Myanmar's Supreme Court has agreed to consider an appeal by opposition pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi against the 18-month extension of her house arrest, officials said Friday. Suu Kyi's lawyers filed the appeal last month after a lower court rejected an earlier appeal. A judge will hold a preliminary hearing on December 21 to [...]

A US military judge ruled Thursday that the US government may partially amend the charges against Guantanamo Bay detainee Ibrahim Ahmed al Qosi by changing his jurisdictional basis, but may not include four additional years of alleged activities under the charges. In this first application of the Military Commissions Act of 2009 to pending military [...]

Five more people have been sentenced to death by a Chinese court in connection with the July Xinjiang riots , state media reported Thursday. The sentencing came in connection to the killing of a police officer with a rock and the killing of bystanders during the riots. The Intermediate People's Court of Urumqi sentenced two [...]

Two justices on Russia's Constitutional Court renounced their positions Wednesday, on the recommendations of their fellow justices, after publicly criticizing the nation's lack of judicial independence. Senior justice Anatoly Kononov, whose term of office was to expire in 2017, will resign from the Constitutional Court at the end of this month. Justice Vladimir Yaroslavtsev will [...]

The Canadian government on Wednesday released more than 40 redacted e-mails sent by former diplomat Richard Colvin to then-foreign affairs minister Peter MacKay raising concerns about the torture of detainees who were transferred to Afghan prisons by Canadian authorities. The e-mails, which Colvin alleges were sent in violation of instructions to avoid written communication, were [...]

The Honduran National Congress on Wednesday voted 111-14 not to reinstate ousted president Manuel Zelaya who was removed by a military coup earlier this year. The vote was held in accordance with the Tegucigalpa/San Jose accord , brokered in October, which gave Congress the power to decide whether to allow Zelaya to serve out the [...]

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Thursday that Deputy Attorney General David Ogden will resign from his position to reenter the private sector. Ogden outlined his reasons for leaving, citing his original goal to assist in a smooth transition from the previous administration, and highlighted the changes that have occurred in the DOJ during [...]

Susannah Sirkin : "As a founding member of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) was alarmed and deeply disappointed by a Department of State spokesperson's pronouncement on November 24 that President Obama does not intend to sign the landmark 1997 treaty banning the egregious weapon. However, an apparent reversal of [...]

The Quebec Superior Court began hearing arguments Wednesday on the pivotal issue of Canadian torture victims' right to sue foreign governments and foreign officials on Canadian soil. The case was brought by Stephan Hashemi, son of slain Canadian-Iranian photojournalist Zahra Kazemi , against the Iranian government and three officials for their role in the 2003 [...]

Albania is willing to accept additional Guantanamo Bay detainees, Prime Minister Sali Berisha told reporters on Wednesday, calling closure of the prison a "human rights issue." Berisha said that he will not accept Chinese Uighurs due to concerns for preserving positive relations with China: Naturally, I have said that we can not accept Yughurs, because [...]