The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) on Wednesday convicted former businessman Yussuf Munyakazi on charges of genocide and extermination as a crime against humanity. The court found that Munyakazi was liable for the deaths of more than 5,000 Tutsi civilians during the 1994 Rwandan genocide and that he “intended to destroy the Tutsi ethnic [...]
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) on Wednesday held a Grand Chamber hearing regarding its decision in Lautsi v. Italy , where the ECHR found an Italian school’s display of the crucifix in classrooms violated Articles 2 and 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights , regarding religious and educational freedoms. Italy appealed [...]
Newly-inaugurated Philippines President Benigno Aquino announced Tuesday that his administration will set up a “truth commission” to investigate allegations that the outgoing administration engaged in corruption and rights violations. The commission plans to look into accusations that former president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and members of her administration rigged the 2004 presidential election, misused government funds [...]
A London appeals court on Wednesday granted convicted terrorist Rangzieb Ahmed the right to appeal his conviction based on his claims of torture and recent reports of UK complicity in torture. Ahmed was convicted and sentenced to life in prison in 2008 on charges of directing terrorism under the UK’s Terrorism Act of 2006 . [...]
US Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan addressed the effect of political bias on the bench as the Senate Judiciary Committee entered its third day of confirmation hearings . Kagan stated that the nation suffers when the court is split and appears to be politically driven but stopped short of criticizing the Roberts Court . Senator [...]
The Spanish Constitutional Court on Wednesday agreed to consider whether recently-approved changes to Spain’s abortion laws are constitutional. Under the new law, abortions performed in the first 14 weeks of gestation are declared a right , and abortions are allowed until 22 weeks if the mother’s life is in danger. Spain’s conservative Popular Party (PP) [...]
An Iranian military court has sentenced two men to death by hanging for killing three anti-government protesters in prison, according to the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) on Wednesday. Nine others were sentenced to prison terms, and one suspect was acquitted. The men were charged with torturing and eventually killing Mohammad Kamrani, Amir Javadi-far [...]
The Wisconsin Supreme Court on Wednesday unanimously upheld the state’s constitutional ban on same-sex marriage and civil unions. A voter challenged the passing of a referendum banning both same-sex marriages and civil unions, claiming that each type of union should have received its own vote as per a Wisconsin separate amendment rule. The Wisconsin Constitution [...]
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that he is considering widening the scope of the internal probe into the May Israeli raid on several Turkish ships bound for the blockaded Gaza Strip . Earlier this month, Netanyahu appointed former Israeli Supreme Court justice Yakov Turkel to head the investigation, and Turkel has demanded that [...]
The UK Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that the 1998 Human Rights Act, which incorporates the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) into English law, does not apply to armed forces on foreign soil and that a soldier’s family does not have an automatic right to an investigation into cause of death in the battlefield. The [...]
