Prisoners begin hunger strike as Israeli officials deny Koran abuse News
Prisoners begin hunger strike as Israeli officials deny Koran abuse

[JURIST] Palestinian detainees at Israel's Megiddo prison [Jerusalem Post report] began a hunger strike on Wednesday as Israeli officials denied reports that prison guards there had abused the Koran, echoing similar stories from Guantanamo Bay [JURIST report]. Prisoners complained that the book was desecrated by guards [Aljazeera report] during a search. The Israel Prisons Service [official website] says the books were only routinely flipped through [Jerusalem Post report]; Prisons Service Commissioner Yaakov Ganot said that the abuse "never happened" and that reports were simply "a provocation". Reuters has more.

THIS DAY @ LAW

South Africa becomes first country on continent to legalize same-sex marriage

Same-sex marriages became legal in South Africa on November 30, 2006 as the country's Civil Union Act, 2006 went into effect, making South Africa the only country on the African continent to legalize same-sex marriage. Read the Civil Union Act, 2006.