Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported on Tuesday that Arab governments are using violence to crack down on protests inspired by the unrest in Egypt. According to the report, public gatherings in Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, United Arab Emirates, West Bank and Yemen have encountered force from security officials. In Ramallah, Palestine peaceful demonstrators were punched [...]
UK Supreme Court President Nicholas Phillips warned in a speech Tuesday that the Supreme Court’s reliance on the Ministry of Justice for funding threatens the court’s independence. Phillips explained that unexpectedly low contributions from civil courts coupled with the economic crisis had forced the Supreme Court to turn to the Lord Chancellor, a member of [...]
The US House of Representatives on Tuesday defeated a bill to renew three provisions of the USA Patriot Act . The vote was 277 to 148 , falling short of the two-thirds majority required for the “suspension of the rules” procedure. The provisions in question, set to expire on February 28, create the authority for [...]
Olga Khvostunova : “On the last days of December 2010 the guilty verdict in the second case of Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the former Russian oil tycoon, was announced at the Khamovnichesky Court in Moscow. For the second time the trial and the verdict raised questions not only of the state of country’s independent judiciary, but also [...]
Richard Socarides : “This is another important ruling from a federal District Court raising serious questions as to the validity of the Justice Department’s defense of the federal anti-gay marriage law. It’s an important development because it adds to the growing willingness of the federal bench to take a closer look at the government’s assertions [...]
Syrian Internet users reported on Tuesday that social media sites Facebook and YouTube are accessible without proxy servers or VPNs. Syria appears to be lifting the ban imposed in 2007 as a concession to avoid popular upheaval in Syria. Because both Facebook and YouTube are routinely accessed by Syrians through international proxy servers, the concession [...]
Hungary agreed Monday to change its controversial media law following negotiations between Hungarian and EU representatives. The new law, which controls private television and radio broadcasters, newspapers, and online news sites, has been criticized as being too restrictive of freedom of expression. Last month, European Commission Vice President Neelie Kroes challenged the legality of the [...]
The Iraqi government is operating secret prisons, and suspects held in Iraqi custody have been systematically tortured since before the 2003 US invasion, according to a Tuesday report from Amnesty International (AI) . The report, “Broken Bodies, Tortured Minds: Abuse and Neglect of Detainees in Iraq,” alleges that Iraqi and US forces have detained tens [...]
The Federal Investigation Agency of Pakistan on Monday named former president Pervez Musharraf as an accused in the assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto . Musharraf’s name was included on an interim criminal charge-sheet after investigations revealed that he appointed and allegedly gave orders to the police officers accused of failing to protect Bhutto [...]
Closing arguments began Tuesday in the trial of former Liberian president Charles Taylor on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity, despite Taylor’s absence from the courtroom. UN prosecutors said the trial will proceed despite Taylor and his lawyer, Courtenay Griffiths, leaving the courtroom at the beginning of the prosecution’s closing arguments. Griffiths called [...]
