Egypt has prevented hundreds of individuals from leaving the country over the past year, Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported Sunday. The government has reportedly denied permission to political leaders, youth activists, people associated with nongovernmental groups and a former aide to ousted President Mohamed Morsi. Those who experienced the travel restrictions stated they were stopped [...]
Japan and the EU have circulated a draft UN resolution condemning North Korea’s human rights abuses and encouraging the UN Security Council to refer the country to the International Criminal Court , the Associated Press reported Friday. The resolution notes reports of torture, limits on freedom of mobility, restrictions on freedom of speech, restrictions on [...]
A judge for the US District Court for the District of Utah on Friday denied an appeal by 74-year-old death row inmate Ron Lafferty to place a hold on his federal case to challenge his execution by firing squad. Lafferty is one of the longest-serving prisoners on death row in Utah and is scheduled to [...]
The President of Palestine, HE Mahmoud Abbas, and other Palestinian foreign officials met with the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Friday, where the Palestinian officials presented documents that purportedly contain evidence of war crimes by Israel. The ICC prosecutor’s office, led by Fatou Bensouda, opened an preliminary investigation into the matter [...]
The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) on Friday expressed concern over the “organized attack” on opposition politicians in Cambodia. Speaking to reporters in Geneva, OHCHR spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani highlighted that 11 political activists are serving between seven- and 20-year jail sentences for leading political “insurrections” in Cambodia, and another member [...]
Rwanda’s lower house of Parliament on Thursday voted to extend the term of President Paul Kagame beyond 2017, a move opposed by the UN and other aid providers. Already in his second term, Kagame may soon be provided an exception to the nation’s constitutional rule limiting presidents to two seven-year terms. Although he has not [...]
JURIST Guest Columnist Daniel J. Wright of the Law Offices of Daniel Wright discusses how post-conviction procedure rules hinder the ability to seek truth in faulty sentences… Those accused of a serious crime are entitled by the Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution to representation by an attorney. This right extends in most states [...]
The Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague ruled Thursday that it has jurisdiction to hear a dispute between the Philippines and China over parts of the South China Sea. At issue are a number of islands and shoals in the South China Sea, which the Philippines says China has annexed illegally under the [...]
The US Department of Defense (DOD) on Friday announced that the last remaining British inmate, Shaker Aamer, has been released and returned to the UK after extensive review by the Guantanamo Review Task Force. Though he is a citizen of the UK through marriage, Aamer identifies himself as a Saudi national. In 2001, Aamer was [...]
The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit on Thursday denied a motion by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) to halt the bulk collection of phone records by the National Security Agency (NSA) . The appeals court ruled in May that the USA PATRIOT Act did not authorize the NSA to collect millions [...]
