A former Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court judge criticized US President George W. Bush's warrantless wiretapping program Saturday in an address to the American Library Association's annual convention in Washington. The program has allowed the executive to order wiretaps without seeking court approval. DC-based US District Judge Royce Lamberth , perhaps best known for his involvement [...]
Ali Hassan al-Majid – Saddam Hussein's cousin known to the Western media as "Chemical Ali" – and two other Hussein regime officials received death sentences Sunday for the slaughter of tens of thousands of Kurds during the Anfal campaign of 1988. The Iraqi High Tribunal sentenced two others to life in prison and acquitted a [...]
Hundreds of supporters of suspended Pakistani Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry gathered in the eastern Pakistan city of Lahore Saturday, showering Chaudhry with rose petals as he prepared to depart to the city of Multan to address a group of lawyers. Supporters and members of the opposition party also waved banners urging Pakistani President Pervez [...]
EU leaders reached an agreement on a proposed constitutional treaty following two days of tough negotiations early Saturday, compromising to reach a deal which will be the basis for the Intergovernmental Conference to author the text of the treaty at the end of 2007. The proposed treaty, which EU leaders hope will be ratified before [...]
The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) began judicial proceedings Friday in the trial of Rwandan Catholic priest Hormisdas Nsengimana , who is indicted on four counts including genocide, conspiracy to commit genocide, and crimes against humanity for murder and extermination for allegedly collaborating and ordering students to collaborate with the marauding Rwandan interahamwe , [...]
The Combatant Status Review Tribunals (CSRT) at Guantanamo Bay were pressured to declare detainees "enemy combatants" based on vague or incomplete evidence, according to a Friday affidavit filed with a DC appeals court by a US army officer involved in the tribunals. The statement by Lt. Col. Stephen Abraham, who said he worked as a [...]
UK Attorney General Lord Goldsmith announced Friday that he will resign his post effective next week. Goldsmith, who leaves just as Tony Blair steps down after 10 years as Prime Minister, said that he has wanted to move on for some time. Incoming Prime Minister Gordon Brown praised Goldsmith for his "outstanding service to Britain." [...]
European leaders continued to grapple Friday with disagreements over a proposed EU constitution treaty on the second day of the summit meeting in Brussels. Britain threatened to veto a watered-down version of the treaty unless it incorporated four non-negotiable issues outlined by UK Prime Minister Tony Blair earlier this week. Among the four points, Blair [...]
A terror suspect believed to be associated with senior al Qaeda leaders and related terrorist groups in Afghanistan was transferred to Guantanamo Bay Friday. The US Department of Defense (DOD) says that Haroon al-Afghani has admitted to serving as a courier for al Qaeda leaders. DOD officials also say that there is evidence that he [...]
The Poisoned Chalice: A Human Rights Watch Briefing Paper on the Decision of the Iraqi High Tribunal in the Dujail Case, Human Rights Watch, June 22, 2007 . Read the full text of the report . Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.
