Former dictator Jean-Claude Duvalier appeared before a Haitian court on Thursday, after previously rebuffing summonses for alleged human rights abuses from 1971-1986. Thursday’s hearing marked the first time that the plaintiffs confronted Duvalier. Duvalier had ignored three previous summonses before his appearance in court on Thursday. A judge told Duvalier that he would be jailed [...]

The Obama administration urged the US Supreme Court Thursday to strike down California’s ban on same-sex marriage as unconstitutional in the case of Hollingsworth v. Perry . The US Department of Justice (DOJ) submitted an amicus brief to the Supreme Court, arguing that California’s ban on same-sex marriage, known as Proposition 8 , violates the [...]

The Spanish Supreme Court on Thursday struck down a city ban on wearing veils over the face in municipal buildings, finding that the law infringes on religious freedom. The city of Lleida, in Catalonia, was the first Spanish city to impose such a ban, but only about 3 percent of its population is Muslim. The [...]

The Supreme Court of Canada on Thursday declined to hear the appeals of three men convicted of participation in a terrorist plot. Zakaria Amara, Saad Khalid and Saad Gaya, who were members of the “Toronto 18” terrorist group, were given sentences ranging from 14 years to life for their participation in a failed plot to [...]

The US House of Representatives on Thursday approved the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) by a vote of 286-138 with seven not voting. The Senate approved the same version of the bill earlier this month, and it will now go to President Barack Obama for final approval. The president welcomed the passage of the legislation [...]

Pfc. Bradley Manning pleaded guilty on Thursday to 10 of the 22 charges against him for providing classified materials to WikiLeaks in what the government says is the largest leak of classified documents in US history. Manning, who is charged with violating the Espionage Act, pleaded not guilty to the most serious charge against him, [...]

The appeals chamber of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) on Thursday overturned the convictions of ex-Yugoslav army chief Momcilo Perisic for crimes against humanity and violations of the laws or customs of war. The appeals chamber found that the court’s trial chamber had failed to apply the law correctly when it [...]

The Arkansas Senate voted Thursday to override a veto by Governor Mike Beebe of the Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act which bans most abortions in the state 20 weeks after conception. The ban became law immediately following the Senate’s 19-14 vote to override the veto issued by Beebe on Tuesday. In his letter accompanying [...]

California Attorney General Kamala Harris on Wednesday filed an amicus curiae brief with the US Supreme Court arguing that the ban on same-sex marriage imposed by the state’s Proposition 8 is unconstitutional and should therefore be overturned. In particular, Harris contended that the purpose of the ban “was to take away the right of gay [...]

UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in North Korea Marzuki Darusman and a group of independent human rights experts on Thursday announced their support for an international inquiry into human rights violations in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to bring awareness to the country’s system of political prison camps. Emphasizing that the allegations of [...]