Former Guatemalan president Otto Perez Molina declared his innocence Friday at his hearing for corruption charges. Judge Migues Angel Galvez suspended proceedings until Tuesday. Molina resigned on Thursday amid corruption charges related to an alleged multimillion dollar customs fraud in Molina’s administration. Molina was publicly charged for his role in propagating a scheme in which [...]
The Hungarian National Assembly on Friday passed a number of emergency measures to address the recent mass migration into Europe. The bill declares a state of emergency in Hungary and establishes strict punishments, including jail time, for immigrants that violate its provisions. The new provision sets out criminal punishment for attempting to cross or damage [...]
A judge for the US District Court for the Easter District of New York on Thursday ruled that a Long Island town’s law preventing day laborers from soliciting work on sidewalks is an unconstitutional violation of the First Amendment. In ruling, Judge Denis Hurley stated, “he ordinance prohibits speech and conduct of an expressive nature [...]
The Supreme Court of Canada on Friday ruled in favor of Ecuadorian villagers seeking to enforce a multi-billion dollar judgment against the Chevron Corporation. In 2011, the 30,000 villagers secured a $17.2 billion judgment in an Ecuador court against Chevron for environmental damage to a rain forest in the Lago Agrio region. Damages were subsequently [...]
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein on Friday called for increased accountability for criminal acts by international peacekeepers. While recognizing the gradual positive security developments over the past year, Zeid stressed the importance of further improvement, especially in those countries where armed groups are present. He indicated that the leaders of [...]
The Extraordinary African Chambers confirmed Thursday that war crime accusations have been filed against Chad’s President Idriss Deby . The special tribunal in Senegal is overseeing the case against the former president of Chad, Hissène Habré , who was accused of crimes against humanity, war crimes and torture. A Senegalese lawyer, Mbaye Jacques Ndiaye, filed [...]
The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on Thursday reinstated a case claiming Nevada has failed to provide voter registration services to its low-income citizens, as required under Section 7 of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993. The district court originally dismissed plaintiffs’ complaint with prejudice for lack of both Article III [...]
A US district court judge on Thursday held Kentucky county clerk Kim Davis in contempt of court for her continued refusal to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. The ruling by District Judge David Bunning came after the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed a motion to hold her in contempt earlier this week. Kim [...]
The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled Thursday that a transgender immigrant was protected from being deported to Mexico under the UN Convention Against Torture (CAT) . Edin Avendano-Hernandez petitioned the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) to withhold removal to Mexico based on repeated instances of physical and sexual abuse by Mexican [...]
Five judges on the US Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit issued an opinion stating that the circuit’s decision to uphold the contraceptive mandate of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was “clearly and gravely wrong.” The federal government argues that if the religious non-profit groups file a document noting their objection to providing contraception, [...]
