Canada authorities confirmed Friday that they had asked Germany to detain Iranian prosecutor Saeed Mortazavi if he passed through German territory after attending the inaugural meeting of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland, as an observer. Mortazavi is widely suspected of being present in July 2003 when Iranian-Canadian photojournalist Zahra Kazemi died from [...]

The US Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on Friday struck down a US Securities and Exchange Commission rule regulating hedge funds. The rule required hedge fund advisors responsible for at least $30 million in assets to register with the SEC, thus subjecting them to legal scrutiny for potential fraud. In [...]

UK Prime Minister Tony Blair on Friday called for new laws to narrow the gap between the public's desire for justice and outcomes that are perceived to unfairly favor defendants, in a a major criminal justice policy speech delivered in Bristol. Citing public concern over recent controversial decisions involving sentences for sex offenders, Blair said: [...]

A UK Court of Appeal on Friday dismissed a case arguing that Britain's ban on fox hunting with dogs infringed on human rights. The Countryside Alliance challenged a Hunting Act 2004 , saying it was unnecessary for a democratic society and that it violates human rights that protect the right to private and family life, [...]

Liberia's Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) formally began its work Thursday to investigate and document human rights abuses occurring in Liberia from 1979 to 2003. The TRC was inaugurated in February by Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf , who said that the commission is intended to heal the war-torn country and uncover the truth about [...]

The US Department of Justice announced the arrest of seven men Friday for conspiring to bomb the Sears Tower in Chicago and the FBI headquarters in Miami. A federal grand jury returned a four-count indictment Friday charging the seven defendants with conspiring to provide material support to al Qaeda; conspiring to provide material support, training, [...]

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour denounced human rights abuses committed during the war on terror Friday, urging governments to give terror suspects a fair trial and reminding them of the "absolute ban on torture" in remarks to the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) . In her statement , Arbour said: International law [...]

UN Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs Nicolas Michel stressed the importance of not sacrificing justice by "granting amnesty in ending conflicts" at a UN Security Council meeting Thursday on strengthening international law . Michel said that ending impunity for war criminals is one of the most important developments in international law over the last 15 years [...]

Iraq released 500 detainees from Abu Ghraib prison Friday as part of an ongoing national reconciliation plan first announced by new Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki earlier this month. Maliki promised that 2,500 prisoners held in US detention facilities and under Iraqi custody would be released if the detainees "are not Saddam Hussein loyalists or [...]

The Japanese Supreme Court Friday dismissed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's visits to the Yasukuni shrine , according to a court spokesperson who did not provide details on the ruling. The suit was brought by 338 plaintiff survivors of South Korean, Japanese, and Chinese soldiers killed during wars involving Japan, [...]