Human Rights Watch (HRW) released a report Tuesday calling on the Saudi government to institute new legal protections for the country's estimated 1.5 million domestic workers. The group said that migrant domestic workers have fewer protections than those in other occupations, and are specifically excluded from the country's 2005 Labor Law . HRW added that [...]
Former Thailand prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra went on trial for corruption Tuesday in the Thai Supreme Court's Criminal Division for Holders of Political Positions . In March, Thaksin pleaded not guilty to the charges stemming from a 2003 land purchase his wife, Pojamarn, made from a government-directed institution despite a ban on officials making business [...]
The Court of Appeal for Ontario ruled Monday that sentences imposed on seven aboriginal protesters in March for opposing mining company operations on community land were too severe. In February, Robert Lovelace, a member of the Ardoch Algonquin First Nation (AAFN) , was sentenced to six months in jail for contempt after he refused to [...]
More than 3000 members of the People's Alliance for Democracy rallied outside of the Royal Thai Police Headquarters in Bangkok on Monday, calling for a speedy resolution to the corruption trials of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra . According to a Bangkok Post report, the National Counter Corruption Commission (NCCC) has also expressed impatience [...]
The International Criminal Court (ICC) Monday granted the suspensive effect of the prosecutors' appeal against the release of Congolese ex-militia leader Thomas Lubanga . The granting of the appeal means that Lubanga will not be released until a final decision is made by the ICC. Late last month, the ICC imposed an indefinite stay on [...]
A new association of political prisoners formed by Russia's National Bolshevik Party (NBP) will advocate for prisoners' rights and call attention to the plight of political prisoners in the country, party spokesman Alexander Averin said Sunday. Averin also called on the Russian government to release 25 alleged political prisoners, but government officials denied that they [...]
A UN spokesperson said that East Timor police used teargas on a group of 200 students who were demonstrating before the National Parliament on Monday. Police reportedly used force against the students and arrested 21 protesters who disregarded police instructions to disperse. The protesters had accused the government of spending over $2 million on luxury [...]
Former US Department of Justice (DOJ) intern Sean Gerlich is seeking class action status for a suit he has filed against the DOJ for discrimination based on political affiliation . In the suit, Gerlich alleges that he was denied a position in the department's Honors Program because of his earlier work with a human rights [...]
The Sudanese parliament Monday passed a long-anticipated electoral law that is expected to ease the country's transition to democracy. The law establishes that 60 percent of parliamentary seats will be chosen by majority voting, while the remaining 40 percent will be filled by a proportional representation of political parties. Of the proportional representation seats, 25 [...]
A court in Equatorial Guinea Monday convicted British national Simon Mann for his involvement in an alleged 2004 coup attempt against President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo . Mann was sentenced to 34 years in prison, to be served at Blackbeach prison in Malabo. The sentence is longer than the 31 years of imprisonment that Equatoguinean [...]
