Amnesty International marked International Day in Support of Victims of Torture by protesting in front of the European Parliament in Brussels on Thursday. The protest criticized European Union states for failing to condemn alleged abuses in countries like the United States and Tunisia, warning that many governments were using the threat of terrorism as a [...]

The Supreme Court of Canada ruled Thursday that the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) improperly destroyed recordings of agent interviews with terror suspect Adil Charkaoui , but the justices refused to stop Charkaoui's extradition to Morocco. The Court found that the loss of evidence hampered judicial review: As things stand, the destruction by CSIS officers [...]

A Canadian Federal Court judge ruled Wednesday that the government must release evidence to Canadian Guantanamo detainee Omar Khadr that could assist in his defense. The decision followed last month's Supreme Court of Canada ruling that Khadr had the right under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms to see confidential documents and videos compiled [...]

India's National Human Rights Commission should create a special department to investigate deaths in police custody, the Asian Centre for Human Rights (ACHR) said in a Wednesday report . The report found that over 7,000 people, many of whom were allegedly tortured, have died in the custody of Indian police between 2002 and 2007. ACHR [...]

The US House voted 402-17 to approve the Americans with Disabilities Amendments Act of 2008 Wednesday. The bill makes it easier for employees with mental or physical handicaps to prove they are victims of workplace or hiring discrimination. Bill co-sponsor Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD) said that the new legislation closed gaps in the law that [...]

The US District Court for the Southern District of New York Wednesday ruled that the National Security Agency (NSA) does not have to tell lawyers for Guantanamo Bay detainees whether it has used electronic surveillance methods to monitor their communications. The Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) filed the lawsuit on behalf of the lawyers in [...]

District of Columbia v. Heller, US Supreme Court, June 26, 2008 . Read the full text of the opinion . Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.

Wilner v. National Security Agency, et al., US District Court for the Southern District of New York, June 25, 2008 . Read the full text of the decision . Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.

The US Supreme Court handed down three decisions Thursday, including District of Columbia v. Heller , in which the Court ruled 5-4 that the Second Amendment to the US Constitution prohibits the District of Columbia from banning private handgun ownership. The Court found that the Second Amendment bestows upon citizens an individual right to own [...]

A number of politicians have denounced Wednesday's US Supreme Court ruling that the death penalty constitutes cruel and unusual punishment for the rape of a child. At a press conference, Democratic Party presidential candidate Barack Obama (D-Ill) said that he rape of a small child, six or eight years old is a heinous crime, and [...]