The UK military’s handling of detainees in overseas operations is “in compliance” with UK and international law, according to a report released Tuesday by the Ministry of Defense (MOD) . According to British Army Inspector Brigadier Robert Purdy, a nine-month investigation of legal documents, army procedures and testimony from personnel showed that UK forces’ attitudes [...]
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled Tuesday that Turkey failed to protect the life of well-known Turkish-Armenian writer and journalist Hrant Dink , failed to adequately investigate his murder and infringed on his right of freedom of expression. The court ordered Turkey to pay €100,000 to Dink’s wife and three children and €5,000 [...]
The French Senate on Tuesday voted 246 to 1 to approve a bill that would make it illegal to wear the Islamic burqa or other full face veils in public. Under the legislation, women who wear the veil can be required by police to show their face, and, if they refuse, they can be forced [...]
Lawyers for former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich filed a motion Monday in the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois asking the judge to throw out the sole conviction returned by the jury during his corruption trial last month. Blagojevich was found guilty of making false statements to the FBI, but the jury [...]
Former president of Malawi Bakili Muluzi pleaded not guilty Tuesday to charges of corruption and theft in the Malawi High Court . Muluzi, who stepped down as president in 2004 following two five-year terms in office, is accused of 12 counts of corruption involving a person employed in public office for allegedly stealing 1.7 billion [...]
A report presented Tuesday by the UN Working Group on the Use of Mercenaries urges the US to increase regulation of military contractors employed worldwide, citing alleged human rights abuses and the contractors’ lack of transparency and accountability. The UN Working Group met with US officials last summer to discuss the actions of US private [...]
Former Polish prime minister Leszek Miller on Tuesday denied any knowledge of a secret CIA prison in Poland. Miller’s denial came after a former CIA agent confirmed that the agency tortured alleged USS Cole bomber Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri in 2002 at a secret prison in Poland. According to the agent, al-Nashiri was stripped naked and [...]
The EU Commissioner for Justice, Fundamental Rights and Citizenship Viviane Reding on Tuesday threatened legal action against France for its deportation of Roma , calling the initiative “a disgrace.” Reding’s statement, which came one day after French media leaked an interior ministry circular document directing a priority of clearing Roma from illegal camps, criticizes France’s [...]
Nigerian national Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab , accused of attempting to set off an explosive device on a flight last December, fired his lawyer on Monday and inquired about the process for pleading guilty. Abdulmutallab indicated to the US District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan that he did not believe his lawyers were serving [...]
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay on Monday opened the fifteenth session of the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) by addressing human rights violations in countries including the US, France, China and Russia. Pillay began her remarks by noting the current condition of human suffering caused by natural disasters, violence and attacks on [...]
