Iraq's justice minister announced Wednesday that 26 former officials in the government of Saddam Hussein have been transferred from US to Iraqi custody as US troops prepare to withdraw from the country next month. The prisoners, transferred from Camp Cropper to Kadhimiya prison in Baghdad, include former foreign minister Tariq Aziz [BBC profile; …
The UK High Court announced Wednesday that a lawsuit, filed by former Guantanamo Bay detainees and alleging that the UK government was complicit in their torture, can proceed. The lawsuit, filed by 12 ex-detainees, alleges that British agents took part in their mistreatment while they were held in prisons in foreign countries, including Pakistan and Morocco. …
A judge for the US District Court for the District of Nebraska issued a preliminary injunction Wednesday preventing a new Nebraska abortion law from being enforced. The law, known as the Women's Health Protection Act, requires physicians to evaluate patients to determine that their choice to have an abortion …
The Taipei District Court announced Wednesday that a prosecutor and three judges had been arrested on corruption charges. The three judges, all from the Taiwan High Court are believed to have accepted more than NT $5 million (USD $155,000) offered to them by Ho …
UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of expression Frank La Rue on Tuesday condemned an Italian bill that would restrict the use of wiretaps and criminalize the reporting of wiretap transcripts by the news media. La Rue urged the Italian government to either abolish or substantially revise the bill, warning …
The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on Tuesday overturned a decision that granted the habeas corpus petition of Guantanamo Bay detainee Mohammed al-Adahi. In reversing the decision, the appellate court held that the district court erred in examining the evidence against al-Adahi individually, considering and rejecting each …
The US Department of Defense (DOD) announced Tuesday that Guantanamo Bay detainee Mohammed Odaini was transferred to his homeland of Yemen after a federal court ordered his release. In his ruling ordering Odaini's release, Judge Henry Kennedy Jr. of the US District Court for the …
The US District Court for the Central District of California on Tuesday began the trial in a case challenging the constitutionality of the military's "Don't Ask Don't Tell" policy [10 USC § 654; JURIST news archive]. Judge Virginia Phillips, trying the case without a jury, heard opening statements in the case, Log Cabin Republicans v. United …
The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled Tuesday that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) indecency policy is unconstitutional. The court held that the FCC's policy is a violation of the First Amendment right to freedom of speech because it is unconstitutionally vague and could have a "chilling effect" …
A federal judge on Tuesday refused to dismiss charges against former Guantanamo Bay detainee Ahmed Ghailani, ruling that his Sixth Amendment right to a speedy trial was not violated. Ghailani's lawyers had sought a dismissal of charges, arguing that he was denied the right to a speedy trial …
UK Prime Minister David Cameron on Tuesday announced the coalition government's plans to reform the criminal justice system to include lesser prison sentences and more community punishment options. The Ministry of Justice on Tuesday published its Structural Reform Plan, which outlines reform goals for the next two years, including changing criminal …
