A judge for the US District Court for the District of Columbia ruled Wednesday that the government can continue to hold indefinitely two Yemeni Guantanamo Bay detainees, even though the men had been cleared for release by the Bush administration two years ago. Judge Gladys Kessler denied the petitions for habeas corpus filed by Fahmi [...]
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The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) on Thursday convicted ex-army officer Ephrem Setako on charges of genocide, crimes against humanity, and murder and sentenced him to 25 years in prison. The tribunal found that Setanko, a lieutenant colonel in the Rwandan Army who was also head of the legal affairs division of the Ministry [...]
The Constitutional Court of Korea ruled Thursday that the death penalty does not violate the South Korean constitution . The court's 5-4 decision could lead to a reinstatement of the death penalty in South Korea, which has held an unofficial moratorium on capital punishment since former president Kim Dae-Jung took office in 1998. Kim, who [...]
Thomas Nash : "Future generations will remember 2010 as the year cluster bombs became illegal around the world. Following its swift ratification by 30 states, the Convention on Cluster Munitions – the most significant disarmament and humanitarian treaty in more than a decade – enters into force on August 1, establishing a new international legal [...]
The US Senate voted Wednesday night to authorize three key provisions of the USA Patriot Act set to expire on Sunday. The bill, passed by a voice vote, would allow federal authorities to conduct "roving" wiretaps, to compel the production of business, medical, and library records, and to track so-called "lone wolf" suspects who are [...]
UN Under-Secretary-General Sergei Ordzhonikidze on Wednesday praised the increasing number of countries that have suspended or abolished the death penalty . Speaking at the 4th World Congress Against the Death Penalty in Geneva, Ordzhonikidze expressed hope that countries that have not abolished the death penalty would adopt the 2007 UN Resolution 62/149 , placing a [...]
The Venezuelan government is continuously violating basic human rights , particularly freedom of expression, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) for the Organization of American States (OAS) said in a report released Wednesday. The Democracy and Human Rights in Venezuela report provides a detailed analysis on the state of human rights in the country, [...]
The European Commission (EC) confirmed Wednesday that it has received three antitrust complaints against Google regarding the way the search engine ranks search results, but said it has not started a formal investigation. UK price comparison company Foundem , French legal website EJustice , and consumer review website Ciao claim that Google impedes users' abilities [...]
The US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) briefed lawmakers between 2001 and 2007 on the specifics of enhanced interrogation techniques, according to declassified documents made public by Judicial Watch on Tuesday. The documents, obtained by Judicial Watch pursuant to a court order, indicate that at least 68 members of congress were briefed on the use of [...]
Maryland v. Shatzer, US Supreme Court, February 24, 2010 . Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here. Latest commentary available here. JURIST has more on Fifth Amendment protections.
