A lawyer representing Laurent Gbagbo requested on Tuesday that the International Criminal Court (ICC) release Gbagbo from custody while he awaits his trial. Gbagbo is the former Ivory Coast president and an alleged war criminal. His lawyer told the court that Gbagbo would not be able to leave the area and escape justice because he [...]
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) on Tuesday condemned Poland’s treatment of a 14-year-old rape victim who sought an abortion. The victim initially faced charges of unlawful intercourse by the Polish criminal justice system. The ECHR articulated four violations of the European Convention on Human Rights . The ECHR found two violations of Article [...]
Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Tuesday urged Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani , the ruler of Qatar , not to approve a proposed media law which allegedly has the purpose of censoring rather than promoting media freedom. The new law would abolish criminal penalties for media law violations but penalize any type of criticism against [...]
The Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court of Poland on Monday ruled against a musician who tore up a copy of the Bible on stage in 2007. The court held that even without intention of insulting the Catholic Church, the musician violated the Article 196 of the country’s Penal Code. Adam Darski, member of the [...]
The US Supreme Court on Monday denied certiorari on a case dealing with a proposed ballot initiative to amend the Oklahoma constitution by defining a fertilized egg as a person. The Supreme Court of Oklahoma had unanimously ruled that granting “personhood” rights to human embryos was unconstitutional. The Oklahoma Supreme Court stated that it was [...]
The Bahrain government banned all protests on Tuesday, threatening legal action against any groups that initiate demonstrations. The Interior Ministry announced this emergency rule to stop the persistent anti-government protests . This represents the broadest order since martial law was enacted during the uprising last year. This order will most sharply effect the country’s Shia [...]
A Rwandan court on Tuesday convicted opposition leader Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza of treason and genocide denial, sentencing her to eight years in prison. Ingabire was acquitted on charges of terrorism and promoting ethnic division and a genocide ideology, while the judges found her guilty of belittling the 1994 Rwanda genocide . The prosecutor recommended a [...]
The US Supreme Court granted four new cases Monday. In Bullock v. Bank Champaign, N.A. the court will look at what degree of misconduct by a trustee will disqualify a debt made by the trustee from discharge under the Bankruptcy Code . In this case, Randy Curtis-Bullock was the trustee of his father’s trust and [...]
The US Supreme Court heard oral arguments in two cases Monday. In Clapper v. Amnesty International the court heard arguments to determine whether advocacy organizations which represent or work with terrorist suspects, such as Amnesty International (AI) and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) have standing to challenge a federal eavesdropping law. Parties included in [...]
An alleged Nazi war criminal has filed a writ to sue the Australian government for wrongful imprisonment after being jailed on a charge of killing an 18-year-old Jewish man in Hungary in 1944. Charles Zentai , a 91-year-old former Nazi and resident of Perth, was imprisoned for almost two months in 2009 for the war [...]
