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New state secrets policy is first step towards legislation to check executive discretion in blocking litigation
Sharon Bradford Franklin [Senior Counsel, The Constitution Project]: "On September 23, 2009, Attorney General Eric Holder announced that the executive branch has adopted a new policy on invocation of the state secrets privilege - a doctrine whic (More) |
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UK Liberal Democrats demand independent torture investigation
British Liberal Democrats voted Monday to support a motion [text; press release] calling for a public investigation into the UK's potential complicity in torture. The motion, passed at the party's conference , calls for:A full and independe (More) |
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UK police to investigate claims intelligence service engaged in torture
UK Foreign Secretary David Miliband announced Friday that the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) has referred allegations of torture by its officers to Attorney General Patricia Scotland and the Metropolitan Police for investigation. In an open (More) |
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Obama administration to continue rendition of terror suspects with oversight: report
The US will continue its practice of sending terror detainees to third countries for interrogation with increased oversight to prevent torture, the New York Times reported Monday. The practice, known as rendition , received worldwide attention dur (More) |
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British government must release names of unidentified Bagram rendition victims
Clare Algar [Executive Director, Reprieve]: "It is really extraordinary that the British government is relying on the Data Protection Act to avoid disclosing the identities of those in whose renditions it was complicit. Imagine, if you will, a (More) |
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Lawsuit against UK government's terror suspect rendition may further embarrass Washington
Joshua Posaner [Editor, Atlantic Community]: "The recent case in Britain, in which the charity Reprieve is assisting Mohamed Saad Iqbal Madni in filing a lawsuit with the High Court, can only illustrate the fact that the British government is pr (More) |
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Rights group suing UK government over rendition of terrorism suspects to Bagram
UK human rights group Reprieve announced Monday that it is initiating legal action [filing letter, PDF; press release] against the British government over the rendition of two terrorism suspects to Afghanistan. The two men were arrested by British (More) |
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UK intelligence chief denies 'complicity' in torture
Chief of the UK Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) John Scarlett said that the British secret service did not participate in or condone torture, during a BBC radio interview broadcast Monday. Scarlett denied that the SIS, better known as MI6, was i (More) |
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UK lawmakers urge inquiry into alleged torture complicity
The UK Parliament Joint Committee on Human Rights released a report Tuesday calling for an independent inquiry into allegations regarding government complicity in the torture of UK terrorism suspects in Pakistan and elsewhere. Maintaining that com (More) |
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Federal judge rules Pakistan woman alleged to be al Qaeda agent fit to stand trial
A judge for the US District Court for the Southern District of New York on Wednesday ruled that Aafia Siddiqui, a Pakistani woman with alleged ties to al Qaeda, is mentally competent to stand trial. Siddiqui was charged [complaint, PDF; JURIST rep (More) |
Charlemagne crowned Holy Roman Emporer
On December 25, 800 A.D., Charlemagne was crowned Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Leo III in Rome, Italy. During his lifetime, Charlemagne united most of western Europe for the first time since the fall of the Western Roman Empire. He is credited with spreading the rule of law throughout his dominions as well as starting the French and German monarchies.
