Corruption in the Nigerian government has become endemic , Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported Thursday, criticizing the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) particularly and the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan generally. Although the agency has arraigned 45 different government officials, HRW believes their trials are moving too slowly and is concerned about the small [...]
The New Jersey Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled that eyewitness-based evidence should be treated more cautiously by New Jersey courts, issuing new guidelines for judges. The court instructed that judges in future cases should hold pretrial hearings to determine all possible variables to the eyewitness testimony as well as administering jury instructions, sometimes mid-way through [...]
The US Department of Justice (DOJ) on Wednesday announced that the agency had reached a $500 million settlement with Google for permitting Canadian pharmaceutical companies to advertise to and target US consumers. The advertising led to unlawful importation of controlled and non-controlled prescription drugs into the US, which constitutes violations of the Federal Food, Drug [...]
Russian investigators on Wednesday arrested a former police officer in connection with the 2006 murder of journalist Anna Politkovskaya . Authorities arrested Dmitry Pavlyuchenkov , who is suspected of arranging Politkovskaya’s murder and hiring three Chechen men who have also been implicated in the case. Pavlyuchenkov purportedly organized a criminal unit to carry out the [...]
A Michigan court of appeals ruled Tuesday that medical marijuana cannot be sold at private dispensaries. The defendants are owners of Compassionate Apothecary (CA) , a privately owned medical marijuana dispensary that facilitates patient-to-patient transfer of marijuana using a locker system for patients to store and trade excess marijuana. CA retains 20 percent of the [...]
Accused war criminal Goran Hadzic on Wednesday entered a not guilty plea at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) . Hadzic had refused to enter a plea in July when he was extradited to The Hague , where he now awaits trial for war crimes . Hadzic was the last fugitive of [...]
Bangladeshi authorities must put an end to extrajudicial executions by government authorities, Amnesty International (AI) urged on Wednesday. In a report entitled “Crimes Unseen: Extrajudicial Executions in Bangladesh” , AI alleges that the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) , a special police force, unlawfully kills Bangladeshi civilians regularly. Furthermore, the RAB justifies the killings as accidental [...]
A Thai court on Wednesday acquitted Pojamarn Shinawatra , the ex-wife of former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra , overturning a tax evasion conviction. Shinawatra was convicted of tax evasion in July 2008 for transferring $16.3 million worth of stock to her step-brother and secretary, who were also convicted. Pojamarn and step-brother Bannapot Damapong were [...]
The International Criminal Court (ICC) on Wednesday concluded its first war crimes trial after two years. Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) militia leader Thomas Lubanga was taken into ICC custody in March 2006, becoming the first DRC war crimes defendant to appear before the ICC . Lubanga is charged with enlisting child soldiers in his [...]
UN Special Rapporteur on human trafficking Joy Ngozi Ezeilo on Monday urged the government of Thailand to improve measures to combat human trafficking , as well as protect the rights of migrant workers. The trafficking trade in Thailand is predominantly used for sexual and labor exploitation, with child trafficking especially rampant. Individuals are forced into [...]
