UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour has called for ex-Liberian president Charles Taylor, currently in exile in Nigeria, to stand trial before the Special Court for Sierra Leone on 17 counts of war crimes committed during his 15-year rule. On a visit to Sierra Leone, Arbour said "I call and will continue to [...]
In a greatly anticipated move, the government of Zimbabwe has published a draft bill proposing sweeping changes to the country's constitution , including the creation of a new two-chamber parliament. Shortly after the elections last year, President Robert Mugabe , leader of the ruling Zanu PF party , announced plans to amend the constitution and [...]
A Serbian war crimes court Friday convicted and sentenced four former members of the Avengers parliamentary group to prison terms of fifteen to twenty years for their involvement in the 1992 abduction and murder of 16 Muslim men and women. Some consider the convictions an indication that Serbian courts are capable of conducting impartial investigations [...]
An investigation conducted by the US Navy Criminal Investigation Services has found no evidence to support allegations that Australian Guantanamo Bay detainees were abused. In a letter written to Australian Prime Minister John Howard released Saturday, Principal Deputy US Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Ryan Henry noted that a exhaustive year-long inquiry undertaken at the [...]
The Iraqi Special Tribunal announced Sunday that it has filed its first formal criminal charge against former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein in connection with the 1982 killing of some 150 Shiites in the village of Dujail in retribution for an assassination attempt. Press reports anticipated last month that the Dujail case would be the first [...]
Egyptian security officials hedged Saturday on their willingness to comply with a request by British officials for the extradition of Magdy Mahmoud Mustafa el-Nashar, currently detained in Cairo in connection with the July 7 bombings in London . Egypt and Britain do not have an extradition treaty, and comments from Egyptian Prosecutor General Maher Abdel [...]
The Kyrgyz Constitutional Court Saturday declared interim Prime Minister Kurmanbek Bakiyev the winner of the Kyrgyz presidential election, held on July 10 after the resignation of former president Askar Akayev . Article 45 of the Kyrgyz Constitution mandates that the Constitutional Court review the results after they are certified by the country's Central Election Commission [...]
In his weekly radio address , President Bush Saturday described his model candidate to replace retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor as "a fair-minded individual who represents the mainstream of American law and American values" and "will pledge to faithfully interpret the Constitution and laws of our country." He also called on Senate leaders from both [...]
French interior minister Nicolas Sarkozy stated Friday that France will continue to punish anyone preaching militant Islam in France with deportation. For over a year now, France has formally embraced a deportation policy for anyone using Islam to incite violence . There are fears among the French Muslim community that the decision will fuel anti-Islamic [...]
A report submitted by Switzerland Friday to the UN General Assembly in its capacity as guardian of the Geneva Conventions called on Israel to promise disassembly of the West Bank Security Fence if and when the threat of Palestinian suicide bombings subsides. The report also urged swift action by the Palestinian authority to continue efforts [...]
