Judge John Bates of the US District Court for the District of Columbia on Friday dismissed without prejudice a petition for habeas corpus filed on behalf of a Guantanamo Bay detainee after the detainee refused to meet with his appointed counsel to authorize the petition. The court dismissed the petition, which was filed in 2006 [...]
2009 Report on International Religious Freedom, US Department of State, October 26, 2009 . Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here. Latest commentary available here. JURIST has more on religious freedom.
Sri Lankan Minister for Disaster Management and Human Rights Mahinda Samarasinghe announced Monday that President Mahinda Rajapaksa has decided to appoint an independent committee to investigate allegations of human rights violations in that nation. "Incidents During the Recent Conflicts in Sri Lanka" , a US Department of State (DOS) report presented to Congress, recounts the [...]
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday announced the formation of a task force to respond to the Goldstone Report , which accused both Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) and Hamas fighters of war crimes during last winter's Operation Cast Lead . The task force will be led by Justice Minister Ya'akov Ne'eman. The Israeli government [...]
A prominent opposition leader and human rights activist in Russia's southern province of Ingushetia , Maksharip Aushev, was reportedly shot dead Sunday while traveling on a highway in the North Caucasus region of Kabardino-Balkaria. According to Russian media, the unidentified gunmen fired more than 60 shots at Aushev's vehicle, killing him and wounding a female [...]
Mark Kleiman : "The Justice Department will not pursue people using or selling cannabis in compliance with state "medical marijuana" laws, even though those activities remain forbidden by the Controlled Substances Act. That policy ends more than a decade of federal efforts to overturn state efforts to make cannabis available to patients. In effect, the [...]
Uruguayan voters on Sunday rejected an initiative to end the country's Expiry Law , which grants amnesty to military officials accused of human rights violations during the country’s 1973-1985 dictatorship. With approximately 48 percent voting in support, the referendum to overturn the law fell short of the required 50 percent majority to nullify. Amnesty International [...]
The Supreme Court of Hawaii announced Friday that state courts will be closed two Fridays each month beginning in November 2009. Chief Justice Ronald Moon found that the difficult decision was necessary due to the financial conditions that currently exist in Hawaii. Moon ordered: In consideration of (1) the economic circumstance of the State of [...]
The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) on Monday temporarily adjourned proceedings against former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic after Karadzic failed to appear for the opening of his war crimes trial. Karadzic announced last week that he planned to boycott his trial because he had not been given adequate time to prepare [...]
An Ontario law banning the use of handheld devices while driving took effect Monday, outlawing text messaging and talking on a cellphone while behind the wheel. The ban makes it illegal to use any handheld wireless communication devices but also extends to any device with a screen that can take the driver's eye off the [...]
