Cuban activist and high-profile dissident Guillermo Farinas was imprisoned by Cuban authorities on Friday for the third time in 48 hours. The authorities have told Farinas that he will be jailed if he meets with other dissidents in public. Farinas was detained for the first time Wednesday, in his home city of Santa Clara. He [...]
Spanish judge Eloy Velasco on Friday set a March 1 deadline for the US government to indicate whether Guantanamo abuse allegations will be investigated by US lawyers before deciding whether to allow a controversial lawsuit against former Bush administration officials to move forward. The lawsuit, originally filed in 2009 , accuses high profile lawyers including [...]
UN officials including Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay , on Friday urged the Egyptian government to exercise restraint and respect the rights of protesters. Navi Pillay acknowledged reports of tactics including rubber-coated bullets, tear gas, water cannons and batons , and called on the government to investigate the reports [...]
Russian President Dmitri Medvedev on Friday signed into law a bill that ratifies the New Start treaty , an agreement between Russia and the US intended to reduce nuclear arms in both countries. The Russian Federation Council on Wednesday voted to ratify the treaty . The upper house of Russia’s parliament unanimously supported the measure, [...]
The Wyoming Senate on Thursday voted 20-10 in favor of Joint Resolution 5 , the first step to a constitutional amendment that would prevent the state from recognizing same-sex marriages from any jurisdiction. The decision, which was split down party lines, will now advance to the state House of Representatives, where it needs a two-thirds [...]
Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) leader Callixte Mbarushimana made his initial appearance before the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Friday and denied the charges against him, which relate to violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in 2009. The court provided official notice of the charges against Mbarushimana, which include [...]
The Myanmar Special Appellant Court dismissed an appeal Friday filed by pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi challenging the government’s dissolution of her National League of Democracy (NLD) . The dismissal effectively exhausts Suu Kyi’s ability to appeal and bars her from official political recognition in the country. Earlier this month, the Supreme Court agreed [...]
France’s Constitutional Council on Friday ruled that the country’s same-sex marriage ban does not violate the constitution . The council emphasized it may only interpret existing laws under the constitution, but that the legislature has the power to make new laws allowing gay marriage. A lawyer for the gay couple who brought the complaint said [...]
Chile Supreme Court Judge Sergio Munoz on Thursday ordered an investigation into the death of former socialist president Salvador Allende during the 1973 coup . Since the coup, Allende’s death has been ruled a suicide. The investigation into Allende’s death is part of a larger probe into the 1973-1990 military dictatorship of General Augusto Pinochet [...]
Ukrainian prosecutors announced Thursday that they have opened a new criminal investigation of opposition leader and former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko . The prosecution’s office alleges Tymoshenko, whose government was dissolved in March after she narrowly lost the presidential election to Viktor Yanukovych , abused her authority and exceeded her official duties by purchasing “1000 [...]
