The office of the Russian Prosecutor General has suspended its investigation into an alleged coup plot by billionaire businessman Boris Berezovsky , a lawyer for Berezovsky said Monday. Berezovsky is currently living in London, and his lawyer said that the prosecutor's office has informed him that the investigation cannot be continued without Berezovsky's presence. Last [...]

The special court for organized crime in Serbia Monday began a trial for 35 members of the so-called "Bankruptcy Mafia" – including former Belgrade Commercial Court president Goran Kljajevic and other prominent businessmen, bankers, lawyers, and judges – accused of embezzling funds and used the government to secure financial gain. The defendants were indicted October [...]

The US Supreme Court handed down decisions in three cases Monday, including Cunningham v. California where the Court struck down as unconstitutional California sentencing rules that allow judges to exercise discretion to tack on additional years to prison sentences beyond that determined by a jury. The Court overturned a California Court of Appeal decision , [...]

UK Prime Minister Tony Blair will most likely resign if charges are brought against his closest aides in a growing "cash-for-honours" investigation , senior ministers have told The Guardian newspaper. The arrest of Director of Government Relations Ruth Turner on Friday on suspicion of perverting the course of justice in a probe into whether British [...]

Australian officials said Monday that Australian Guantanamo Bay detainee David Hicks could face reduced charges when he goes to trial before new US military commissions, the procedural rules for which were promulgated last week. Hicks' original charges , which were brought in 2004, have lapsed but he still faces a maximum penalty of life imprisonment [...]

The Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) of the Bangladesh Election Commission (EC) resigned Monday as a controversial election threatens to undermine the political stability of the country. CEC MA Aziz voluntarily took a three-month leave of absence in order to resolve a political deadlock over the status and membership of the Commission. Most of Aziz's five [...]

Human Rights Watch (HRW) Monday urged Rwandan judges and police to investigate and stop attacks on individuals administering or testifying in local tribunals known as Gacaca courts to bring those allegedly involved in the 1994 genocide to justice. In a report released by the rights watchdog Monday, HRW cited the November deaths of nine individuals [...]

Czech Republic Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek said Sunday that leaders in Prague are not on board with ratifying the European constitution in its current form, and do not plan to take part in future ratification discussions. The decision marks the second time that the Czech Republic declined to continue debating the charter, the first being [...]

Mexican Attorney General Eduardo Medina-Mora Icaza said Sunday that his country's extradition of 15 alleged drug kingpins and major drug traffickers to the US was a "unilateral and sovereign" decision by the Mexican government and not the result of any pressure from the US. Icaza said that drug lords Osiel Cardenas, Palma Salazar , and [...]

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad should be brought to trial for inciting genocide against Christians and Jews during remarks he made last month, former Israeli prime minister and current opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday. Ahmadinejad said at a two-day conference in Tehran in December that Israel's days were numbered, repeating previous calls for violence [...]