Egypt's opposition Muslim Brotherhood Monday announced that it would boycott municipal elections set for April 8, saying that the government has continuously blocked the group's efforts to field candidates in the election. Party Deputy Chairman Dr. Mohamed Habib said that the government has ignored court rulings requiring it to allow Muslim Brotherhood candidates to register [...]

Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) Monday submitted to parliament a proposed amendment to the controversial Article 301 of Turkey's penal code , which makes "insulting the Turkish identity" a crime. The amendment was promised last fall after critical comments from EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn. If approved by the Grand National Assembly of [...]

Women face legalized discrimination in nearly every country in the world despite pledges by 185 members to eliminate laws favoring men by 2005, according to a UN-commissioned report released Sunday. Prepared by University of London School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) law professor Fareda Banda for UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour [...]

Ohio's lethal injection procedures fall short of standards used to euthanize animals, according to Monday testimony from an anesthesiologist before a court hearing on the constitutionality of Ohio's death penalty procedure . Dr. Mark Heath said that the state's method does not comport with the Eighth Amendment of the US Constitution or with Ohio's requirement [...]

Pakistani Law and Justice Minister Farooq H. Naik has prepared a constitutional package that could restore judges ousted by Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf , the Pakistani Nation daily reported Monday. The package, which has reportedly been forwarded to Pakistani Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani , calls for a parliamentary committee to limit the tenure of [...]

The UN Human Rights Council held its first Universal Periodic Review (UPR) Monday, reviewing the human rights record of Bahrain. Under the UPR, the 47-member Council will systematically investigate the human rights situations in all 192 UN member nations. Bahrain's review focused on issues relating to foreign workers, freedom of expression and gender equality. The [...]

A High Court judge in Harare said Monday that the court has jurisdiction to hear a lawsuit seeking a court order to compel the Zimbabwean Electoral Commission (ZEC) to immediately release the results of the nation's March 29 presidential elections, but refused to issue an immediate ruling in the case. Instead, the judge scheduled further [...]

The Belfast High Court on Monday heard arguments in a civil lawsuit against five suspected Real IRA members accused of involvement in the deadly 1998 Omagh bombing , in which a car loaded with explosives killed 29 people and wounded 220 on a busy shopping street in the Northern Ireland town. Six families whose relatives [...]

A district court in the Netherlands on Monday rejected the Dutch Islamic Federation's efforts to prevent anti-Quran statements by right-wing lawmaker Geert Wilders . The court said that that Wilders' controversial statements against Islam and the Quran are protected by the right of free expression and do not constitute speech that incites hate or violence. [...]

A former Nigerien slave appeared before the Community Court of Justice of the Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS) Monday, alleging that the government of Niger failed to fully enforce a 2003 law criminalizing the ownership of slaves. Hadijatou Mani Koraou, sold into slavery at the age of 12 in 1996, accuses the Nigerien [...]