Spain's Supreme Court on Sunday unanimously banned the Basque separatist political groups Democracy 3 Million (D3M) and Askatasuna from participation in the coming March elections. The court found that Askatasuna was a "fraudulent instrument used to give continuity to the activities of political parties outlawed" such as the ETA and Batasuna . The court further [...]
JURIST Special Guest Columnist Jonathan Horowitz, Research Director at human rights and public interest investigation firm One World Research, says that notwithstanding the pending closure of the Guantanamo Bay prison and all the publicity surrounding that, if the US government doesn't change how it collects information and what rights it gives to detainees, it will [...]
Stephen Blanks : "Last week, Abdul Nacer Benbrika and 6 followers were sentenced in the Victorian Supreme Court, Melbourne, to terms of imprisonment ranging from 6 years to 15 years, for terrorism related offenses committed in 2004-2005. The offenses included belonging to and financially supporting a terrorist organization, and possessing material in preparation for a [...]
A senior Iraqi official confirmed Monday that four Iraqi prisoners were released from the Guantanamo Bay military prison into Iraqi custody for further interrogation. The anonymous official also confirmed that only one Iraqi citizen remains a prisoner at Guantanamo. The US Department of Defense (DOD) announced last month that the four Iraqi prisoners were released [...]
Amanda Martin : "In April 2005, the United Nations Human Rights Commission adopted a set of international principles on reparations for victims of human rights violations. These include restitution, compensation, rehabilitation, satisfaction, and guarantees of non-repetition. Satisfaction includes a search for victims, identification of bodies and reburial, fact verification, public disclosure of the truth, public [...]
The Central Criminal Court of Iraq (CCCI) on Sunday set a Feb. 19 trial date for the Iraqi journalist accused of throwing his shoes at former US President George W. Bush. The court allowed the charge of assaulting a foreign leader, punishable by up to 15 years in prison, to stand, despite defendant Muntader al-Zaidi's [...]
Bolivia's new constitution , which gives more power to the country's indigenous majority, went into effect on Saturday. Announcing the event, President Evo Morales said it represented a new beginning for the country, and an earlier release by his office compared it to the Magna Carta . The new charter provides for redistribution of land [...]
Thousands of Venezuelans gathered Saturday in Caracas and other cities to protest a proposed constitutional amendment that would eliminate presidential term limits in the country. The amendment, which would allow President Hugo Chavez to seek re-election in 2012, was passed by the Venezuelan National Assembly last month, but must be approved in a national referendum [...]
A judge in New Jersey granted a divorce Friday to a lesbian couple married in Canada. Speaking from the bench, Superior Court Judge Mary Jacobson said her decision was in harmony with the state's tradition of recognizing valid marriages performed outside the state, but cautioned that her ruling would not extend such recognition to areas [...]
Matt Belcher : "As the "Governor Rod" story ends (for the time being) I wonder if "Citizen Rod" – the future "Defendant please rise Rod" – ever looks in the mirror and wonders how this all happened. It is a fascinating story – almost Chi-town Dostoevsky. The average cable news viewer probably only knows the [...]
