The Ugandan High Court on Thursday sentenced a man to 30 years in prison for beating to death prominent gay rights activist David Kato. Enock Nsubuga confessed to the January 2011 killing, admitting to beating Kato with a hammer at his home before he died on the way to the hospital. Nsubuga claimed that he [...]
Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Wednesday urged the Tunisian government not to extradite former Libyan prime minister Al-Baghdadi Ali al-Mahmoudi , warning that he would be “at a real risk for torture” if he is returned to Libya. Al-Mahmoudi, who served under Muammar Gaddafi , has been held in Tunisia since September when he was [...]
The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on Wednesday released a partially redacted opinion in Latif v. Obama, overturning the release order for Yemeni Guantanamo detainee Adnan Farhan Abdul Latif . The redaction at times covers entire sections, but reveals strong divisions between the deciding judges. The unredacted portion of the [...]
Former Croatian prime minister Ivo Sanader pleaded not guilty on Thursday to taking bribes worth €10 million from Hungarian energy group MOL in exchange for allowing MOL a dominant position in Croatia’s oil and gas group INA . Hernadi and MOL have also denied the allegations that Sanader capitalized on the country’s difficult position for [...]
The US Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday voted to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) , marking the first time a Congressional group has voted to repeal the law banning same-sex marriage. The vote was split along party lines, with 10 Democrats voting in favor of the legislation and eight Republicans voting in opposition. [...]
A Brazilian federal court ruled Wednesday that work on a dam being constructed on the Xingu River in the Amazon jungle may continue. The Federal Court of the First Region had ordered that dam construction cease until indigenous groups are consulted and given access to environmental impact reports, but the court reversed that decision in [...]
The Supreme Court of Israel on Thursday upheld the rape conviction of former Israeli president Moshe Katsav . The court rejected Katsav’s appeal of his conviction for rape, sexual abuse and sexual harassment, finding that he misused his position as president, from which he was forced to resign after the allegations were made public. The [...]
Mexican security forces have committed widespread rights abuses , such as torture and forced disappearances, in combating organized crime, according to a report released Wednesday by Human Rights Watch (HRW) . The report, “Neither Rights Nor Security,” details HRW’s investigation into the actions of the Mexican military and police forces in confronting drug cartels and [...]
The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit Wednesday denied a petition for rehearing regarding its unanimous decision to vacate a district court ruling that the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy (DADT) was a violation of service members’ constitutional rights. The court had overturned the lower court’s ruling at the request of lawyers for [...]
The Australian Senate on Thursday passed the Tobacco Plain Packaging Bill 2011 which requires that cigarettes be sold in generic olive green packages, without brands or logos. The packages will also have warnings of the potential health risks of smoking. Australia is the first country in the world to pass a law such as this. [...]
