Amnesty International (AI) Thursday reported the recent deaths of several Libyan detainees who were apparently tortured while in custody . The deaths come amid allegations of widespread torture and ill-treatment of detainees accused of being pro-Gaddafi loyalists and fighters during the Libyan conflict last year. AI conducted extensive interviews with detainees in and around Tripoli, [...]

Brazil prosecutors plan to file criminal charges, in addition to the $11 billion civil suit, against Chevron officials for the 2,400 barrel oil spill off the coast of Brazil in the Campos Basin in November. Brazilian officials state that Chevron acted irresponsibly and took substantial risks in the Frade oil field in the Campos Basin. [...]

JURIST Guest Columnist Joshua Hausman, University of Pittsburgh School of Law Class of 2012, is a Managing Editor for the University of Pittsburgh Law Review and is a Teaching Fellow in the Marshall-Brennan Constitutional Literacy Project. He discusses the Supreme Court’s decision in United States v. Jones and its possible ramifications on Fourth Amendment search [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit on Thursday lifted an injunction won by Chevon Corporation to block enforcement of what the US oil company claims is a fraudulent, multibillion-dollar judgment in Ecuador for polluting the Amazon jungle. In reversing the decision made by the US District Court for the Southern District of [...]

The Minnesota Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that a Minnesota statute requiring people convicted of crimes to submit a DNA sample does not violate the Fourth Amendment right to unreasonable search. The Minnesota law , which was enacted in 2010, requires an offender to submit a DNA test, upon sentencing, before release from prison and upon [...]

A media adviser to Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said Thursday that the government will take legal action on behalf of the victims of the November 2005 Haditha killings , in which 24 Iraqi civilians were killed. Government spokesman Ali al-Moussawi expressed displeasure with the outcome of the investigation and prosecutions in the US military [...]

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay addressed the UN Security Council Wednesday, expressing concern over alleged current human rights violations in Libya. Pillay first noted that the Libyan National Transitional Council (NTC) has expressed their commitment to human rights and has taken encouraging steps in that direction in the form of legal reform [...]

South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson has filed an appeal in the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit asking the court to overturn the decision to block provisions of the state’s new controversial immigration law . The state is asking the court to overturn the district court ruling blocking two provisions of the [...]

The Constitutional Court of Romania on Wednesday ruled that a law allowing local and parliamentary elections to be held at the same time is unconstitutional. The Romanian Parliament passed the law in December , but objections from opposition leaders and anti-government protesters followed. The opposition argued that the law would facilitate fraud, cheating and confusion [...]

JURIST Guest Columnist Johann Bihr, Director of the Press Desk for Europe and Central Asia at Reporters Without Borders, says a new Belarusian law not only limits the online freedoms of individuals, but also creates harsh penalties for Internet providers, all in a government effort to exert more control over citizens…