The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) on Thursday ruled that the Russian government was guilty of infringing on US missionary Patrick Nolan's religious freedoms and other human rights by expelling him from the country in 2002 under national security pretenses. The court found that the government violated Article 38 § 1 of the European [...]

Venezuelan voters approved a constitutional amendment abolishing presidential term limits in a national referendum Sunday. President of the National Electoral Council (CNE) Tibisay Lucena reported that the amendment passed with 54.36 percent of the vote and went on to congratulate Venezuelans on the high voter turnout and orderliness of the voting. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez [...]

An appeals court in Afghanistan on Sunday upheld a lower court's decision to sentence two men convicted of translating the Koran to 20 years in prison. The three-judge panel ruled that the men were guilty of modifying the Koran, but did not issue the maximum punishment of death. Muslim clerics viewed the free distribution of [...]

Zimbabwe Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party treasurer general Roy Bennett has been indicted on terrorism and other charges, a lawyer for Bennett said Sunday. Bennett, who was scheduled to be sworn in as deputy agriculture minister in the country's new coalition government last week, is accused of funding the purchase of fire arms and [...]

Venezuelans began voting Sunday on a proposed constitutional amendment that would eliminate presidential term limits in the country. The amendment, which would allow President Hugo Chavez to seek re-election in 2012, was passed by the Venezuelan National Assembly last month, but must pass the referendum before taking effect. A similar amendment was among constitutional reforms rejected by [...]

Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga on Saturday maintained that the government was determined to form a local tribunal to address the December 2007 post-election violence , despite a defeat in the Kenyan Parliament last week. Odinga said he had discussed the situation with mediator Koffi Annan and remained hopeful that lawmakers would establish a Special [...]

The first trial in the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) is in danger of being tainted by the body's failure to meet international fair trial standards , Human Rights Watch (HRW) said Saturday. The ECCC will begin its prosecution of former Khmer Rouge leaders with Kaing Guek Eav , better known as [...]

Palestinian leaders urged the International Criminal Court (ICC) and its Chief Prosecutor, Luis Moreno-Ocampo on Friday to initiate an investigation into alleged Israeli war crimes during the recent conflict in Gaza . Palestinian National Authority (PNA) Justice Minister Ali Khashan called on the ICC to conduct the investigation, expressing concern that alleged war crimes not [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit granted an en banc rehearing to Wal-Mart, Inc. Friday in a long-running gender discrimination suit against the retailer. According to the order, a majority of the Ninth Circuit judges, excluding the three judges who heard an earlier appeal in which class certification was upheld, voted in [...]

An Obama administration official said Friday that a review of detainees, the first step in closing the prison at Guantanamo Bay , has begun . US President Barack Obama issued the executive order last month that initiated the review process. The order called for the review to be conducted by a "Special Task Force on [...]