Hate crimes in Russia rose 13 percent in 2007 over 2006, but police have done little to stop attacks, according to a Tuesday report by the SOVA Center rights group. Deputy Director Galina Kozhevnikova told reporters that race-related crime resulted in 67 deaths and 550 injuries in 2007, with African students, Asian visitors, and anti-Nazi [...]

A bill to lift a ban on women wearing headscarves in universities was submitted Tuesday to the Turkish Grand National Assembly amidst protests by secular groups. Last week, an agreement between Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party and key opponent Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) propelled the bill forward after decades of strict enforcement of the [...]

An Iranian airport customs contractor convicted of corruption has been executed and three other customs workers are scheduled to face the death penalty , according to comments from the Iranian judiciary reported by Reuters Tuesday. The convicted individuals apparently accepted bribes totaling more than $1 million in connection with their positions at the Mehrabad airport [...]

The European Court of Justice Tuesday ruled against Promusicae , a Spanish music industry coalition, finding that telecommunication companies have no duty to disclose the names and addresses of people suspected of engaging in illegal file sharing. A lower Spanish court had asked the European Court of Justice to issue an opinion on whether EU [...]

US Office of Special Counsel (OSC) head Scott J. Bloch has accused the Department of Justice (DOJ) of impeding an investigation into the "politicization" of the DOJ under former US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales during the 2006 US Attorney firings , the Los Angeles Times reported Tuesday. The Office of Special Counsel is the independent [...]

Moroccan authorities have arrested Abdelilah Hriz, an alleged participant in the 2004 Madrid train bombings , a Spanish judicial source said Monday. Hriz, whose DNA and fingerprints linked him to a house where explosives were prepared and an apartment where several suspects killed themselves after being pursued by police, will be tried in Morocco. According [...]

The Syrian government has detained former parliamentarian and dissident Riyad Sayf , the National Organization for Human Rights in Syria (NOHR) said Tuesday. Sayf is a prominent member of the "Damascus Declaration" group, which in 2005 issued a declaration urging Syria to embark on democratic transition and improve relations with Lebanon. In December, the Syrian [...]

Ten activists who led anti-government protests against fuel prices in Myanmar last August and September have been charged under Myanmar's Printing and Publishing Act with the crime of making illegal statements. Myanmar's ruling military junta has detained the ten activists pursuant to its emergency powers since their arrests in September. According to Amnesty International, 700 [...]

Three Indonesian Islamic militants sentenced to death for their roles in the 2002 Bali nightclub bombings have filed a second appeal with the Indonesian Supreme Court, a spokesperson for the Indonesian attorney general's office said Tuesday. The three militants – Mukhlas, Amrozi, and Imam Samudra – are not entitled under Indonesian law to a second [...]

Former Malaysian Chief Justice Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim told a Royal Commission inquiry panel Monday that a December 2001 video that appears to show prominent Malaysian lawyer VK Lingam brokering Halim's appointment to become chief justice is a fabrication. Former Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who released the first part of the video in [...]