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China government detains outspoken ex-Tiananmen Square soldier
The Chinese government on Friday detained a former soldier who has called for an investigation into the 1989 killings of pro-democracy protesters at Tiananmen Square . Chinese human rights organization Civil Rights and Livelihood Watch (CRLW) said (More) |
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Imprisoned Iran blogger commits suicide in custody
Iranian blogger Omidreza Mirsayafi reportedly committed suicide Wednesday after serving one month of a 30-month prison sentence for insulting Iran's spiritual leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei [BBC profile; official profile]. Both the International (More) |
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Federal court denies military contractor motion to dismiss Abu Ghraib torture suit
A judge in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia ruled in an order made public Thursday that defense contractor CACI International is not immune from a lawsuit brought by Abu Ghraib torture victims, denying CACI's motion (More) |
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Israeli forces arrest Hamas leaders after release efforts for captured soldier fail
Israeli forces arrested 12 Hamas leaders during raids in the West Bank Thursday. Among those seized [AFP report; Haaretz report, in Hebrew] were former Palestine deputy prime minister Nasseredin al-Shaer and Hamas officials Adnan Asfur and Raafat N (More) |
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New Mexico governor signs bill repealing death penalty
New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson (D) on Wednesday signed a bill [text, PDF; HB 285 materials] which repealed the use of the death penalty in the state. The bill replaces the use of capital punishment with a sentence of life in prison without t (More) |
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Supreme Court should have reconsidered entire issue of involuntary union dues extraction in Ysursa ruling
Timothy Sandefur [Senior Staff Attorney, Pacific Legal Foundation]: "Thirty years ago, in Abood v. Detroit Board of Education, the Supreme Court held that the Constitution is not offended by state laws that take money directly from workers' (More) |
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Challenges for Chaudhry: The Way Ahead for Pakistan's Reinstated Chief Justice
JURIST Contributing Editor Ali Khan of Washburn University School of Law says that while newly-reinstated Pakistani Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry must continue to hold his country's Establishment accountable for breaches of the constitutional r (More) |
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Sixth Circuit upholds judgment against former El Salvador military commander
A three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit upheld Tuesday a district court decision finding former El Salvador chief military commander Nicolas Carranza liable for murder and torture committed during the El Salvador civi (More) |
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Obama Administration's detention authority must incorporate law of non-international armed conflict
Gabor Rona [International Legal Director, Human Rights First]: "Last Friday, the Obama administration for the first time articulated in court its vision of authority to detain persons who are now being held at Guantanamo. The government's b (More) |
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UN rights investigator cites North Korea for 'egregious' violations
UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in North Korea Vitit Muntarbhorn said Monday that he found there to be a "broad range of egregious human rights violations" in the country. In a report to the UN Human Right (More) |
First execution by guillotine in France
On April 25, 1792, highwayman Nicolas-Jacques Pelletier became the first person beheaded by the guillotine in France.
Learn more about the history of the guillotine.
