US Army Spc. Jorge G. Sandoval pleaded not guilty at his court-martial in Iraq Wednesday to charges that he and two other soldiers killed three unarmed Iraqis and then placed weapons next to the bodies. Sandoval, along with Staff Sgt. Michael A. Hensley and Sgt. Evan Vela, was charged with premeditated murder and wrongfully placing [...]
Chinese lawyer and outspoken critic of the Chinese government Gao Zhisheng has been arrested again, this time for writing a letter to the US Congress asking the US to help the human rights situation in his home country, a friend of Gao said Tuesday. According to people close to Gao, he was taken from his [...]
Texas continued with the lethal injection execution of a convicted murderer Tuesday, despite the US Supreme Court's grant of certiorari in a case reviewing whether the method is cruel and unusual and therefore unconstitutional. On Tuesday, the Supreme Court agreed to hear arguments in Baze v. Rees (07-5439) on whether the use of a three-drug [...]
US federal Magistrate Judge Joan M. Azrack has ruled that the government must obtain warrants in order to place taps on phones that would reveal dialed digits. Under the Patriot Act , government agents are permitted to use a wiretap without a warrant so long as it did not include the "contents of any communication." [...]
Micronesian Legal Service Corporation (LSC) attorney Omar Calimbas said Tuesday that beginning October 15, 2007, the US will permit Micronesians living on the US mainland to receive free legal aid services. The decision will change a 1983 US Congressional act that prevented the representation of aliens, with the exception of certain documented persons, as a [...]
Gabor Rona : "The U.S. Court of Military Commission Review (CMCR) has issued a decision overturning the dismissal of prosecution against Omar Khadr by a military commission. The case was dismissed because although Khadr was found by a Combatant Status Review Tribunal to be an "enemy combatant," there was no finding, as is required for [...]
Giovanni Di Stefano : "Al-Majid and 14 other former Saddam Hussein-era officials are on trial for their role in the government's violent response to the uprising, during which tens of thousands of civilians were killed. They are charged with crimes against humanity and will face the death penalty. The sentence of death passed upon Mr [...]
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed a lawsuit in federal court Tuesday against the US Department of State and the US Department of Homeland Security , alleging that the US government is illegally preventing South African scholar and professor Adam Habib from entering the country. According to the ACLU, Habib had traveled freely to [...]
The Getty Museum Tuesday signed a formal agreement with the Italian Ministry of Culture Heritage and Activities to return 40 allegedly looted Italian artifacts to Italy over the next several months. In exchange, Italian officials agreed to drop a civil lawsuit against former Getty Museum curator Marion True. Criminal charges against her, which allege she [...]
The military government of Myanmar Tuesday banned public gatherings of more than five people and imposed a curfew in response to anti-government protests . These measures come the day after the government threatened to punish the demonstration leaders. The protests are being led by Buddhist monks who object to rights abuses by the government, including [...]
