Torture was the human rights abuse most commonly alleged in Uganda in 2006, according to a report expected to be released in August by the Uganda Human Rights Commission . The annual report, obtained by AP, found that 320 individuals filed formal complaints against the Ugandan government authorities for "cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment or [...]

The Iraqi Accordance Front , the largest Sunni parliamentary bloc, said Wednesday that it is suspending participation as a coalition partner in the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and will permanently withdraw from al-Maliki's government unless al-Maliki pardons detainees not being charged with specific crimes and make a firm commitment to upholding human rights [...]

JURIST Guest Columnist Benjamin Davis of the University of Toledo College of Law says that the President’s recent Executive Order interpreting Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions for US interrogations practice is an invalid and illegal act … On July 20, 2007, President Bush signed Executive Order 13440 – Interpretation of the Geneva Conventions [...]

There are approximately 2000 suspected terrorists living in Great Britain, up from last year's estimate of 1600, UK Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said Tuesday. She recommended that legislators pass new terror laws to allow police to hold uncharged terror suspects beyond the current 28 day limit. Prime Minister Gordon Brown is to set to propose [...]

The International Criminal Court judge overseeing the war crimes trial of Congolese militia leader Thomas Lubanga has expressed a desire to have the trial moved to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) , according to Tuesday reports. Judge Adrian Fulford said that, despite security concerns, he believed that the trial should be moved from The [...]

The United States v. David Matthew Hicks: Final Report of the Independent Observer for the Law Council of Australia, Law Council of Australia, July 24, 2007 . Read the full text of the report . Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) has urged Rwanda to conduct an "independent and impartial" investigation into an increasing number of alleged extrajudicial killings, saying in a report Tuesday that Rwanda National Police officers have killed at least 20 prisoners in the past seven months. HRW said that most of the killings were committed against detainees accused [...]

Jury selection began Tuesday in the court-martial of US Marine Sgt. Lawrence G. Hutchins III, charged with murder, kidnapping, larceny, assault, housebreaking, conspiracy, and making a false official statement for his alleged role in the April 2006 kidnapping and murder of an Iraqi civilian in Hamdania . Hutchins, the leader of the squad involved in [...]

Former FDA Commissioner Dr. Mark McClellan said Tuesday that the US Food and Drug Administration is currently unable to handle the responsibility of tobacco regulation. A bill introduced by Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA) would put the tobacco industry under FDA regulation, something that the FDA itself has previously lobbied for, but McClellan said that the [...]

Three former Vietnamese government officials and six others will face organized gambling and bribery charges in court next month, a Hanoi People's Court official said Tuesday. Bui Tien Dung, a former project management head in the Ministry of Transportation , allegedly placed bets totaling $760,000 on European soccer matches and subsequently attempted to cover up [...]