Libyan troops used children as human shields to deter attacks by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) , Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) reported Tuesday. A team of PHR investigators conducted several weeks of interviews in Libya, shortly after Muammar Gaddafi and his loyalists were expelled from Misrata . The report also reflects troops’ pattern [...]

A judge for the US District Court for the Northern District of Alabama on Monday issued a temporary injunction blocking an immigration law that was scheduled to take effect Thursday. “The court will issue detailed Memorandum Opinions and Orders ruling on the merits of the pending Motions for Preliminary Injunction no later than September 28, [...]

Pakistani Judge Shahid Raffique on Saturday ordered that the property of former Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf be seized and his bank account frozen in connection with his alleged involvement in the assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto . The judge ordered the nation’s Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to conduct the seizure because Musharraf had [...]

The Michigan Court of Appeals has ruled unanimously that a 3 percent cut to state workers’ pay to fund the retiree health care benefits violates the Michigan Constitution . Specifically, the court ruled last Thursday that the legislature and former governor Jennifer Granholm lacked the authority to side-step the Civil Service Commission. Explaining the balance [...]

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad issued a legislative decree on Sunday repealing earlier more restrictive laws on media. Legislative Decree No. 108 for 2011 lifts oppressive legislation which allowed for imprisoning journalists for “attacking the prestige and dignity of the state, national unity and the morale of the army.” Information Minister Adnan Mahmoud indicated the law [...]

Kenyan Registrar of the High Court Gladys Boss Shollei swore in the nation’s first Supreme Court justices on Friday at a ceremony in the capital city Nairobi. The ceremony was attended by President Mwai Kibaki who emphasized the importance of the appointments to the country’s ongoing institutional reform. “With all these reforms that we are [...]

Tehran prosecutor Abbas Jafari-Dolatabadi said Saturday that approximately 100 people imprisoned for their participation in the massive 2009 presidential election protests have been pardoned and released by Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei . Though the pardoning of “repentant” prisoners traditionally coincides with the conclusion of Ramadan, analysts have viewed their release as a political, [...]

Bahraini King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa announced on Sunday that he will dismiss charges against some of the protesters detained for their participation in pro-democracy demonstrations in the country. In a nationally televised speech , Khalifa conceded that some of the protesters had been subjected to violence during the demonstrations which began in February [...]

The European Union Rule of Law Mission to Kosovo announced Monday that US prosecutor John Clint Williamson will lead an investigation into allegations that Kosovo Prime Minister Hashim Thaci participated in an organ trafficking scheme during the 1998-1999 Kosovo War . Claims made in a report authored by Council of Europe (COE) member Dick Marty [...]

Cole County Circuit Court of Missouri issued a preliminary injunction on Wednesday enjoining the State of Missouri from implementing Missouri Revised Statutes § 162.069.4 , which prevents students and teachers from communicating through social networking sites that cannot be accessed by school administrators or parents. Circuit Judge Jon Beetem ruled that the statute implicated the [...]