The likely failure to meet the self-imposed deadline for the closure of the Guantanamo Bay detention facility is due to several missteps by the Obama administration, according to a report released Tuesday by the Center for American Progress (CAP) . In the report, the CAP criticized the White House for several shortfalls in its decision-making [...]
A Somali judge known for jailing suspected pirates , human traffickers, and Islamist insurgents was shot dead Wednesday while leaving a mosque in the Puntland city of Bossaso. Judge Mohamed Abdi Aware of the Puntland high court and the Puntland Supreme Judicial Council, had recently jailed four members of the al-Shabaab Islamist group and had [...]
The Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) on Thursday reduced the sentence of former Bosnian Serb general Dragomir Milosevic from 33 years to 29 years in prison. The Appeals Chamber partially affirmed the Trial Chamber's findings and granted Milosevic’s appeal in part. The court held that evidence viewed by [...]
Chinese citizens are being abducted by state agents and illegally detained in "black jails" where they are subjected to a host of human rights violations, according to a report released Thursday by Human Rights Watch (HRW) . According to the report, the black jails are primarily used to sequester petitioners who come from rural areas [...]
The Catholic Archdiocese of Washington DC pledged Tuesday to end its involvement in social services if a same-sex marriage bill is approved by the city council. The religious organization claims that the bill interferes with its members' religious freedom by forcing them to choose between violating the law or abandoning their beliefs. Although the bill [...]
A Spanish lawyer said Wednesday that she has filed a complaint with the General Council of the Judiciary alleging abuse of power and discrimination after a National Court judge asked her to leave the courtroom for declining to remove her hijab, or Muslim headscarf . Judge Javier Gomez Bermudez asked lawyer Zoubida Barik Edidi to [...]
The UK Home Office on Wednesday unveiled its plans for the retention of DNA profiles in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. The new proposals limit the amount of time DNA and fingerprint records of innocent people can be retained on the national database . Under the proposed measures, the profiles of all adults and 16- [...]
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed suit Tuesday on behalf of US citizen Amir Meshal, alleging that FBI agents were involved in his interrogation and rendition in Somalia, Kenya, and Ethiopia in 2007. The suit, filed in the US District Court for the District of Columbia , alleges that agents repeatedly threatened Meshal with [...]
Lawyers for four Chinese Muslim Uighurs detained at Guantanamo Bay filed a petition for certiorari with the US Supreme Court Tuesday, raising issues with the government policy for transferring detainees to other locations. The case, known as Kiyemba II, is an appeal from an April ruling by the US District Court for the District of [...]
Rhode Island Governor Don Carcieri vetoed legislation on Tuesday that would have allowed domestic partners, including those in same-sex relationships, to claim the body of their partner and to make funeral arrangements. Neither domestic partnerships or civil unions are recognized in Rhode Island, and the bill would have required that a same-sex partner produce documentation [...]
