Egyptian authorities on Saturday freed Egyptian-American prisoner Mohammed Soltan, who had been sentenced to life in prison and had been on a hunger strike for over a year. As a precondition to Soltan’s release, he had to renounce his Egyptian citizenship . Soltan was convicted on charges of financing an anti-government sit-in and spreading “false [...]
The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on Friday struck down portions of two Idaho abortion laws. The Pain- Capable Unborn Child Protection Act prohibited abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy. The court struck it down as “unconstitutional because it categorically bans some abortions before viability.” The court also found that the Abortion [...]
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights , Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, on Saturday called on several states to investigate allegations that members of their peacekeeping forces sent to the Central African Republic (CAR) have committed serious human rights violations. It is reported that soldiers have engaged in the killing of civilians, summary executions, abductions [...]
Judges of the EU Rule of Law Mission (EULEX) in Kosovo issued verdicts in the Drenica I and Drenica II cases on Wednesday and sentenced 11 Kosovo Albanian men to prison. The charges included the intentional perpetration of violence, cruel treatment, beating, torture, humiliating and degrading treatment of civilians and for some the killing of [...]
The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on Thursday released a report arguing that strong encryption is elemental to basic human rights. The report hails encryption and anonymity as tools that allow individuals to “exercise their rights to freedom of opinion and expression in a digital age,” and thus deserve to be [...]
Croatia’s parliament on Friday passed a law that grants compensation to victims of rape during the country’s war of independence from Yugoslavia more than 20 years ago. Despite its lateness, the move has been hailed as an important step in recovering from the damage of the 1991-1995 conflict. The bill, which was passed with 86 [...]
The US government on Friday formally removed Cuba from its list of state sponsors of terrorism as a positive step toward restoring Cuba-US diplomatic relations. US President Barack Obama said in April that he would drop Cuba from the list. In December Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro stated they would take steps to restore [...]
Vladimir Katriuk, an elite Nazi storm trooper and the second most wanted man on the Simon Wiesenthal Center’s list died Thursday at the age of 93. Katriuk passed away after battling a long illness, according to his lawyer. It is alleged that Katriuk, a Ukrainian national, was a key participant in a massacre in what [...]
An Egyptian court on Thursday acquitted a policeman convicted of torturing an Islamist to death over a church bombing. Mohammed Abdel Rahman al-Shimi was sentenced to 15 years in prison in June 2012 for taking part in the torturing of Sayed Bilal until he was dead. On appeal the verdict was overturned, and the retrial [...]
North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory vetoed legislation Thursday that would allow officials to avoid performing same-sex marriages. The bill, which would permit court officials and magistrates to avoid any marriage duties if they have a sincere religious objection, was passed on Thursday by both houses. A three-fifths majority vote in the legislature is required to [...]
