UN human rights expert Martin Scheinin called on the Transitional Government of Tunisia Thursday to reform the counter-terrorism law to comply with international human rights law. Scheinin, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and counter-terrorism, called for accountability for “human rights violations committed in the name of counter-terrorism” and encouraged Tunisia to “continue to [...]
Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin signed a health care reform law on Friday that promises to make a state single-payer system. The law, designed to reform Vermont’s entire health care system, will regulate health insurance premiums and health care provider payments, putting providers on a budget and rewarding them for efficiency, rather than a “fee-for-service” structure. [...]
Planned Parenthood and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed a lawsuit Friday challenging a South Dakota law requiring women to seek counseling at a pregnancy center and wait three days before obtaining an abortion . The law, signed by Governor Dennis Daugaard in March, is set to take effect July 1 and would impose [...]
A South Korean court sentenced a Somali pirate to life in prison, and three others to varying long-term sentences on Friday, for hijacking a South Korean ship. A fifth pirate pleaded guilty and was tried separately. The five men were charged with hijacking, maritime robbery and six other crimes, and they went on trial earlier [...]
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled on Thursday that a Polish woman who had been denied genetic testing and an abortion was subjected to “inhuman treatment.” The court found violations to Articles 3 (prohibition of inhuman or degrading treatment) and 8 (right to respect for private and family life) of the European Convention [...]
US President Obama signed a four-year extension of the Patriot Act late Thursday night, minutes before it was set to expire. The bill passed the US Senate 72-23 , and shortly after passed the US House of Representatives by a vote of 250-153 . Although major congressional leaders of both parties had agreed to a [...]
A Serbian judge on Friday found Ratko Mladic fit for extradition, despite concerns about his age and health. Serbian authorities captured Ratko Mladic on Thursday, ending a 16-year manhunt for the former general colonel and commander of the army of the Serbian Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Mladic’s lawyer stated his client was not able [...]
An Egyptian court on Thursday convicted a former housing minister of corruption and sentenced him to five years in prison. Ahmed al-Maghrabi was found guilty of illegal acquisition of state land for his part in the sale of the 18 acres of land to a prominent businessman, who was convicted in the same case and [...]
A military tribunal in Rome has convicted three former German soldiers of multiple murders committed during World War II. The three men were tried in absentia and sentenced to life imprisonment for their parts in the massacre of 184 civilians in the village of Padule di Fucecchio in Tuscany on August 23, 1944. The killings [...]
Dane County Circuit Court Judge Maryann Sumi on Thursday voided the Budget Repair Bill , Wisconsin’s controversial measure limiting the collective bargaining rights of public employee unions, for violating the state’s open meeting rules. Sumi, the judge who temporarily enjoined the law , clarified that her ruling is not on the legality of the law, [...]
