The International Criminal Court (ICC) on Wednesday requested that the Republic of Malawi explain why that country’s authorities failed to arrest Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir during his widely reported visit there for a trade summit last weekend. Pre-Trial Chamber I of the ICC issued a resolution that asks Malawi authorities to report “any observations” regarding [...]
Citigroup Inc. on Wednesday announced a $285 million settlement to resolve charges brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that a subsidiary of the global financial services firm defrauded investors who bought toxic housing-related debt during the housing crisis. Citigroup Global Markets Inc. (CGMI), Citigroup’s principal US broker-dealer, marketed and sold in 2007 a [...]
The chief prosecutor at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) said Wednesday that he will not appeal the court’s decision to proceed with a single trial for former Serbian general and alleged war criminal Ratko Mladic . The prosecutor sought to separate the indictment in order to hold one trial for Mladic’s [...]
An Oklahoma state court judge on Wednesday issued a temporary injunction against a new Oklahoma law that restricts how doctors may use abortion-inducing drugs to treat patients. Judge Daniel Owens of the District Court of Oklahoma County granted the motion for a temporary injunction filed earlier this month by the Center for Reproductive Rights and [...]
Governments should ban solitary confinement for juveniles and prisoners with mental disabilities, a UN torture expert said Tuesday in a report to the UN General Assembly . UN Special Rapporteur on torture Juan Mendez told the assembly members that governments should impose solitary confinement only in exceptional circumstances and for short periods of time. Mendez [...]
The European Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo (EULEX) on Friday sentenced a former ethnic Albanian rebel fighter to five years in prison for crimes committed against civilians during the 1998-1999 war in Kosovo . Sali Rexhepi was charged with three counts of war crimes against the civilian population stemming from his membership and activity [...]
The Supreme Court of Venezuela ruled Monday that presidential hopeful Leopoldo Lopez remains banned from running in next year’s elections. Lopez, an opposition leader, is considered to be a threat to current President Hugo Chavez . As a result of corruption allegations, he was banned from public office through 2014 by the country’s comptroller general. [...]
The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced on Tuesday that 396,906 illegal immigrants were deported in 2011 , the largest number in the agencies’ history. The report indicated that more than half of the deportees were convicted criminals. In August, the US drastically shifted immigration policy by putting [...]
A judge for the US District Court for the District of Columbia ruled Monday that the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) is not obligated to reduce green house gas emissions, a contributor to global warming , in order to protect polar bears . However, the court also found that the controversial Bush-era special 4(d) [...]
UN Special Rapporteur on Iran Ahmed Shaheed said Monday that human rights violations in Iran are on the rise, as he presented a report to the UN General Assembly . Citing an increase in persecutions among political activists and journalists, Shaheed criticized detention conditions , the torture and mistreatment of detainees and the significant administration [...]
