US Army Sgt. Michael Leahy Jr. was convicted Friday on charges stemming from the 2007 deaths of four Iraqi detainees, and was given a life sentence at a court-martial at a US military base in Germany. Leahy will have a possibility of parole after being dishonorably discharged, having his rank reduced to private, and forfeiting [...]

The Iraqi government has reopened the prison formerly called Abu Ghraib , promising to operate the prison by international standards and allow inspections by humanitarian groups. In a tour for members of the media Saturday, officials said they hoped to temper the strong feelings many Iraqis hold toward the prison with a new name, Baghdad [...]

Robert Amsterdam : "On January 27, 2009, Mikhail Khodorkovsky's defense team filed a stay motion to halt the unconscionable and illegal activities of prosecutors intent on bringing fresh charges against the imprisoned former CEO of Yukos Oil Company. The motion cataloged a series of abuses by Russian investigators and prosecutors in clear violation of both [...]

The trial of former Suriname dictator Desi Bouterse resumed Friday with testimony by a former prison warden that he brought a leader of a 1982 military coup to an army barracks for execution. The testimony of the former warden of Suriname's Santo Boma prison, a former military officer under Bouterse, came during the ongoing trial [...]

A report prepared for the Pentagon by US Navy Admiral Patrick Walsh has concluded that the Guantanamo Bay detention center meets the requirements of the Geneva Conventions , according to Friday statements from US officials who have reviewed the document. The report, which has not been released, was prepared by the Pentagon in response to [...]

William L. Richards, Jr., SJD : "The legislative effort to nationalize designated German financial institutions has triggered terminology of expropriation of shareholder interest. Perhaps it is a better characterization to suggest this is our first glimmer into the concepts that economists, bankers, and academics have tussled with for sometime now. Who is the lender of [...]

A three judge panel for the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on Friday unanimously upheld a US District Court ruling that a California law banning sales of video games to minors is unconstitutional because it is a violation of First Amendment free speech rights. In Video Software Dealers Assoc. v. Schwarzenegger, the [...]

A judge for the Khamovnichesky District Court in Moscow on Thursday ordered former Russian oil executive Mikhail Khodorkovsky to be transferred to the Russian capital to face new charges including embezzlement and theft, according to court officials. Both Khodorkovsky and his former partner Platon Lebedev are to be transferred from the Siberian region of Chita, [...]

A US Army Special Forces soldier facing court-martial proceedings over the killing of an Afghan civilian in March 2008 has admitted to killing the man but argued during opening statements Thursday that the act was committed in self-defense. Master Sgt. Robert Newell of the 3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne) was arraigned and charged with killing [...]

US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) chairman Mary Schapiro on Thursday named Robert Khuzami as the new director of the SEC's Division of Enforcement. Khuzmani replaces former director of enforcement Linda Thomsen, who stepped down from the position last week. Khuzami has previously served as a federal prosecutor in the US Attorney's Office for the [...]