The US Court of Military Commission Review (USCMCR) on Wednesday granted a government request for a 120-day continuance on an intermediate appeal in its case against Guantanamo Bay detainee Mohammed Jawad . The government asked the court to grant the continuance in light of an executive order by President Barack Obama requiring a review of the military commission system, arguing [...]
US military contractor Don Ayala pleaded guilty Tuesday to voluntary manslaughter for the 2008 shooting of an Afghan detainee. Ayala had been charged with second-degree murder for shooting and killing detainee Abdul Salam in retaliation for Salam's earlier attack on Ayala's fellow contractor Paula Lloyd . At the time of the incident, Ayala was stationed in Afghanistan as a contractor [...]
JURIST Guest Columnist Wes Rist of the University of Pittsburgh School of Law says that if the African Union is successful in its bid to sway the UN Security Council to delay the ICC case against Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, not only will the incipient attempt to use international criminal sanctions as a tool for [...]
The Queen on the Application of Binyam Mohamed v. Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, UK High Court of Justice, February 4, 2009 . Read the full text of the judgment here . Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.
Resolution on the return and resettlement of the Guantanamo detention facility inmates, European Parliament, February 4, 2009, . Read the full text of the resolution . Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.
The London High Court revealed in a judgment issued Wednesday that the US government threatened to reconsider and possibly end its intelligence-sharing operations with the UK if a summary of the alleged torture of Guantanamo Bay detainee Binyam Mohamed was made public by the court. The summary in question consisted of a number of paragraphs [...]
US President Barack Obama announced Wednesday that his administration will place a $500,000 cap on executive compensation for companies receiving "exceptional assistance" from the federal government. The statement came in conjnction with an announcement from Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner , highlighting increased restrictions on financial institutions receiving government assistance. The US Treasury Department outlined restrictions, [...]
The court martial for seven Polish soldiers accused of killing six civilians in Afghanistan began Tuesday in Poland. The solders are being prosecuted for violating provisions of Geneva Conventions , which provide protection for civilian villages that pose no threat to soldiers. Prosecutor Jakub Mytych claimed in his opening statement that the seven soldiers launched [...]
The British Ministry of Defence (MOD) confirmed Wednesday that a UK Army officer was arrested in Afghanistan and returned to the London for questioning on suspicion of revealing secret information to a human rights organization. Lt. Col. Owen McNally is accused of violating the Official Secrets Act 1989 by supplying civilian casualty figures to a [...]
The Manhattan Surrogate Court has ruled that the surviving partner of a same-sex marriage performed in Canada is entitled to inherit the estate of a deceased spouse. The decision issued late last week leaves all of H. Kenneth Ranftle's estate to his surviving spouse, J. Craig Leiby. Judge Kristen Booth Glen wrote that she found [...]
