Victims of paramilitary violence in Colombia filed suit Wednesday against Chiquita Brand International , which has admitted to funding a right-wing paramilitary group in Colombia. In the complaint filed in the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida , 242 Colombians alleged that they had been seriously injured or had family members killed [...]
Pakistan's Senate on Thursday unanimously passed a constitutional amendment that would curtail the powers of the president. The 18th Amendment Bill would reverse the expansion of presidential powers under former military leader Pervez Musharraf by transferring presidential powers to the office of the prime minister , effectively reserving the presidency as a figurehead. Among other [...]
US Department of Justice (DOJ) Inspector General Glenn Fine and FBI General Counsel Valerie Caproni testified Thursday before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties regarding governmental abuse of National Security Letters (NSLs) . Committee members were angered by the FBI's use of "exigent letters," which lack any statutory authority, [...]
Nine Afghan witnesses have claimed that they were held and tortured in a secret US prison at the Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan, according to a BBC report Thursday. The witnesses say that they were allegedly captured by American forces and taken to a secret location where they were abused and interrogated , then later [...]
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Julius Genachowski testified Wednesday before the Senate Commerce Committee that the agency will move ahead with its National Broadband Plan despite a recent court ruling that it lacks the power to enforce net neutrality . Net neutrality, which is unanimously supported by the FCC's commissioners, was thought essential to the [...]
The Ukrainian government must ensure accountability for human rights violations , Amnesty International (AI) urged in a report Wednesday. AI addressed newly-elected President Viktor Yanukovych , calling on him to bring Ukrainian laws and practices in line with international human rights standards. Among the recommendations are establishing an investigatory agency to look into complaints of [...]
A judge for the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois on Wednesday ordered the release of a 91-page government proffer outlining evidence in the government's case against former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich . According to the proffer, Blagojevich and his staff engaged in several schemes by which they hoped to personally gain [...]
US Attorney General Eric Holder said Wednesday that the government has not ruled out prosecuting certain high-profile terror suspects in civilian court in New York City. During a hearing on oversight of the US Department of Justice (DOJ), Holder told the Senate Judiciary Committee that the government is still considering trying several high-level terror suspects, [...]
Italy's Constitutional Court on Wednesday rejected a challenge to the constitutionality of the country's ban on same-sex marriage . After hearing arguments from several same-sex couples who had been denied marriage licenses, courts in Trento and Venice asked the high court to resolve whether provisions in the Italian Civil Code banning same-sex marriage conflict with [...]
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Wednesday called on the Alabama Department of Corrections (ADOC) to end prison segregation based on HIV status . The ACLU and HRW jointly produced a report , which concluded that the prisoners face fundamental discrimination which amounts to "cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment [...]
