Foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) meeting in Thailand said Friday they had held discussions on a draft charter for the already-controversial ASEAN Human Rights Body (AHRB), which Thai officials have said they expect to be formally created during Thailand's chairmanship of ASEAN this year. The group said that AHRB will [...]

The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) sentenced former priest Emmanuel Rukundo  to 25 years imprisonment Friday after convicting him of genocide, crimes against humanity, and sexual assault. Rukundo, who was a military chaplain and captain in the Rwandan Armed Forces, was found to have used his position as a priest to influence troops to abduct and [...]

The US Senate on Thursday approved the District of Columbia House Voting Rights Act of 2009 (S 160) by a 61-37 vote . The legislation gives the residents of the District of Columbia (DC) voting representation in the House of Representatives and also gives Utah an additional seat in the House. The Act was introduced [...]

Ali Saleh Kahlah al-Marri , a suspected Al Qaeda operative held in the Navy brig in South Carolina since 2003, is to be officially charged and tried in US federal court, according to news reports. Al-Marri, a legal US resident, was arrested in December 2001 in Peoria, Illinois and charged with being part of a [...]

Speaking on behalf of the European Union, Czech Interior Minister Ivan Langer Thursday expressed reservations about hosting Guantanamo Bay detainees without first examining potential safety and security implications. The Czech Republic currently holds the rotating European Presidency . After meeting with the EU Justice and Home Affairs Council , Langer explained that while the decision [...]

Judge Robert Cleland of the US District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan on Thursday ordered journalist David Ashenfelter to attend a second deposition to answer questions regarding unnamed sources he used in connection with a 2004 article on former federal prosecutor Richard Convertino. Cleland declined to hold Ashenfelter in contempt, however, instead requiring [...]

Colombian President Alvaro Uribe on Thursday

Iraqi-born Dutch citizen Wesam al Delaema pleaded guilty Thursday in the US District Court for the District of Columbia to a charge of conspiracy to murder US nationals outside the United States . Al Delaema is the first alleged insurgent in the Iraq war to be tried in US federal court. As part of the [...]

The US Senate on Thursday voted 87-11 to approve an amendment that would prevent the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) from reinstating the Fairness Doctrine . Under the doctrine, which was struck down by the FCC in 1987, broadcast licenses could be revoked if the broadcaster failed to give airtime to opposing sides of controversial issues. [...]

US citizen and al Qaeda member Christopher Paul was sentenced to 20 years in prison Thursday for conspiring to conduct a terrorist bombing campaign against targets in the US and Europe. Paul was sentenced by Judge Gregory Frost of the US District Court for the Southern District of Ohio . Originally from Columbus, Ohio, Paul [...]