The Canadian government under former Prime Minister Paul Martin and current Prime Minister Stephen Harper has repeatedly refused asylum requests from US officials on behalf of Chinese detainees held at detention facilities in Guantanamo Bay , according to Canadian government documents obtained Wednesday by the Canadian Press. The 22 detainees, all ethnic Uighurs , were [...]
Lawyers representing the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) argued in federal court Wednesday that national security letters (NSL) authorized under the USA Patriot Act are unconstitutional because they act as a gag order without any judicial check . The ACLU, which brought the lawsuit on behalf of an anonymous Internet service provider that received an [...]
JURIST Guest Columnist Benjamin Davis of the University of Toledo College of Law says that the International Committee of the Red Cross report on US interrogations of prisoners held at secret so-called CIA "black sites" should be released to the American public… In a just-published article in the New Yorker magazine entitled "The Black Sites: [...]
Lawyers representing the Bush administration argued for the dismissal of a class action lawsuit challenging the legality of the National Security Agency's domestic surveillance program Wednesday, urging the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit to give the executive branch's assertion of the state secrets privilege the "utmost deference" because the US is engaged [...]
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez proposed comprehensive constitutional reforms Wednesday, asking the National Assembly to debate measures that will extend the presidential term from six to seven years, eliminate the limit on the number of terms a president may serve, bring the currently independent Central Bank under the control of the government, and give the government [...]
At least 10,000 supporters of Thailand's former ruling party protested Wednesday against a proposed draft constitution , as an August 19 national referendum looms. Members of ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra's dissolved Thai Rak Thai party (TRT) also appeared at the Bangkok rally, organized by the People Power Party, to speak out against the current military-backed [...]
The Cuban government has released a second imprisoned political dissident in less than a week, the National Commission for Human Rights and National Reconciliation (CCDHRN) said Wednesday. Labor movement activist Lazaro Gonzalez Adan was imprisoned in 2004 after refusing police orders to remove quotes painted on his home that were deemed critical of the Cuban [...]
More than 300 Kenyan journalists marched in the capital city of Nairobi Wednesday, voicing their opposition to a provision in a proposed law that would give courts the authority to force journalists to disclose confidential sources. The provision, part of a proposal to establish an independent council to adjudicate complaints against the media, was introduced [...]
Jurors in the terror trial of Jose Padilla and co-defendants Adham Amin Hassoun and Kifah Wael Jayyousi began deliberations Wednesday after federal prosecutors and defense lawyers completed closing arguments . All three defendants are accused of conspiring to murder US nationals, conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists, and providing material support to terrorists. They [...]
Iranian judiciary spokesperson Alireza Jamshidi confirmed Wednesday that Iranian authorities have detained journalists Masoud Bastani, Farshed Gorbanpour, and Soheli Assefi, accusing the three of "publishing false statements and lies" about the Islamic Republic of Iran. Jamshidi said that Assefi, who has been detained since August 4 , has been granted a $162,000 bail. A judiciary [...]
