Anti-government protesters in Kyrgyzstan on Wednesday set fire to the prosecutor-general's office amid violent demonstrations that have led to the death of the interior minister, the arrest of several opposition leaders, and the deaths of dozens of protesters. The protests against President Kurmanbek Bakiyev , which appear prompted in part by a drastic increase in [...]
The Spanish Supreme Court on Wednesday charged National Court judge Baltasar Garzon with abuse of power for the investigation of war crimes allegedly committed under Francisco Franco during the Spanish Civil War . In 2008, Garzon ordered the exhumation of 19 mass graves in Spain in order to assemble a definitive national registry of Civil [...]
Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva on Wednesday declared a state of emergency in Bangkok and several nearby provinces in response to escalating political protests. The state of emergency was declared after protesters, known as red shirts , broke into Parliament earlier Wednesday, causing government officials to evacuate. Under the state of emergency , which took [...]
A North Korean court sentenced a US citizen to eight years in prison on Wednesday for illegally entering the country. Aijalon Mahli Gomes was arrested in January for illegally crossing the border and was charged with illegal entry and unspecified hostile acts . Gomes's sentence includes eight years of hard labor and a fine equivalent [...]
JURIST Guest Columnist Victor Kattan of the Centre for International Studies and Diplomacy, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, says that morally, legally, and politically the Obama administration is on solid ground in its confrontation with the Israeli government over its refusal to stop constructing settlements in East Jerusalem…. US-Israel relations are [...]
Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) on Monday submitted a new version of their proposed Constitutional amendments to the Grand National Assembly . The draft differs only slightly in substance from the previous version that the party submitted. One of the new additions is a proposal to alter Article 157 of the Constitution so [...]
The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled Tuesday that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) lacks authority to require broadband providers to treat all Internet traffic equally. The appeal was brought by cable giant Comcast to review whether the FCC has the authority to enforce its newly-developed "net neutrality" regulations. The [...]
An Equatorial Guinea court on Monday sentenced seven Nigerians to 12 years in prison for a 2009 attack on the presidential palace. Court president Antonio Pascual Ojo Ebobo found the Nigerians guilty of terrorism and said they would be fined 149 million CFA francs (USD $310,000). The Nigerians, along with 11 Equatorial Guineans, were arrested [...]
Turkish police on Monday detained 19 retired military officers, including four generals, in connection with an alleged 2003 coup plot, before the chief prosecutor intervened. Istanbul Chief Prosecutor Aykut Cengiz Engin stopped police from arresting up to 90 suspects, replacing two lower-level prosecutors. The alleged coup plot, known as the Balyoz Security Operation Plan , [...]
A Paris judge has charged French oil company Total with bribery and complicity in connection with a scandal involving the UN's Iraq Oil-for-Food program , the company's lawyer confirmed Tuesday. Total announced the court's decision in its annual report last week but maintained that the company followed UN policy and acted lawfully . Total CEO [...]
