The Indonesian Constitutional Court on Thursday rejected a challenge to a controversial anti-pornography law. The law was purportedly designed to protect younger generations from pornographic and lewd materials. Critics challenged the bill for being too broad, discriminating against women, and targeting aspects of Indonesian tradition and culture, but the court rejected those arguments. Some areas [...]

The Russian Prosecutor General's Office on Friday banned Adolf Hitler's book Mein Kampf , finding it in violation of laws against extremism. The step was taken pursuant to Article I of Russia's Law to Combat Extremist Activities. According to the statement from the Prosecutor General's Office, "he autobiographical book contains the ideas of Hitler's National [...]

The UN Human Rights Council on Thursday adopted a resolution condemning religious defamation . The non-binding resolution, proposed by Pakistan, passed with a vote of 20-17 , with eight abstentions. The resolution has long been sought by Muslim countries, which claim that Muslims have faced discrimination, especially since the 9/11 attacks on the US. The [...]

A Rwandan opposition politician pleaded guilty Thursday to charges connected to the 1994 genocide and was sentenced to 17 years in prison. Joseph Ntawangundi, an aid to Hutu opposition leader Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza, was convicted in absentia in 2007, and originally sentenced to 19 years in prison. Ntawangundi pleaded guilty after returning to Rwanda after [...]

The Spanish Supreme Court on Thursday denied an appeal by National Court judge Baltasar Garzon , ruling that he may be formally charged for exceeding his jurisdictional authority. The five-judge panel upheld the ability to review Garzon's actions related to his investigation into war crimes allegedly committed under Francisco Franco during the Spanish Civil War [...]

The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) human rights office on Thursday called on the government to repeal the controversial National Stability and Reconciliation Law , which provides amnesty for war crimes and human rights violations committed before December 2001. A representative of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in Afghanistan said at [...]

Bangladesh officials on Thursday announced the establishment of a special war crimes tribunal that will hear cases against individuals accused of war crimes during the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War . According to Law Minister Shafique Ahmed , the tribunal will include three high court judges and six investigators retired from civilian, law enforcement, and military [...]

The UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) adopted a resolution Thursday condemning North Korea for human rights violations. The resolution decries "grave, widespread and systematic human rights abuses in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, in particular the use of torture and labour camps against political prisoners and repatriated citizens of the Democratic People's Republic of [...]

Stephanie Toti : "The Oklahoma Supreme Court recently struck down an omnibus statute, S.B. 1878, that imposed a host of contradictory restrictions on the provisions of reproductive health care in the State. The law included a provision that would have prohibited a woman from having an abortion unless she first had an ultrasound and listened [...]

The UK Parliament's Joint Committee on Human Rights recommended Thursday that the government review anti-terror laws and policies passed since the 9/11 attacks to make sure they are necessary and do not violate human rights. The committee found that, despite claiming to support human rights, many government policies appeared to threaten those rights, questioning whether [...]