A federal judge on Tuesday ruled that the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was not in contempt of court for destroying videotapes thought to have shown harsh interrogations of terror suspects, but ordered the CIA to pay attorneys fees to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) . The ACLU argued during a court hearing that [...]
Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller filed an appeal Monday to lift a judge’s decision to block parts of a controversial state law denying that medicaid funds go to Planned Parenthood of Indiana (PPIN) . Zoeller filed the appeal in the US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit challenging the decision of Judge Tanya Walton [...]
The US Department of Justice (DOJ) on Monday filed a complaint in the US District Court for the Northern District of Alabama challenging an Alabama law that expands restrictions on undocumented immigrants. The DOJ contends that various provisions of the Alabama immigration legislation are preempted by federal law and violate the Supremacy Clause of the [...]
Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff , Admiral Mike Mullen , said Tuesday that US troops must be granted immunity in order to remain in Iraq beyond the end-of-the-year deadline. It is up to the Iraqi Parliament to decide whether they still need a US presence beyond the deadline, but Mullen stressed that [...]
Members of the Belarus Parliament have introduced a bill that would ban so-called “silent protests,” including those involving large groups of people basically doing nothing. The law seems aimed at stopping numerous silent protests across Belarus with protestors meeting in large groups chanting, clapping hands or standing around silently. Opposition members are against the new [...]
An Austrian court on Friday rejected Serbia’s extradition request for former Bosnian general and suspected war criminal Jovan Divjak. The court ruled that Divjak likely would not receive a fair trial if he were extradited, expressing concerns that Serb authorities would not have access to evidence or witness testimony of Bosnian authorities due to a [...]
The Jerusalem District Court on Monday ruled that suspected Bosnian war criminal Aleksander Cvetkovic could be extradited to Bosnia to stand trial for crimes committed during the 1992-1995 Bosnian Civil War . Bosnian authorities claim that Cvetkovic participated in the 1995 Srebrenica Massacre that saw more than 8,000 Bosnian Muslims killed over a 10-day period. [...]
A judge for the US District Court for the District of Kansas Monday blocked a Kansas law that would prevent Planned Parenthood of Kansas and Mid-Missouri (PPKM) from receiving federal funding. Judge J Thomas Marten issued a temporary injunction preventing the health centers from losing funding. PPKM filed the lawsuit in June alleging that the [...]
The trial of former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak will be televised live, the trial judge announced Monday. The trial will also be held at the national police academy in a room large enough to accommodate 600 people . The judge did not indicate, however, whether Mubarak would be present for the trial. Mubarak faces several [...]
The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has called for the immediate release of Chinese rights activist and Nobel Laureate Liu Xiaobo , according to UN documents from May released Monday by Freedom Now . Liu is currently serving an 11-year prison term after being convicted on charges of subversion in a trial that lasted [...]
