Russian police Saturday briefly detained five foreign activists in Nizhny Novgorod on charges of violating the terms of their Russian travel visas. The activists were detained for approximately four and a half hours, and were ordered to pay a $120 fine. The five, including Neil Hicks, a British citizen and a director of the New [...]

The Court of Appeal in Sudan has rejected a request for the release of 25 uncharged members of the opposition Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), alleged to have plotted the overthrow of the government. Sudan's Criminal Procedure Act of 1983 allows for the detention of suspects under investigation for up to two weeks before they must [...]

Twenty-three family members and former associates of late Chilean military dictator Augusto Pinochet were ordered released on bail Saturday by a three-member panel of an appeals court in Chile. The appeals court upheld a Friday lower court ruling granting the bail. A Chilean judge indicted the individuals – including Pinochet's widow and five children – [...]

Marilou Rickert v. State of Washington, Public Disclosure Commission, and Susan Brady, et al., Supreme Court of the State of Washington, October 4, 2007 . Read the court's opinion and a dissent . Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.

Giovanni Di Stefano : "The 'delay' on the execution of Al majid et al is de facto a stay. As I had stated in my parere pro veritate, the Iraqi Government are precluded by religious law to execute anyone during Ramadan. Iraqi law supposedly requires executions to take place 'within 30 days from final sentence' [...]

Myanmar military leaders increased pressure on opponents Sunday, detaining at least 135 Buddhist monks in connection with weapons allegedly seized from monasteries. The ruling junta claims raids have uncovered guns, knives and ammunition and insists they will punish all violators of the law. The crackdown comes on the heels of a sharp reduction in security [...]

Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) has submitted a new draft anti-terrorism law that would limit Japan's naval support for US operations in Afghanistan as part of Operation Enduring Freedom to refueling and supplying water to coalition ships in the Indian Ocean. The latest proposed extension of the current Anti-Terrorism Special Measures Law would bar [...]

The Washington State Supreme Court has struck down a state statute making it illegal to lie about political opponents. Justice James M. Johnson , writing the 5-4 majority opinion handed down Thursday, said: "There can be no doubt that false personal attacks are too common in political campaigns, with wide-ranging detrimental consequences. However, government censorship [...]

Saudi Arabian Interior Minister Prince Nayef bin Abdul Aziz announced Saturday that 55 Saudi prisoners recently transferred from Guantanamo Bay back to their home country will be given a temporary release and stipend of $2,600 to celebrate the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr . The release will coincide with the start of the holiday around [...]

King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia has announced a plan to create a supreme court for the country, as well as new appeals and general courts. The new supreme court will replace the current Supreme Judicial Council, which will be relegated to handling issues involving judicial salaries and staffing under a new administrative supreme court. The [...]