Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Socrates of the ruling Socialist party said Saturday that the Portuguese Parliament could pass legislation to loosen its strict abortion law by the end of March. Low voter turnout undermined last week's referendum on easing the abortion law, but the government has nonetheless vowed to seek approval of the changes in [...]
The Committee to Protect Journalists urged the Philippines government Friday to drop sedition charges against Daily Tribune publisher Ninez Cacho-Olivarez and columnists Ramon Seneres and Herman Tiu-Laurel. The journalists were charged with incitement to sedition earlier this week for having "continuously maligned and undermined the present administration." The journalists wrote articles criticizing the administration of [...]
Jones v. Barlow, Utah Supreme Court, February 16, 2007 . Read the full text of the ruling . Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.
A Pakistani judge, five lawyers, court officials and relatives of prisoners on trial were among 15 people killed when a suicide bomber attacked a district court while it was in session in Quetta, Pakistan on Saturday. Over 24 were wounded and authorities have not yet determined who was responsible for the attack. On Thursday, Pakistani [...]
New Jersey Attorney General Stuart Rabner issued an opinion Friday concluding that same-sex marriages and civil unions from out-of-state jurisdictions will be afforded "all of the rights and benefits of marriage" under New Jersey's civil unions law that will come into effect on Monday, February 19. Same-sex civil unions recognized by Vermont and Connecticut, as [...]
US District Judge Marcia Cooke ruled Friday that US military lawyer, prison doctors and staff must testify at a hearing next week concerning the treatment of Jose Padilla while under military custody. Cooke determined that because the US Bureau of Prisons evaluation that concluded Padilla was fit to stand trial partially relied on a psychiatrist's [...]
The Utah Supreme Court Friday restricted parental rights to biological parents in the cases of unmarried parents raising children related by blood to only one partner. The case at issue involved a five-year old girl conceived in a lesbian relationship, whose biological mother Cheryl Pike Barlow sought to restrict the visitation rights of her former [...]
The England and Wales Court of Appeals (Criminal Division) ruled Friday that UK terrorism laws do not allow for a "freedom fighter" defense . The defendant in the case, a Libyan identified as "F", was arrested in late 2005 and charged with violating Terrorism Act 2000 Section 58 (1)(b) by possessing documents useful in furtherance [...]
A Turkish court sentenced the conspirators of the 2003 Istanbul bombings Friday, handing down seven life sentences. In addition, 41 of the 74 defendants received prison sentences ranging from four to 18 years; the remaining 26 defendants were acquitted. The bombings, which targeted two synagogues, the British consulate , and the Turkish headquarters of London-based [...]
Human Rights Watch (HRW) said Friday that the United States has consistently failed to investigate and prosecute allegations of abuse of Afghan detainees. The group welcomed this week's prison sentence for CIA contractor David Passaro , who was found guilty of assault in the beating death of Abdul Wali at an Afghanistan-Pakistan boarder post in [...]
