A Paris court on Monday began a trial in absentia for Khalid Sheikh Mohammed , the self-proclaimed architect of the 9/11 attacks , for his alleged involvement in a suicide bombing of a Tunisian synagogue located in Djerba in April 2002. Al Qaeda claimed responsibility for the attack, in which 21 people were killed. Mohammed, [...]

Alexandros-Ioannis Kargopoulos : "Germany's action against Italy has, once more, fueled the debate around a quite controversial legal subject: the issue of state immunity and WWII civil actions brought in national courts. This subject has been in the epicenter of many judgments delivered during the last decade. However, it was the Italian Supreme Court, which [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit on Monday ruled that the US Department of Defense (DOD) may withhold from the Associated Press (AP) certain documents relating to investigations of detainee abuse at the Guantanamo Bay military prison. Monday's decision reverses an earlier decision by the US District Court for the Southern District [...]

The US House of Representatives Financial Services Committee on Monday began hearings in an investigation into how the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) failed for years to detect the fraud scheme allegedly perpetrated by Bernard Madoff . The SEC had received numerous complaints against Madoff, dating back to 1999, but did not act on them [...]

Avi Bell : "It is tragic when distinguished human rights organizations soil their reputations by resorting to falsehoods and legal misstatements in the service of political propaganda. Unfortunately, this is the only way to characterize Amnesty International's January 2 broadside against Israel in an open letter to the US Secretary of State. Amnesty purports to [...]

UN Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment Manfred Nowak on Monday said more countries around the world should accept released Guantanamo Bay detainees so the military prison can be closed. In an interview with Austrian radio station ORF , Nowak said that many of the prisoners were detained [...]

Associated Press v. US Department of Defense, US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, January 5, 2009 . Read the full text of the opinion . Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.

Former Taiwanese president Chen Shui-bian on Monday appealed a Taiwan High Court order that he be detained while awaiting his trial on corruption charges . The court made the decision last week, overruling a district court decision , citing risks of flight, collusion, and interference with other witnesses. Lawyers for Chen said the decision was politically motivated , and [...]

Pakistani officials Saturday announced the re-capture of high-level Taliban operative Ustad Mohammed Yasir in the northern city of Peshawar near the Afghan border. Yasir served as senior aide and spokesman to Taliban leader Mullah Omar . He was first arrested in 2005 by Pakistani officials and handed over to Afghanistan, but was released in a [...]

South Korea's minority Democratic Party filed a criminal suit Sunday after Assembly Speaker Kim Hyong-o on Saturday ordered security guards to end a sit-in by the minority party, which led to dozens of injuries. Democratic Party officials allege abuse of power by the ruling Grand National Party (GNP) and filed suit against Kim, Chief of [...]