A Milan court on Wednesday sentenced former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi to one year in prison for publicly releasing private wiretaps in 2005. In particular, Berlusconi’s sentence stems from his conviction of publishing the transcript of a tapped phone conversation in Il Giornale , a national newspaper owned by his brother Paolo. The conversation [...]
The trial of 40 former Libyan officials began Thursday in al-Zawiya. The charges include inciting the killing of protesters during the revolution, wasting public funds, embezzlement and abuse of power. The defendants committed these crimes as part of the former Gaddafi regime during the uprising in 2011. The date of the hearing has been postponed [...]
A UK court on Thursday ruled in favor of Apple in a patent infringement lawsuit filed by Samsung . The suit involved three patents in connection to data and information transfer technology that Samsung alleged Apple infringed. The technology allows transfers of information over the third-generation networks that are used by smartphones. In Thursday’s ruling, [...]
The Arkansas legislature voted Wednesday to override Governor Mike Beebe’s recent veto of the Arkansas Human Heartbeat Protection Act , which bans abortions “of an unborn human individual whose heartbeat has been detected … and is twelve (12) weeks or greater gestation.” In a letter accompanying his veto of the 12-week ban, Beebe said he [...]
Mexico’s Chamber of Deputies voted 376-56 on Tuesday to remove criminal immunity for federal lawmakers. The bill, which contains proposed amendments to the country’s constitution, seeks to subject federal senators and deputies to the criminal justice system. The lawmakers, including high-ranking federal officials, remain protected from detention during their term in office. The bill now [...]
The Maryland Senate on Wednesday voted 27-20 to repeal the death penalty, a legislative goal long sought by Governor Martin O’Malley . Passed after several days of debate, Senate Bill 276 seeks to repeal “the death penalty and all provisions relating to it,” and will prescribe sentences of life imprisonment for individuals convicted of first [...]
Oklahoma Attorney General E Scott Pruitt on Tuesday filed a petition asking the US Supreme Court to review a decision by the Oklahoma Supreme Court which struck down two state laws limiting abortion rights for physicians and patients. In December the Oklahoma Supreme Court held HB 2780 and HB 1970 to be unconstitutional , finding [...]
Defense lawyers for terrorism detainees held at Guantanamo Bay and the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) sent a letter to Rear Admiral John Smith Jr. describing harsh conditions faced by the detainees and indicated that the detainees have begun to protest the conditions, including participating in a hunger strike. The letter alleged that “camp authorities [...]
Attorney General Eric Holder spoke before Congress on Wednesday urging them to pass gun control legislation. In a hearing before the US Senate Committee on the Judiciary , Holder requested that Congress consider universal background checks, banning high-capacity magazines and military style weapons. He also suggested passing tougher penalties for weapons trafficking. Holder is echoing [...]
Malian Tuareg rebels on Tuesday called on the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate alleged war crimes committed by Malian government forces during the recent conflict. Azawad National Liberation Movement (MNLA) announced that it has asked the ICC to investigate the alleged use of torture, summary executions and forced disappearances while attempting to put down [...]
