Robert Amsterdam : "The new proceedings against Mr Khodorkovsky are a miscarriage of justice in the context of a system of total injustice. There is nowhere in Russia that this defendant can have a fair trial, because those who have the power to control the legal system have an interest, both materially and personally, in [...]

The US Senate Judiciary Committee voted 13-6 on Thursday to send a bill to the Senate floor which would permit US district courts to appoint temporary US Attorneys when those spots become vacant, reversing a provision in the Patriot Act reauthorization that allowed the US attorney general to replace fired US Attorneys indefinitely, thus circumventing [...]

US Marine Cpl. Trent Thomas withdrew his guilty plea in the second day of his sentencing hearing Thursday on unpremeditated murder charges stemming from the alleged murder of Iraqi civilian Hashim Ibrahim Awad in the village of Hamdania in April 2006. Thomas, who pleaded guilty in January, said that he no longer believes he is [...]

The European Commission (EC) unveiled a mandatory CO2 emissions strategy Wednesday that would impose mandatory carbon dioxide (CO2) limits on all cars by 2012. Today's average European car emits approximately 160 grams of CO2 per kilometer; the new strategy would curb emissions at around 130 grams per kilometer. The strategy is a compromise agreement between [...]

The Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs urged the US Thursday to cooperate with proceedings initiated against a US soldier in the shooting death of an Italian intelligence agent in Iraq. An Italian judge Wednesday ordered New York Army National Guard soldier Mario Lozano to stand trial on charges of voluntary homicide in connection with the [...]

A federal district judge issued an order Wednesday giving the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) until the end of June to finalize a proposed rule removing the American bald eagle from the federal endangered species list . US District Judge John R. Tunheim of the District of Minnesota originally set a deadline of Feb. [...]

Comments by the commander of Guantanamo Bay that Australian detainee David Hicks continues to be a dangerous terrorist were cited by one of Hicks' lawyers Thursday as an example of why Hicks will not receive a fair trial. Rear Admiral Harry Harris , commander of Joint Task Force-Guantanamo Bay and head of the Guantanamo Bay [...]

Legitimate asylum seekers in the US may be ignored or detained for months or even years given the current expedited removal practices of domestic security officials, according to a report card released Thursday by the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (CIRF) , a bipartisan commission established by Congress in 1998. The report finds fault [...]

Amnesty International accused Mexico in a report released Wednesday of having a "gravely flawed" criminal justice system in which human rights abuses are perpetuated and criminals are rarely punished. The report cites evidence of arbitrary detentions, torture, fabrication of evidence and unfair trials and claims that the victims are often indigenous Mexicans, the poor, women [...]

Two state legislators asked the attorney general of Texas Wednesday to issue an opinion on the legality of Gov. Rick Perry's executive order mandating that sixth-grade girls be vaccinated for the sexually transmitted human papillomavirus (HPV) . The lawmakers also requested that Attorney General Greg Abbott advise the legislature on actions it can take to [...]