The US Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a statement of interest on Friday with the US District Court for the Middle District of Georgia stating that the Eighth Amendment requires individualized assessment and treatment for inmates suffering from gender dysphoria. The Southern Poverty Law Center brought suit in February, claiming that the Georgia Department of [...]
The California Fourth District Court of Appeal on Friday upheld yoga classes in public schools, holding that such classes do not violate religious rights of students or their parents. Families of children enrolled in the Encinitas Union School District sued the school, alleging that yoga classes provide a gateway to Hinduism, and are an “impermissible [...]
A Malaysian cartoonist known for his political caricatures was charged Friday with nine counts of sedition over a series of tweets criticizing the country’s judiciary. Zulkiflee Anwar Ulhaque, popularly referred to as Zunar, could be sentenced to up to 43 years in jail if found guilty on all nine charges. The tweets, which criticized the [...]
The Delaware Senate voted 11-9 Thursday to repeal the death penalty . The legislation is being sponsored by Senator Karen Peterson and includes an exemption for the 15 inmates currently on Delaware’s death row, who will face death by lethal injection. Delaware is one of 32 states that employ capital punishment . Supporters of the [...]
The Prosecutor’s Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina on Thursday indicted three people for war crimes committed against Serb victims. The indicted, Zdenko Andabak, Muamir Jasharevic and Sead Velagic, are accused of committing crimes against humanity against more than 300 Serb civilians between April 1992 and July 1993. The indictment charged the men with torturing and [...]
Fifteen states, led by Louisiana, urged the US Supreme Court on Thursday to uphold same-sex marriage bans. The brief asserts that voters should decide for themselves whether to allow same-sex marriages in their respective states. Alaska, Arizona, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Oklahoma, Utah and West Virginia joined the brief, even though courts have struck down same-sex [...]
UN special rapporteur on freedom of religion and belief, Heiner Bielefeldt , on Thursday praised Lebanon’s tradition of religious tolerance in a region plagued by religious fanaticism as a “ray of hope.” Bielefeldt attributes Lebanon’s success in preserving peace to the learned practice of coexisting under precarious conditions, inter religious dialogues, cooperation and Lebanese citizenship. [...]
The UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) on Thursday strongly condemned the continuous airstrikes on an airport in the western town of Zintan, claiming the attacks pose danger to civilians and are undermining efforts to find a solution to the Libyan crisis. Neither the rebels nor the Libyan government are claiming responsibility for the attacks. [...]
Indiana Governor Mike Pence signed into law on Thursday an amended version of the controversial Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) , which critics argued gave business owners the legal right to deny service based on sexual orientation. The amended legislation states that the religious freedom law does not authorize any business to refuse to provide [...]
China’s former national security chief Zhou Yongkang was charged with bribery, abuse of power and disclosing state secrets on Friday, making him the highest-ranked official to be charged with political corruption in decades. Zhou was the head of the Ministry of Public Security until his retirement in 2012 and oversaw law enforcement, national security and [...]
