A federal judge on Friday denied bail for the son of former Liberian President Charles Taylor. Charles McArthur Emmanuel, also known as Roy Belfast Jr. and Charles Taylor Jr., was charged last week with committing torture in the first prosecution brought under a federal anti-torture statute . Emmanuel commanded a paramilitary unit in Liberia during [...]
Joseph Nzabirinda , a Rwandan businessman charged in connection with the 1994 Rwandan genocide, pleaded guilty to murder as a crime against humanity Thursday at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda . Nzabirinda was initially charged with genocide, conspiracy to commit genocide, extermination as a crime against humanity and rape as a crime against humanity. [...]
US Legal Adviser to the Secretary of State John Bellinger told the Daily Telegraph on Friday that Guantanamo Bay detainees considered an ongoing threat to security will remain in custody indefinitely, regardless of whether there is sufficient evidence to try them before a military commission . In an interview with the Telegraph, Bellinger said that [...]
Defense counsel for alleged terrorist Jose Padilla have filed a motion asking a federal judge in Miami to hold a hearing to decide whether or not Padilla is competent to stand trial. Recent evaluations of Padilla by a psychiatrist and clinical psychologist suggest that Padilla is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder from his years in [...]
Ireland's High Court has refused to recognize the same-sex marriage of a lesbian couple married in Canada in 2003. Ann Louise Gilligan and Katherine Zappone sued to force Ireland to recognize their marriage, performed in British Columbia after same-sex marriage was legalized in the province. High Court Justice Elizabeth Dunne rejected the couple's petition Thursday, [...]
US Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton on Thursday called for international criminal charges to be brought against Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for inciting genocide against Christians and Jews. While speaking at a Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations symposium, Bolton, who was joined by former Israeli UN Ambassador Dore Gold and [...]
The Spanish parliament began debating the proposed Law for the Recovery of the Historical Memory Thursday, legislation aimed at healing the wounds of Gen. Francisco Franco's authoritarian regime that ruled Spain from 1939 to 1975 following a bitter three-year civil war. The bill would set aside $25 million to compensate victims of the Franco era [...]
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Thursday denied any knowledge of the alleged CIA kidnapping of German national Khaled el-Masri until after the man was released. Steinmeier, who has previously denied that Germany aided the CIA in kidnapping el-Masri, reiterated that sentiment Thursday, saying that "Germany provided no assistance to the kidnapping of a German [...]
The Dutch Parliament voted Thursday to strip Immigration Minister Rita Verdonk of responsibility for setting immigration policy and to temporarily halt the deportation of failed asylum seekers. Verdonk, known domestically as the "Iron Lady" for her tough anti-immigration initiatives, will now be responsible for integration and child protection. Verdonk was stripped of her immigration portfolio [...]
US Justice Department lawyers have asked a federal appeals court to overturn an October district court ruling ordering the Secret Service to release visitor logs for the personal residence and office of Vice-President Dick Cheney . US District Judge Ricardo Urbina issued the order in a lawsuit brought by the Washington Post. The paper requested [...]