A federal judge on Monday ruled against part of the National Security Agency’s (NSA) surveillance program that collects domestic phone records in bulk. Judge Richard Leon of the US District Court for the District of Columbia said that the program was most likely unconstitutional and shut down the program just weeks before the NSA was [...]
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) on Tuesday rejected claims from French comedian Dieudonné M’bala M’bala that his rights to speak freely were denied when he was convicted of and fined for hate crimes due to a 2008 performance that ended with comments and actions directed towards the Jewish community. The court determined “that [...]
The US Supreme Court heard oral arguments Monday dealing with an Employee Retirement and Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) fiduciary filing a lawsuit against a participant to recover overpayment. The court in Montanile v. Board of Trustees of the National Elevator Industry Health Benefit Plan must determine whether a person with health insurance injured [...]
A same-sex couple in Northern Ireland is challenging the same-sex marriage ban, arguing that reducing their marriage to a civil partnership is unlawful discrimination. Gay marriage has been legal in the rest of the UK since 2013, but not in Northern Ireland. The couple, who filed the suit anonymously, married in London in 2014. A [...]
Egyptian officials released human rights activist and journalist Hossam Bahgat on Tuesday after he signed a statement promising to abide by legal procedures when reporting on matters concerning the Armed Forces. The statement also says he was not under physical or mental harm when signing. He was arrested Sunday after military officials questioned him concerning [...]
The US Department of Justice announced Tuesday that it disagrees with a federal ruling upholding an injunction against President Barack Obama’s plan to protect as many as 5 million immigrants from deportation and plans to appeal to the US Supreme Court . The Monday 2-1 ruling by the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth [...]
Amnesty International (AI) reported Monday that Saudi Arabia has executed a record 151 people this year, the highest number since 1995. In 2014 the total number of executions carried out was 90, and so far this year the number is up by 68 percent. AI said that almost half of all the executions carried out [...]
A “people’s tribunal” opened Tuesday in The Hague to investigate the murder of thousands of alleged communists by Indonesian authorities in 1965. Human rights lawyers have charged Indonesia with nine counts, including torture, sexual violence, and murder, for the government’s involvement in the deaths of roughly 500,000 people. The tribunal has no legal authority, but [...]
Belgium’s Court of First Instance on Monday ordered Facebook to cease all tracking of users within the country who have not signed up for the social networking platform. The court has given Facebook 48 hours to stop tracking unregistered users. The Belgian Privacy Commission , which brought the case in June, welcomed Monday’s ruling. Last [...]
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie signed a bill into law Monday that would allow for the administering of edible medical marijuana to sick and disabled children on school grounds without triggering the arrests of parents or educators. The bill, also known as Genny’s Bill , was introduced in June to the New Jersey state assembly [...]
