A federal judge ruled Monday that officials at the Southern Michigan Correctional Facility must stop using non-medical restraints on prisoners because the "practice constitutes torture and violates the Eighth Amendment." Judge Richard Enslen of the US District Court for the Western District of Michigan issued the opinion in the case of Timothy Souders, a mentally [...]
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The US Department of Justice argued Monday that immigrants arrested while in the US and labeled as enemy combatants under an expansive definition in the new Military Commissions Act of 2006 (MCA) can be indefinitely detained and are prohibited from challenging their detention in civilian courts. In a motion to dismiss filed Monday in the [...]
The South African National Assembly passed the Civil Unions Bill Tuesday by a 230-41 vote, becoming the first African nation to recognize same-sex unions . The bill, without specific reference to heterosexual or same-sex couples, recognizes the "voluntary union of two persons, which is solemnized and registered by either a marriage or civil union." It [...]
Eleven former Abu Ghraib detainees and one Guantanamo detainee all claiming to have been victims of US torture initiated a criminal complaint in Germany Tuesday asking that the German Federal Prosecutor investigate and ultimately prosecute former US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and other top US officials and advisors for authorizing the commission of war crimes [...]
US District Judge Reggie Walton ruled Monday that special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald's proposal to limit what classified evidence I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby can present to the jury in the CIA leak trial goes too far. Libby, charged with obstruction of justice and perjury in connection with Fitzgerald's investigation into the leak of the identity of [...]
Thai Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont said Tuesday that martial law will not be lifted in Thailand, as had been anticipated . Thai Defense Minister Boonrawd Somtas said last week that Surayud was contemplating lifting martial law before leaving for an international summit in Vietnam on November 18, but Surayud said Tuesday that he had been [...]
Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse has agreed to investigate allegations that government forces and the rebel group Karuna has been using children in its fights against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) , or the "Tamil Tigers," a UN representative said Monday. Allan Rock , special advisor to the UN Special Representative for Children [...]
US Marine Lance Cpl. Jerry E. Shumate Jr. will plead guilty to aggravated assault and conspiracy to obstruct justice in connection to the alleged murder and kidnapping of an unarmed Iraqi civilian in Hamdania , Shumate's lawyer said Monday. In exchange for the guilty plea, expected to be entered next Monday, more serious murder and [...]
City council members in Farmers Branch, Texas voted Monday to approve several anti-immigration measures including making English the town's official language , imposing fines for landlords who rent to illegal aliens , and permitting local police to screen suspects in custody. The unanimous 6-0 vote was taken prior to public comment, while individuals in favor [...]
Prosecutors for the US government Monday denied allegations by Jose Padilla that he was tortured while in US custody at a Navy detention facility in South Carolina. Padilla claims that he was subjected to multiple means of torture and abuse including sleep deprivation, threats of execution, exposure to noxious fumes, and extreme heat and cold, [...]
