Venezuelan Attorney General Luisa Ortega on Thursday proposed legislation to limit the media's freedom of expression in certain circumstances, citing the importance of national security. Under the proposed law, journalists could face up to four years in prison for "threatening the social peace, security and independence of the nation, public order, stability of state institutions, [...]

Richard C. Dieter : "The fact that fewer countries employ the death penalty and that the number of executions worldwide declined last year should serve as a wake-up call to the United States. On many issues, the US is seen as a leader in the field of individual rights, but with the death penalty we [...]

US Ambassador to the UN Susan Rice on Thursday signed the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities . The move came after US President Barack Obama announced last week during a celebration commemorating the 19th anniversary of the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990 that the US would sign the convention. The [...]

Germany's Federal Constitutional Court ruled Thursday that the German Federal Intelligence Service (BND) may not withhold information from parliament without good cause. The case began in 2006 when the BND refused to tell Germany's Green Party whether it was spying on members of parliament. Thursday's ruling requires that the government present a detailed explanation of [...]

JURIST Guest Columnist Pamela A. Jordan, an associate professor of history at the University of Saskatchewan (Canada) who writes on politics and human rights developments in Russia, says that the recent murder of Chechnya human rights activist Natalia Estemirova may help jolt average Russians into demanding that their leaders finally get serious about legal reform…. [...]

The UK Law Lords , during their final session Thursday, ordered the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) to clarify the UK's laws on assisted suicide. The case was brought by Debbie Purdy, a 46-year-old who suffers from multiple sclerosis. Purdy wants her husband to help her to travel to Switzerland to end her life when [...]

R. v. Director of Public Prosecutions, UK House of Lords, July 30, 2009 . Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here. Latest commentary available here. JURIST has more on assisted suicide.

Jawad v. Obama, et al., US District Court for the District of Columbia, July 30, 2009 . Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here. Latest commentary available here. JURIST has more on Mohammed Jawad.

A judge for the US District Court for the District of Columbia on Thursday ordered that Guantanamo Bay detainee Mohammed Jawad be released prior to August 24. Largely adopting a proposed order filed by the government on Wednesday, Judge Ellen Huvelle granted Jawad's habeas corpus petition, giving the government seven days to submit a report [...]

Chinese human rights group Gongmeng announced Thursday that its co-founder, prominent human rights lawyer Xu Zhiyong was arrested at his home early Wednesday morning and has not been heard from since. The group has also been unable to reach a second staff member, Zhuang Lu. Both Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have expressed concern [...]