A Tehran Revolutionary Court on Monday sentenced three prominent progressive activists to six years in prison in connection with protests following the controversial re-election of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in June. According to the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) , Mohsen Mirdamadi, Mostafa Tajzadeh, and Davood Soleimani were convicted of spreading propaganda against the [...]

READ MORE

Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Monday criticized the violent and repressive conditions in southern Somalia that have been implemented by the Islamist group al-Shabaab . HRW interviewed more than 70 victims and witnesses, concluding that while some areas of the country under al-Shabaab rule are more stable when compared to areas under control of the [...]

READ MORE

A prominent Iranian journalist and filmmaker was sentenced on Sunday to three-and-a-half years in prison and 50 lashes for his activities after the disputed 2009 presidential elections . Mohammad Nourizad was sentenced by Judge Pyrbasy, the head of Islamic Revolutionary Court Branch 26 for "distributing propaganda against the establishment of the Islamic Republic of Iran, [...]

READ MORE

A special tribunal in Bangladesh on Sunday convicted 57 members of the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) on charges relating to their involvement in last year's border guard mutiny . BDR Special Court-3 in the southeast district of Feni sentenced those convicted to jail terms ranging from four months to seven years, and fined each BDT $100 [...]

READ MORE

The Kyrgyzstan interim government announced Sunday that it will place ousted president Kurmanbek Bakiyev on trial for killings that took place during the recent uprising earlier this month and for abuse of power while in office. The interim government is also planning to try members of Bakiyev's family and administration on charges that include corruption [...]

READ MORE

The Russian State Duma voted 437-0 Friday to approve a bill giving amnesty to veterans as well as concentration camp and Leningrad siege survivors for most crimes committed during World War II by. If approved in the upper house, the bill would apply to an estimated 100-200 persons, but the amnesty would not apply to [...]

READ MORE