguing that the law [...]

A coalition of rights groups in Arizona filed an emergency motion on Thursday asking a court to block a controversial provision of Arizona’s immigration law until an appeal can be heard on the issue. The contested provision requires law enforcement officials to check the immigration status of persons they stop or arrest if there is [...]

The US Department of Justice on Friday filed an appeal of this week’s order by the US District Court for the Southern District of New York that permanently enjoined a law allowing US authorities to detain indefinitely anyone suspected of having aided known terrorist organizations. Section 1021(b)(2) of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) affirms [...]