Defence of Human Rights Chairman Khalid Khawaja petitioned the Islamabad High Court on Wednesday to register abduction charges against Pakistan's former president Pervez Musharraf and several other high-ranking officials from his administration. The petition alleges that the officials instituted false proceedings against Khawaja, leading to his abduction and detention without cause. Khawaja has publicly dedicated [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit ruled Tuesday that a non-employee consultant may be held liable for misstatements or omissions in periodic financial reports filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) . The ruling affirms a district court decision granting summary judgment in a civil enforcement action against Jon R. [...]

US Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has released Arab activist Sami Al-Arian after five years in federal custody. The former University of South Florida (USF) computer science professor will remain under electronic monitoring pending trial on contempt charges for refusing to testify before grand juries that were investigating a group of Islamic charities. ICE released [...]

The Mauritanian Parliament has elected eight of its members to a High Court set to try deposed President Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi on corruption charges. Legislators chose four National Assembly members and four senators by secret ballot during a public session on Tuesday. The US State Department has stated it only recognizes Abdallahi's government , [...]

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) Office of the Inspector General (OIG) released a report on Tuesday concluding that former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales violated DOJ regulations by storing highly classified documents in unsecure locations. Written by Inspector General Glenn A. Fine , the report noted that although Gonzales' conduct might have violated federal criminal [...]

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has placed senior officials of the intelligence service Abin on suspension pending investigations of a report that its agents wiretapped a variety of high-ranking government figures . Silva removed Abin Director Paulo Lacerda and Deputy Director Jose Milton Campana on Monday after meeting with the defense and justice [...]

Thailand's Election Commission on Tuesday voted to recommend that the country's ruling People's Power Party (PPP) be disbanded for election fraud allegedly committed by one of its former top officers. The five-member panel voted unanimously after finding that the party was complicit in a vote-buying scheme devised by former deputy leader Yongyuth Tiyapairat. Yongyuth was [...]

The administration of Bolivian President Evo Morales is refusing to recognize a National Electoral Court (CNE) decision suspending a constitutional referendum set for Dec. 7 . Nationalization Minister Hector Arce said Monday that letters sent to Morales by CNE President Jose Luis Exeni purporting to suspend the referendum have no legal effect. The administration ratified [...]

South African judge Navanethem Pillay on Monday assumed the role of UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, replacing departing commissioner Louise Arbour . Pillay will hold the office for four years, and prior to her appointment, she had served on both the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) and the International Criminal Court (ICC) . [...]

Spanish judge Baltasar Garzon on Monday began an investigation to assemble a definitive registry of the tens of thousands of victims of the Spanish Civil War and the regime of Gen. Francisco Franco. Garzon ordered government agencies, the Episcopal Conference , the University of Granada and the mayors of four cities to produce the names [...]