Rwandan gacaca courts have carried out flawed trials for crimes committed during the country’s 1994 genocide , according to a report released Tuesday by Human Rights Watch (HRW) . The gacaca courts were established by the Rwandan government in 2001 to reduce the caseload in the country’s traditional justice system. The accused are taken to [...]
A three-person commission for the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) appointed to investigate violence in Libya published a report Wednesday saying that government forces have committed crimes against humanity and war crimes under orders from Libyan leader Mummar Gaddafi and other high-ranking officials. The commission’s 92-page report said Libyan authorities have committed crimes against humanity [...]
A trial date for former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak was set on Wednesday for August 3 at the Cairo Criminal Court . Mubarak, his two sons and possibly his wife will go on trial for charges released last week , including murder, attempted killing of protesters and other charges related to a general abuse of [...]
International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) prosecutor Serge Brammertz said Wednesday that Ratko Mladic will appear before the tribunal Friday to face allegations of war crimes during the Bosnian civil war . Serbian authorities captured Mladic last week, ending a 16-year manhunt for the former general colonel and commander of the army of [...]
US Attorney General Eric Holder Wednesday testified before the US Sentencing Commission (USSC) calling for the retroactive application of a new law bringing the sentences for crack cocaine more in line for those of powder cocaine. The USSC is considering retroactively applying the Fair Sentencing Act signed into law by President Barack Obama last year. [...]
A judge for the US District Court for the Northern District of California Tuesday approved a settlement agreement in a privacy lawsuit against Google over its Buzz social networking application, awarding damages to privacy groups previously left out of the original proposed settlement. Judge James Ware approved the revised settlement awarding $500,000 to the Electronic [...]
Iran’s Parliament voted on Wednesday to take President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to court for “illegally” declaring himself oil minister. Last month, Ahmadinejad fired minister of oil Masoud Mirkazemi in an effort to streamline his cabinets and took control of the ministry as a “caretaker.” The parliament voted 165-1 with 13 abstentions to try Ahmadinejad in the [...]
Bahrain on Wednesday lifted its emergency laws imposed in mid-March that allowed for a crackdown against journalists and opposition leaders. The move may be a sign that the uprising in Bahrain is winding down. Despite the lifting of the emergency laws, Bahrain filed charges against four opposition leaders in the Al Wefaq party . Parliamentary [...]
Kenyan Attorney General Amos Wako said Tuesday that his country would appeal a refusal by the International Criminal Court (ICC) to transfer two cases stemming from post-election violence to Kenyan courts. The ICC announced Monday that they were denying Kenya’s request for the cases to be transferred, prompting Kenya to file a reply Tuesday. Kenya [...]
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad granted amnesty to political prisoners Tuesday including all members of the previously banned Muslim Brotherhood (MB) , according to a presidential decree published in Syrian state media. The move is seen as an attempt by Assad to defuse the 10-week uprising to overthrow the government. The decree frees all political prisoners [...]
