Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak Saturday defended proposed constitutional amendments – including those that will prohibit religious political parties and give the state sweeping power to prosecute terror-related offenses in special courts – as being necessary to shield Egypt from the dangers of religious sectarianism and terrorism. The referendum, slated for Monday, has been widely criticized [...]

Colombian appellate judge Leonor Perdomo ordered the release of ex-intelligence chief Jorge Noguera Friday on the grounds that Noguera was "illegally and unconstitutionally being deprived of his freedom" because chief prosecutor Mario Iguaran had not personally issued an arrest request. Perdomo ruled that Iguaran has to personally request ex-intelligence chief's detention because Noguera was a [...]

The individual records of approximately 90 percent of juvenile inmates in Texas will be examined following allegations by families and community activists that prison officials arbitrarily extended sentences or in retaliation for inmates filing grievances. Commission Special Master Jay Kimbrough, appointed early this month by Texas Gov. Rick Perry to investigate the Texas Youth Commission [...]

Documents released Friday night by the US Department of Justice show the direct involvement of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales in a November 27 meeting to fire eight US Attorneys , contradicting claims made by Gonzales last Tuesday that while he was aware that his then-Chief of Staff Kyle Sampson was "involved in the process of [...]

Iran detained eight British Royal Navy sailors and seven Royal Marines in waters along the disputed Iraq-Iran border Friday, denouncing the British forces for their "illegal and interventionist" into Iranian territorial waters. British Foreign Minister Margaret Beckett issued a statement Friday, stating that London had "left the Iranian authorities in no doubt that we expect [...]

Guice v. State Farm Fire and Casualty Company, US District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi, March 23, 2007 . Read the full text of the opinion . Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.

A US federal judge Friday refused to dismiss terrorism support charges against Jose Padilla , finding that Padilla's 3 1/2 years in custody as an "enemy combatant" did not violate his constitutional rights. US District Judge Marcia Cooke said that the Sixth Amendment right to a speedy trial was not invoked until Padilla was charged [...]

The Russian Supreme Court ruled Friday that the Republican Party one of Russia's oldest opposition parties, was too small to be considered a political party under a 2004 Russian law and should be closed down. Republican Party co-Chairman Vladimir Ryzhkov argued that the party was actually larger than the court believed, that it had 58,000 [...]

As part of a plea deal, former Deputy US Secretary of the Interior J. Steven Griles pleaded guilty to felony obstruction of justice charges Friday for lying to the Senate Indian Affairs Committee in 2005 about his relationship with former lobbyist Jack Abramoff . In his committee testimony , Griles, a former lobbyist himself, failed [...]

Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf appointed the senior-most judge on the Pakistani Supreme Court as acting chief justice Friday, as thousands of lawyers across the country protested the suspension of former chief justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry and campaigned for his reinstatement. Justice Rana Bhagwandas , the only Hindu judge on the court, will take on the [...]