Mohammed al-Qahtani, the so-called "20th hijacker" from the Sept. 11 attacks, has disclaimed his confession about his participation in the terrorist attacks, alleging that his statements were coerced by US torture. In documents obtained by the Associated Press Friday through the Freedom of Information Act , Qahtani denied involvement in and knowledge of the Sept. [...]
A Louisiana state court jury Friday found nursing home owners Salvador and Mabel Mangano not guilty of the drowning deaths of residents at St. Rita's Nursing Home in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina . Lawyers representing the Manganos, who pleaded not guilty to 35 charges of negligent homicide and 64 charges of cruelty last October, [...]
The Catholic Diocese of San Diego Friday announced an agreement to pay $198.1 million to settle 144 claims of sexual abuse by its clergy. In February, 42 clergy sex abuse cases were suspended – the night before they were scheduled to begin – after the diocese sought Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection . US Bankruptcy Judge [...]
Deborah D. Peterson et al. v. Islamic Republic of Iran, US District Court for the District of Columbia, Judge Royce Lamberth, September 7, 2007 . Read the full text of the memorandum opinion . Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.
CIA Director Michael Hayden defended the United States' secret overseas detention and interrogation policy Friday, saying that the program had obtained vital information about the terrorist threat against the US detailed in a July report . Hayden also said that fewer than 100 people total had been detained at secret overseas facilities since the 2002 [...]
A federal judge ruled Friday that Iran must compensate the families of 241 US military personnel killed in the 1983 bombing of the US Marine barracks in Beirut . Iran has been blamed for supporting Hezbollah , the militant group behind the bombing, but the country has denied responsibility. The holding awarded $2.65 billion – [...]
Iraqi President Jalal Talabani Friday objected to the planned execution of former Saddam-era Defense Minister Sultan Hashim Ahmad al-Tai , saying that al-Tai should receive clemency because he was only acting under the threat of death from Saddam and had worked with the the Kurdish community while he was an official in Saddam's regime. Talabani [...]
Poland will not join the European Charter of Fundamental Rights , instead opting for the same exemption clause that allowed the UK to reject the charter this summer, said Polish foreign minister Ana Fotyga Friday during a meeting on the EU's new Reform Treaty . Poland has objected to the draft charter for its supposed [...]
The government of Pakistan said Friday that it has reopened a corruption case against former Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif , the same day that an anti-terrorism court ordered the arrest of his brother, Shahbaz Sharif, in connection with murder charges. Shahbaz Sharif is wanted for allegedly ordering police to kill five men while he [...]
The Supreme Court of Indonesia will not consider an appeal by three men convicted and sentenced to death in the 2002 bombings of two Bali nightclubs , a judge said Friday. Lawyers for Amrozi Ghufron , Ali Ghufron , and Imam Samudera had appealed on the grounds that the men were sentenced under a terror [...]
