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Scalia says 'so-called torture' may not be unconstitutional
US Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia Tuesday defended the use of harsh physical interrogation techniques, saying in an interview with Law in Action on BBC Radio 4 that they may be justified to deter an immediate threat. Scalia argued that &quo (More) |
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Japan MPs propose four-year moratorium on executions
A multi-party coalition of Japanese parliamentarians said Monday that they have drafted a bill proposing a four-year moratorium on the death penalty and giving convicts already on death row life sentences without the possibility of parole. The bill (More) |
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US to seek death penalty in six 9/11 military commission cases: reports
The Pentagon is expected to announce Monday that military prosecutors will seek the death penalty against six Guantanamo detainees accused of involvement in the Sept. 11 terror attacks, according to government sources speaking on condition of anonym (More) |
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Rwanda parliament votes to ban 'promotion of genocide'
The Rwandan Chamber of Deputies has passed legislation that would make promoting "genocide ideology" a crime, punishable by life in prison for the worse offenders. The bill was passed unanimously by the country's lower (More) |
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Nebraska Supreme Court rules electric chair executions illegal
The Nebraska Supreme Court Friday ruled that execution by electric chair is "cruel and unusual" punishment and therefore prohibited by the Nebraska constitution . In State v. Mata, an appeal by convicted murderer Raymond Mata Jr. against (More) |
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Afghanistan president will not block student death sentence
Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai [official website; BBC profile] is concerned about the imposition of the death penalty against journalism student Sayad Parwez Kambaksh but will not intervene in the case pending Kambaksh's appeal, a presidenti (More) |
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China dissident writer sentenced to 4 years for inciting subversion
A Chinese court convicted dissident writer Lu Gengsong on subversion charges Tuesday, sentencing Lu to four years in prison for writing essays exposing corruption within the Communist Party of China (CPC) . Lu was arrested last October and charged (More) |
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Zimbabwe slammed after secretly deporting alleged Equatorial Guinea coup plotter
A lawyer for British national Simon Mann , alleged to have plotted a coup against Equatorial Guinea President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo in 2004, accused Zimbabwean officials Monday of criminal conspiracy to kidnap after Mann was reportedly depo (More) |
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US Supreme Court stays execution of Alabama death row inmate
The US Supreme Court on Thursday stayed the execution of Alabama death row inmate James Harvey Callahan "pending the timely filing and disposition of a petition for a writ of certiorari." Callahan had been scheduled to be executed at 6 P (More) |
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Zimbabwe court affirms alleged coup plotter extradition to Equatorial Guinea
The Zimbabwe High Court Wednesday ruled against an appeal filed by the legal team defending Simon Mann seeking to prevent Mann's extradition for trial in Equatorial Guinea. Judge Rita Makarau held that the government had enough evidence that M (More) |
WWI gas attack on Canadians led to first chemical weapons ban
On April 24, 1915, the German army used chlorine gas against Canadian troops at Ypres. Gas was later employed by British and French forces against the Germans.
Learn more about early efforts by the Red Cross to ban chemical weapons and review the June 1925 Protocol for the Prohibition of the Use in War of Asphyxiating, Poisonous or other Gases and of Bacteriological Methods of Warfare.
