Human Rights Watch (HRW) sent a letter Monday to the chief of staff of the Philippines military, Lt. Gen. Jesse Dellosa, urging the Philippines to act on multiple human rights abuses and hold violators accountable. HRW acknowledges that the reputation of the military has increased with current President Benigno Aquino III in office, but claims [...]

A Mali leader announced on Sunday that he would reinstate the country’s 1992 Constitution and create a transitional government to hold elections. Captain Amadou Haya Sanogo, who led Malian soldiers in a military coup last month, made the promise one day before the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) would meet to decide whether [...]

The US Supreme Court granted certiorari Monday in Moncrieffe v. Holder to determine whether a conviction under a provision of state law that encompasses, but is not limited to, the distribution of a small amount of marijuana without remuneration constitutes an aggravated felony, notwithstanding that the record of conviction does not establish that the alien [...]

A Pakistani court convicted three widows and two daughters of Osama Bin Laden for illegally entering and residing in the country. The court ordered these five women, who were arrested on March 3, to serve 45 days in prison and face deportation after the completion of their sentence. Bin Laden’s five family members have been [...]

Lawyers for Abdulhadi al-Khawaja and members of the Bahrain opposition appealed a conviction on Monday for anti-state charges to the Court of Cassation. Al-Khawaja was sentenced to life imprisonment last year by a military court and is now on a hunger strike, which has lasted over 50 days. In addition, seven other opposition leaders were [...]

The Israeli Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a Palestinian family’s appeal claiming ownership of a historic property in Jerusalem. The Husseini family claimed that they are the rightful heirs and owners of land that was once the Shepherd Hotel, also known as the former residence of Hajj Amin Husseini , who served as a prominent [...]

George Boley, former leader of the Liberian Peace Council (LPC), was removed from the US on Saturday for his role in human rights abuses in the 1990s during the Liberian Civil War . An immigration judge ordered his removal from the US in February for recruiting child soldiers and other human rights violations. His removal [...]

UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions Christof Heyns on Friday called on India’s government to take stronger measures to end extrajudicial and arbitrary executions . While commending India for its willingness to listen to new ideas and improve in the area of human rights, Heyns said at the conclusion of a 12-day [...]

A spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Friday urged the Cambodian government to give its full cooperation to the new judges that will eventually be appointed to investigate the genocide during the Khmer Rouge regime . The statement also explained that the secretary-general will begin the process of selecting a new Co-Investigating Judge and [...]

President of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR) Nabeel Rajab, an outspoken critic of violent government crackdowns against protesters, may face criminal charges for the role he has played in anti-government protests, his lawyer said Sunday. Rajab was arrested just before a planned demonstration against the imprisonment of a prominent rights activist, Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja, [...]