A Quebec Superior Court judge Thursday postponed the war crimes trial of Desiré Munyaneza after he was severely beaten in his cell by another prisoner Wednesday night. The former Rwandan militia commander is charged under the Canadian Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act with seven counts of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes [...]
Eight suspected members of the Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group (GICM) were sent for trial Thursday by French investigators for their alleged role in the Casablanca terrorist attacks in May 2003. The suspects have been charged with engaging in a terrorist undertaking and could receive up to ten years in prison. GICM, which has been listed [...]
Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius signed a law that will "prohibit persons from engaging in picketing or a directed protest within 150 yards of any entrance" where a funeral is held or "conducted within one hour prior to, during the funeral, or within two hours following the funeral". Picketers that violate the law will face up [...]
The White House issued a policy statement Thursday expressing the administration's strong opposition to the Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2007 Thursday, and threatening presidential veto of the bill unless the Democratic-controlled Congress alters provisions which would increase congressional oversight of intelligence activities. The legislation, introduced by Senate Select Intelligence Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller [...]
The US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit blocked the release of Cuban militant Luis Posada Carriles on bail Thursday, after federal prosecutors filed an emergency motion appealing US District Judge Kathleen Cardone's ruling that Carriles should be release on bail due to his age and ties to the community. Carriles' lawyers will have [...]
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) Thursday released data obtained under a June 2006 Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, documenting civilian casualties caused by US military personnel in Iraq and Afghanistan . The 479 files from Iraq, and 17 files from Afghanistan, are compensation requests filed with the US Foreign Claims Commissions by surviving [...]
The Mississippi Supreme Court Thursday upheld the manslaughter convictions of former Ku Klux Klan organizer Edgar Ray Killen . Killen, now 82, was sentenced to 60 years in prison in 2005, receiving one 20-year sentence for each of the 3 young men who were killed in 1964 after assisting African-Americans in registering to vote. Killen [...]
Human Rights Watch (HRW) said Thursday that the government of Sri Lanka is using its anti-terror legislation to silence journalists who expose governmental human rights abuses and corruption or question how Sri Lanka is handling fighting with the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) , or "Tamil Tigers." Late last month Sri Lanka forced [...]
A special panel of the Japanese House of Representatives Thursday approved a bill authorizing a national referendum on revisions to the country's pacifist constitution . Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe initiated the bill , hoping it would become law before the current parliamentary session adjourns on June 23. Opposition Social Democrats voiced strong dissent in [...]
The British Columbia Civil Liberties Association (BCCLA) said Wednesday that it may file for an injunction to prevent the Canadian military from transferring Afghan detainees to Afghan police custody after the Canadian government failed to meet a court-ordered deadline Tuesday to answer claims that its transfer policy exposed detainees to torture. Amnesty International Canada and [...]
