UN Special Representative for Sexual Violence in Conflict Margot Wallstrom on Tuesday called for an end to impunity for leaders of militias and armed groups in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) for conducting mass rapes, saying that perpetrators would face war crimes charges . UN representatives allege that Congolese rebel groups Mai Mai and [...]
The Obama administration on Tuesday appealed last week’s ruling by the US District Court for the District of Columbia that granted a preliminary injunction blocking federal funding for embryonic stem cell research . The administration argues that Judge Royce Lamberth’s holding is overbroad, endangering an array of research across multiple programs and centers while only [...]
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has begun considering a lawsuit filed by three Russian activists alleging their right to freedom of assembly has been violated, their lawyer said Tuesday. The court is reportedly deciding whether the case merits priority consideration . The lawsuit stems from Russian law enforcement officials’ suppression of protests being [...]
The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on Tuesday denied a request for an en banc rehearing of the case of Yemeni Guantanamo Bay detainee Gahleb Nassar Al-Bihani . In January, the court found Al-Bihani “was both part of and substantially supported enemy forces” and held that his detention was authorized [...]
JURIST Guest Columnist Charles Jalloh of the University of Pittsburgh School of Law responds to Peter Erlinder’s article Rwanda: Flawed Elections and the Politics of ‘Genocide Denial’, saying that certain of Erlinder’s criticisms of the ICTR are political or unfounded… I have just read the interesting op-ed by Professor Peter Erlinder regarding the 2010 presidential [...]
Amnesty International (AI) on Tuesday urged the Rwandan government to review its “genocide ideology” and “sectarianism” laws, which they say are being used to stifle freedom of speech and expression in the country. The laws were first enacted following the 1994 Rwandan genocide , where hate speech and propaganda played a role in inciting violence [...]
The lower house of the Tasmanian Parliament on Tuesday overwhelmingly approved an amendment to the Relationships Act of 2003 , recognizing same-sex marriages and civil unions registered in foreign countries and other Australian states. The amendment was aimed at ending discrimination against same-sex couples and was supported by all but three representatives of the 25-member [...]
The Indian Supreme Court announced Tuesday that it will reconsider a 1996 ruling allowing former employees of US chemical producer Union Carbide accused in relation to the 1984 Bhopal chemical spill disaster to be charged with negligence instead of culpable homicide. Seven men were convicted in June on charges of “death by negligence” and sentenced [...]
Federal judges responsible for handling Social Security disability claims and immigration hearings are petitioning for increased security measures after data released Monday shows they have been the targets of numerous threats . According to the report released by the Association of Administrative Law Judges (AALJ) and the National Association of Immigration Judges (NAIJ) , security [...]
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) filed a lawsuit Monday challenging the US government’s authority to conduct “targeted killings” against suspected terrorists. The ACLU and CCR allege that US citizen Anwar al-Awlaki , suspected of being a member of al Qaeda in Yemen, was placed on “government kill [...]
