Human Rights Watch (HRW) called Thursday for the Guinean government to further its support for the prosecution of crimes originating from a 2009 massacre. On the eve of the three-year anniversary of the massacre, HRW published a statement requesting that additional resources be dedicated to a domestic panel investigating the 2009 massacre of 157 opposition [...]
The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit on Thursday heard oral arguments in a challenge to the provision of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) that defines marriage as between a man and a woman for federal purposes. The case is being heard on appeal after Edith Schlain Windsor, 83, successfully sued the [...]
Police in Slovakia announced on Thursday that they have launched an investigation of a 97-year-old Hungarian man suspected of war crimes in connection with the Holocaust. Laszlo Csatary was arrested in Hungary in July on allegations of abusing and helping deport thousands of Jews during the Holocaust. The Hungarian man was arrested after the Simon [...]
An actress who claims she was duped into appearing in an anti-Islam film that sparked protests in the Middle East filed suit in the US District Court for the Northern District of California on Wednesday requesting that the film be removed from YouTube . Cindy Lee Garcia, an actress who appeared in the film Innocence [...]
Beijing’s Second Intermediate People’s Court on Thursday denied an appeal by dissident artist Ai Weiwei challenging a 15 million yuan (USD $2.4 million) fine for back taxes. The Chinese government levied the fine against Beijing Fake Cultural Development Ltd., the company that promotes Ai’s work. Ai denounced the court’s decision as politically motivated and lacking [...]
Amnesty International (AI) on Thursday urged California authorities to end “shocking conditions” in high-security prison isolation units. In a report entitled “The Edge of Endurance: Conditions in California’s Security Housing Units,” AI examined the prison conditions of over 3,000 individuals who have been confined in isolation in California prisons. The prisoners, who spend over 22 [...]
A judge for the Davidson County Chancery Court in Tennessee on Wednesday ruled that Tennessee’s voter identification law does not violate the state’s Constitution . Civil rights attorney George Barrett argued before the court that the requirement that residents show proof of ID is unduly burdensome . Barrett sought an injunction against the requirement in [...]
US President Barack Obama on Tuesday issued an executive order to strengthen the federal government’s zero-tolerance policy for contracting with groups and individuals involved in human trafficking. The order requires the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council (FAR) to take steps in the next 180 days to amend the Federal Acquisition Regulation to strengthen requirements for contractors’ [...]
A UN report released on Wednesday concludes that informal justice systems must be used as part of broader initiatives to ensure that human rights of people in developing countries are protected. The report shows that many groups of people, including women, children and minorities, benefit from informal justice systems because they empower them to make [...]
The High Court of England and Wales on Tuesday ordered an injunction against the extradition of Egyptian-born Muslim cleric Abu Hamza al-Masri and Saudi-born Khaled Al-Fawwaz to the US until a formal hearing can be held. The pair were scheduled to be extradited to the US to face terrorism charges stemming from a plan to [...]
