US Department of Defense announces repatriation of Guantanamo Bay prisoner to Algeria
The US Department of Defense (DOD) Thursday announced the transfer of Said bin Brahim bin Umran Bakush, a prisoner held at Guantanamo Bay, to Algeria. With his transfer, 30 detainees remain at Guantanamo Bay. In a statement, the DOD announced that Guantanamo’s Periodic Review Board (PRB) determined it was “no longer necessary” to hold Bakush [...]
Failure To Protect by Mass Destruction—An 'Other Inhumane Act'
A widespread or systematic attack directed against civilians is a crime against humanity—a crime against us all. The jurisprudence around the creation of this international crime began early in the 20th century and evolved through the International Military Tribunals at Nuremberg and Tokyo, and into the modern era during what is called the Age of [...]
Federal appeals court hears arguments in constitutional challenge to Maryland gun law
A panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit Friday heard oral arguments in Maryland Shall Issue Inc. et. al. v. Moore, a constitutional challenge to a 2013 Maryland law requiring residents to obtain a permit from the state before they can purchase a handgun. The case is one of many new Second [...]
“t kind of makes you think people hate you because of the way you dress” an excerpt from an interview recorded in the article by Chris Allen titled, “‘People hate you because of the way you dress’: Understanding the invisible experience of veiled British Muslim women victims of Islamophobia.” Thomas Hammarberg, the Former Commissioner for [...]
US federal court hears arguments in case that could overturn LGBTQ employment protections
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit Tuesday held oral arguments in Braidwood Management v. EEOC. The case is a class-action lawsuit filed by a for-profit wellness business and a church. The plaintiffs are seeking declaratory judgment that the First Amendment and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) allow employment policies that [...]
Guantanamo Bay detainee released after 16 years imprisonment
The US Department of Defense (DoD) Thursday confirmed the release from Guantanamo Bay of Majid Khan, a former money courier for al-Qaeda. The release follows a transfer agreement between the US and Belize. The deal, which will see the Central American country of Belize house Khan within its borders, is the first of its kind [...]
US sanctions Iranian executives for supplying drones to Russia
The US Friday sanctioned executives and board members of Qods Aviation industries (QAI) for supplying Russia with unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV). The sanctions are pursuant to Executive Order (EO) 13382. This Bush Administration EO gives the Department of the Treasury the authority to block property belonging to proliferators of weapons of mass destruction. The sanctions [...]
The US Department of the Treasury announced Thursday that it and the Turkish government have identified and frozen the assets of a “key financial facilitation network” based in Mersin, Turkey. The asset freeze targeted four individuals and two entities in Turkey that were accused of assisting ISIS with transferring funds between Iraq and Syria. The [...]
Missouri carries out first US execution of openly transgender woman
Missouri Tuesday executed Amber McLaughlin, an openly transgender woman, by lethal injection. According to the Death Penalty Information Center, McLaughlin is the first openly transgender person to be executed in the US. Missouri Governor Mike Parson refused to grant clemency stating, “McLaughlin’s conviction and sentence remain after multiple, thorough examinations of Missouri law. McLaughlin stalked, [...]
Recent concerns about leaks of US Supreme Court decisions and Justice Clarence Thomas’s refusal to recuse himself in a case that might involve connections to his wife, Virginia Thomas, have spurred calls for a code of ethics for US Supreme Court justices. Although the Judicial Conference of the United States promulgated a Code of Conduct [...]
