In two separate rulings on Friday, Chinese courts rejected the appeals of a journalist and rights activist who challenged the government. In a five-minute session, the Beijing High Court rejected an appeal by Zhao Yan , a New York Times researcher who was sentenced to three years in prison for fraud in August. Zhao was [...]

Emile Lahoud : "… I was among the first callers for an international investigation commission to conduct an enquiry into the assassination of Prime Minister Hariri. Shortly after the heinous crime, I called up UN Secretary General Kufi Annan demanding him to send an international investigation team to Lebanon. Everybody in Lebanon wants to know [...]

The Central African Republic (CAR) has violated international law by arbitrarily detaining people, holding detainees for extended periods without charges and trials, and maintaining prisons in degrading conditions, according to a study released Thursday by Amnesty International . The study documents the cases of over 40 people who have been arrested in 2006 for their [...]

Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts Justice Judith Cowin ruled Thursday that all seven of the court's justices will hear a request to put a measure effectively banning same-sex marriage on the 2008 Massachusetts ballot if legislators fail to vote on the issue before the end of their term on January 2. Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney [...]

The US Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments Thursday on whether unintroduced non-sensitive evidence from the criminal trial of Zacarias Moussaoui should be turned over to families of 9/11 victims as requested by and promised to them for use in a civil negligence lawsuit against the airline industry and other defendants. Department of Justice [...]

Aswat v. United States, UK High Court of Justice, November 30, 2006 . Read the full text of the ruling. Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.

Prisoners in 2005, US Department of Justice, November 30, 2006 . Read the full text of the report. Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.

The US Federal Election Commission is asking for public approval of new proposed policies , one of which would reduce penalties for politicians and contributors who voluntarily report their own potential violations of campaign finance laws. The draft proposal for sua sponte submissions has two separate recommendations for penalties: The first recommendation is to reduce [...]

Authorities in India have charged 30 people for their connections to the July 11 Mumbai train bombings which left 185 dead and approximately 700 injured. The suspects, mostly Muslims, include 15 Pakistanis and 17 Indians. Only 13 of the suspects, all Indian, were present in court, while the others were charged in absentia. Two of [...]

Liberia's Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) has denied reports that it has shut down operations due to lack of funding , with a spokesperson telling the Voice of America Thursday that a suspension of field research was previously scheduled. Though TRC spokeswoman Juliane Westphal acknowledged that lack of adequate funding is a problem, she said [...]