The government of Mali plans to ask the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate attacks in its northern region, including the destruction of ancient religious shrines, according to its Justice Ministry. Justice Minister Malick Coulibaly said in an interview that the government would ask the ICC to investigate the attacks , which allegedly resulted in [...]
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay on Thursday urged the government of Kazakhstan to allow an independent international investigation into the unrest last December that resulted in at least 15 deaths and hundreds of injuries. The violence occurred in a remote desert oil town of Zhanaozen when oil workers demanded higher pay and [...]
A judge for the US District Court for the Southern District of New York (SDNY) on Wednesday rejected a motion by Bank of America (BOA) to dismiss a shareholder lawsuit alleging BOA’s purposeful concealment of the bank’s exposure to billions of dollars in loan repurchase claims and its problematic reliance on an electronic loan registry. [...]
Three UN experts on Thursday urged the Russian State Duma not to adopt a controversial bill that will regulate the activities of non-commercial organizations (NCOs) that engage in political activity and receive foreign funding. The special rapporteurs on freedom of association, human rights defenders and freedom of expression expressed particular concern that the law would [...]
A Ukrainian appeals court on Thursday postponed the appeal hearing for former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko , making this the third postponement in the former prime minister’s appeal of her seven-year prison sentence. The case was last postponed in June . The hearing to consider Tymoshenko’s appeal of her conviction on corruption charges was postponed [...]
Torture, beatings and ill-treatment of detainees are common practice in Tajikistan , Amnesty International said in its report released on Thursday. The human rights group claimed that the country lacks measures adequately protecting detainees from abuses and ill-treatment and noted that there are more incentives than deterrence for police officers to engage in such practices. [...]
The Supreme Court of Estonia ruled Thursday that the treaty to establish the euro area’s permanent rescue fund does not offend the Estonian constitution. The court, sitting en banc, held that a restriction on the financial authority on the Riigikogu , Estonia’s parliament, imposed by the Treaty Establishing the European Stability Mechanism (ESM Treaty) is [...]
A draft Iraqi cybercrime law would violate the international standards protecting due process, freedom of speech and freedom of association, Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported Thursday. The Information Crimes Law, which had its first reading before the Iraqi Council of Representatives in July of last year, regulates the use of information networks, computers, and other [...]
The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) on Thursday postponed the trial of former Bosnian Serb Army commander Ratko Mladic due to his health problems. Thursday’s trial came to an abrupt end when Mladic complained that he did not feel well. The court stopped the hearing, and the former commander was taken to [...]
Newly elected Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi on Wednesday issued a statement saying he will respect the ruling of an Egyptian court suspending his decree to reconvene the parliament. Morsi said his order was not intended to challenge the authority of the court or the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) , but rather to [...]
