Giovanni Di Stefano : "Al-Majid and 14 other former Saddam Hussein-era officials are on trial for their role in the government's violent response to the uprising, during which tens of thousands of civilians were killed. They are charged with crimes against humanity and will face the death penalty. The sentence of death passed upon Mr [...]

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed a lawsuit in federal court Tuesday against the US Department of State and the US Department of Homeland Security , alleging that the US government is illegally preventing South African scholar and professor Adam Habib from entering the country. According to the ACLU, Habib had traveled freely to [...]

The Getty Museum Tuesday signed a formal agreement with the Italian Ministry of Culture Heritage and Activities to return 40 allegedly looted Italian artifacts to Italy over the next several months. In exchange, Italian officials agreed to drop a civil lawsuit against former Getty Museum curator Marion True. Criminal charges against her, which allege she [...]

The military government of Myanmar Tuesday banned public gatherings of more than five people and imposed a curfew in response to anti-government protests . These measures come the day after the government threatened to punish the demonstration leaders. The protests are being led by Buddhist monks who object to rights abuses by the government, including [...]

The Pentagon Tuesday declared its intention to "expeditiously" move forward with the trial of Guantanamo Bay detainee Omar Khadr , following a Monday decision from the Court of Military Commissions Review (USCMCR) granting jurisdiction to military trial judges to hear the case. In June, a military commission judge dropped terrorism charges against Khadr, ruling that [...]

United States of America v. Omar Ahmed Khadr, US Court of Military Commission Review, September 24, 2007 . Read the full text of the opinion . Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.

US President George W. Bush Tuesday addressed the UN General Assembly and called on fellow member states to abide by the dictates of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights by opposing dictatorships and aiding countries seeking to establish democracies. In his speech at the opening of the General Assembly's 62nd session , Bush also [...]

The US Attorney's Office for the Central District of Illinois Monday filed a federal lawsuit against state of Illinois in an effort to invalidate a state law that wold prevent employers from using the voluntary E-Verify program maintained by the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) . E-Verify tracks whether potential employees can legally work [...]

The US Supreme Court on Tuesday granted certiorari in 17 cases for the October Term 2007, among them notable cases dealing with lethal injection, voter ID laws and subsequently seized evidence. In Baze v. Rees (07-5439) , the Court will consider whether lethal injections of death row inmates constitute cruel and unusual punishment in violation [...]

The Iranian government ended the four-month detention of Iranian-American peace activist Ali Shakeri Monday, releasing him on bail in the amount of 1 million rials (approximately USD$110,000). Shakeri, a founding member of the University of California, Irvine, Center for Citizen Peacebuilding , is the fourth dual US citizen Iran has detained in recent months on [...]