At least 127 democracy activists held by the military junta in Myanmar have died from "torture or ill-treatment," according to a report released Tuesday by the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) . The report by Paulo Sergio Pinheiro , UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar, calls for an independent inquiry into the [...]
Orleans Parish Criminal District Court Chief Judge Calvin Johnson has said that the city will resume holding criminal trials next week as the New Orleans court system continues to recover from Hurricane Katrina . As many as 6,000 suspects have been in jail for months awaiting trial; many of the suspects continue to wait for [...]
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has brought its first enforcement action under the USA Patriot Act against Los Angeles brokerage firm Crowell, Weedon & Co. , the largest independent investment firm in the western US. The SEC issued a cease-and-desist order Monday against Crowell for failing to document its customer identification procedures for [...]
Amnesty International Tuesday condemned what it termed the continuing "sacrifice" of rights to expediency in the war on terror, denounced the US and its allies for turning a blind-eye on human rights abuses or dodging responsibility for violations, called for governments to renounce torture and accused Russia and China of using human rights abuses to [...]
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said Monday that Sudanese trade embargoes in the volatile Darfur region "have prevented the access of civilians to vital goods and constitute a violation of international humanitarian law." In a report Monday to the UN Security Council , Annan said that government-imposed restrictions effectively prevent civilians in Darfur from receiving necessary [...]
US Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert (R-IL) on Monday warned the Federal Bureau of Investigation to act carefully in the wake of its search of the congressional office of Rep. William Jefferson (D-LA) in connection to Jefferson's alleged involvement in a large fraud scam. FBI officials videotaped Jefferson last August accepting a $100,000 bribe [...]
The US Senate on Monday approved an immigration bill amendment supporting President Bush's deployment of National Guard troops along the Mexican border by a margin of 83-10 . Although the Bush administration says it has the authority to work with state governors to send National Guard troops to the border without Senate approval, the amendment, [...]
Investigation of Gasoline Price Manipulation and Post-Katrina Gasoline Price Insrease, Federal Trade Commission, May 22, 2006 . Read the full text of the report . Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.
The Prosecutor v. Michel Bagaragaza, International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, May 22, 2006 . Read the full text of the judgment. Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here
Geoffrey Corn, South Texas College of Law: "On May 9th, the Department of Defense published a revised version of Department of Defense Directive 5100.77, "The Department of Defense Law of War Program." This Directive is the foundation for all law of war related policies, training, application, and compliance programs throughout the armed forces. Like the [...]
