The Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI) Tuesday joined calls to suspend Pakistan from the Commonwealth in light of Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf's imposition of emergency rule , suspension of the constitution and effective dismissal of the country's top judges. CHRI, which monitors human rights in the 53 Commonwealth nations and promotes adherence to the Harare [...]

Judges dismissed from the Supreme Court of Pakistan and held under virtual house arrest in the wake of President Pervez Musharraf's November 3 declaration of emergency rule are now "free to move" and leave their homes, Interior Ministry spokesman Javed Igbal Cheema said Tuesday. Justice Rana Bhagwandas nonetheless told AFP that the ousted judges, including [...]

Three Pakistan Supreme Court judges removed from their positions after President Pervez Musharraf issued his declaration of emergency rule early this month have ruled against his eligibility to run for re-election as president while still Army chief of staff, according to a report Tuesday in Pakistan's News daily. A panel headed by Justice Rana Bhagwandas [...]

Pennsylvania's lethal injection protocol creates an "unnecessary risk of pain and suffering" in violation of the Eighth Amendment, a lawyer for three death row convicts challenging the procedure said Tuesday. On November 9, lawyer David Rudovsky filed suit in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania on behalf of the plaintiff inmates, [...]

The US Supreme Court on Tuesday granted certiorari in two cases and postponed jurisdiction in a third case. In District of Columbia v. Heller (07-290) , the Supreme Court will consider whether the Second Amendment to the US Constitution prohibits the District of Columbia from banning private handgun ownership, setting the stage for what could [...]

A UK judge Tuesday sentenced Manfo Kwaku Asiedu to 33 years' imprisonment for his role in the July 21, 2005 failed bomb attacks on London's transit systems . Earlier this month, Asiedu pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy to cause explosions and the prosecution agreed to drop the charge of conspiracy to murder. In [...]

The Japanese government on Tuesday began fingerprinting and photographing foreign visitors, pursuant to an anti-terror bill that was approved by Japan's upper house of parliament in May. If the government determines that a visitor poses a terrorist threat or if they refuse to comply with the identification procedures , they will be denied entry into [...]

The Russian Prosecutor General's Office said Monday that Russian Deputy Finance Minister Sergei Storchak is being investigated for allegedly attempting to embezzle $43.3 million in state funds. Storchak has been detained to prevent him from destroying evidence or intimidating witnesses, according to prosecutors. Storchak was initially detained on November 15, along with Sodexim head Viktor [...]

The Supreme Court of Peru delayed the trial of former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori Monday, granting a request by Fujimori's lawyers for additional preparation time and setting the new trial date for December 10. Fujimori is facing human rights charges for the 1992 murder of 25 people, and if convicted, could be sentenced to up [...]

Members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) agreed Tuesday to a new charter that will unite members into an economic bloc similar to the European Union, but faced criticism for the charter's weak stance on human rights. Article 14 of the charter establishes a body to monitor human rights in the region, but [...]