The government of Pakistan plans to amend the Pakistan Army Act to include a provision enabling the army to court-martial civilians for certain offenses, Pakistan Attorney General Malik Qayyum said Friday. The offenses that could subject civilians to court-martial trials include abduction, use of arms and terrorism, and will particularly apply to offenses committed by [...]
Maureen Aung-Thwin : "The Burmese military junta crossed a line when they killed the monks. When thousands of maroon-robed monks led peaceful protests across Burma against the 500% overnight increase in fuel prices, there was hope that the military would respond with restraint. Instead, the whole world watched in horror at the violent images of [...]
The military junta in Myanmar has released an additional 46 people detained during the recent government crackdown on opponents of the military junta, officials said Friday, after releasing 87 other demonstrators last week. Six other dissidents were released on Tuesday. Most of the demonstrators released are members of the National League for Democracy (NLD) led [...]
JURIST Guest Columnist Benjamin Davis of the University of Toledo College of Law says that Judge Michael Mukasey's written response to Senate Judiciary Committee follow-up inquiries concerning his views on the legality of waterboarding and torture demonstrate views of America's obligations under international law so limited and problematic that he should not be confirmed… Judge [...]
JURIST Guest Columnist Marc Falkoff of Northern Illinois University College of Law says the recent resignation of Guantanamo chief military prosecutor Col. Morris Davis and his remarkable public conversion from champion of the military commissions to one of their most devastating critics may finally signal to the American public that politics rather than principle reigns [...]
The Australian Administrative Appeals Tribunal has denied former Australian Guantanamo detainee Mamdouh Habib a request to regain his passport, Habib's lawyer said Friday, citing his likelihood "to engage in conduct that might prejudice the security of Australia or of a foreign country" if Habib were allowed to travel outside Australia. Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer [...]
The Supreme Court of Canada Thursday affirmed by 5-4 the murder conviction of a British Columbia man in a case widely seen as a test of the right to remain silent guaranteed in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms . Jagrup Singh alleged that the police had violated his constitutional right to remain silent [...]
Victims of the 2004 Madrid train bombings expressed outrage Thursday and vowed to appeal after a Spanish court acquitted seven of 28 co-defendants accused of participating in the attacks, including alleged mastermind Rabei Osman Sayed Ahmed . Three defendants were convicted of murder Wednesday and 18 others were found guilty of lesser charges. Jesus Abril, [...]
The Florida Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision Thursday upholding the state's lethal injection procedures and rejecting the assertion that the state's protocol constitutes "cruel and unusual punishment." The US Supreme Court currently has on its docket a case challenging lethal injection as unconstitutional, and earlier this week the Court granted a stay of execution [...]
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) on Thursday renewed its call for access to detainees still being held in Myanmar after the government's crackdown last month on opponents of the ruling military junta. In his second statement calling for access to detainees in the past two weeks, ICRC Director of Operations Pierre Kraehenbuehl, [...]
