The International Criminal Court (ICC) on Monday commenced the confirmation of charges hearing against Sudanese war crimes suspect and rebel leader Bahr Idriss Abu Garda , the first suspect to appear before the ICC in regard to the Darfur situation. Abu Garda is accused of committing war crimes by orchestrating a September 2007 attack against [...]
The US Department of Justice (DOJ) issued guidelines Monday directing federal prosecutors to respect state-sanctioned medical marijuana use and distribution, ending raids on facilities complying with state law. The memorandum outlining DOJ priorities concerning illicit trafficking directs prosecutors not to focus on individuals acting in compliance with state medical marijuana laws. Though the DOJ declared [...]
The Catholic Diocese of Wilmington Delaware on Sunday filed for Chapter 11 federal bankruptcy protection , one day before eight clergy sexual abuse trials were set to begin. The filing will delay the trials, which were scheduled to take place in the Kent County Superior Court. The lawyer representing some of the alleged sexual abuse [...]
A delegation from the Organization of American States (OAS) arrived in Honduras Sunday to investigate human rights violations that may have occurred since the ouster of Manuel Zelaya as president. The investigative team was commissioned by the UN earlier this month, and is set to be in Honduras for three weeks . The foreign minister [...]
Former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic on Friday asked the UN Security Council to pass a resolution exempting him from trial based on an alleged immunity agreement reached with former US ambassador to the UN Richard Holbrooke in 1996. Last week, the Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) upheld [...]
Spanish protesters rallied in Madrid on Saturday in opposition to a law that would relax restrictions on abortions. Protesters adopted the slogan "Every life matters" and former Spanish prime minister Jose Maria Aznar spoke in support of the protesters. Estimates claim that between 250,000 and two million protesters attended, but no objective count was made. [...]
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon established an investigation committee on Friday to look into possible human rights abuses by Guinean soldiers on September 28. The Guinea junta on Saturday also appointed a mixture of doctors, lawyers, and judges to a National Commission for an Independent Investigation, with similar goals. A spokesperson for Ban said: The Secretary-General [...]
The UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) passed a resolution Friday endorsing the final report of the UN Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict , which recommends that both Israel and Hamas should conduct credible investigations into alleged human rights violations that took place during Operation Cast Lead , or face referral to the International [...]
Proceedings against Zimbabwe Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party treasurer and deputy agriculture minister-nominee Roy Bennett were delayed Saturday, after his lawyers requested more time to develop their defense. Bennett faces charges under Zimbabwe's Public Order and Security Act for unlawfully possessing weapons and provoking others "to commit terrorism, banditry and sabotage." The weapons charges [...]
Michelle McCluer : "Congress appears ready to enact changes to the 2006 Military Commissions Act . After the opening days of the Obama Administration, it feels strange to be writing about the future of military commissions, but it seems that military commissions will continue plodding along. While I would have preferred to have seen military [...]
