The number of deaths during post-election protests in Tehran exceeds government reports , the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran (ICHRI) reported Wednesday. The rights group claims that at least 34 demonstrators died on June 20, contrary to government reports of 11 deaths on that day and 20 deaths total since the disputed June [...]

The International Maritime Bureau (IMB) reported on Wednesday that pirate attacks around the globe have doubled in the first half of 2009. The bulk of the upsurge has come from increased activity in the Gulf of Aden and Somali coastal waters, where 130 incidents occurred since January. The report attributes a lull in activity in [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit on Tuesday ordered new arguments in the case of convicted terrorist Zacarias Moussaoui . The court is rehearing the case due to the retirement of Chief Judge Karen Williams, who heard oral arguments in January. Williams announced last week that she was retiring due to early-onset [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit on Tuesday dissolved an injunction that had previously barred the enforcement of a controversial abortion notification law in Illinois. Having been the subject of numerous court challenges, the Parental Notice of Abortion Act of 1995 was most recently enjoined by the US District Court for the [...]

The prosecution in the trial of Congolese militia leader Thomas Lubanga Dyilo concluded its case on Tuesday after presenting 22 weeks of testimony. The trial, occurring at the International Criminal Court (ICC) at The Hague, began in January , nearly three years after ICC prosecutors applied for an arrest warrant . Lubanga stands accused of [...]

The Lithuanian parliament on Tuesday approved a bill that would prohibit children from being exposed to information on a number of topics, including homosexuality. The parliament overrode the veto of former president Valdas Adamkus, who had rejected an earlier vote by the parliament to pass the bill. Under Lithuanian law, current president Dalia Grybauskaite cannot [...]

Hochstrasser, et al. v. Bundesanwaltschaft, Swiss Federal Criminal Court, July 14, 2009 . Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here. Latest commentary available here. JURIST has more on issues involving the Congo.

The Spanish National Court on Tuesday dismissed charges against three US soldiers who were accused of being involved in the death of Spanish cameraman Jose Couso . The soldiers allegedly opened fire on a Baghdad hotel frequented by Western journalists in 2003 without provocation, killing two cameramen. The court recommended that the case be closed [...]

Edwin Yamauchi : "Without question Babylon, the capital city of Hammurabi (18th cent. B.C.) and of Nebuchadnezzar (6th cent. B.C.), which appears prominently in both the Old Testament and in classical sources, was one of the greatest cities of antiquity. Excavated by Robert Koldewey (1899-1913), it has yielded outstanding monuments such as the Ishtar Gate [...]

The US House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday examined the effects of mandatory minimum sentences in advance of consideration of three proposed bills intended to provide more discretion to judges during sentencing. Representatives of the Families Against Mandatory Minimums (FAMM), the US Judicial Conference and Americans for Tax Reform urged the Subcommittee on Crime Terrorism, and [...]