Saddam Hussein's cousin and former Iraqi defense minister Ali Hassan al-Majid , also known as Chemical Ali, personally killed at least 15 men suspected of participating in a Shi'a uprising in southern Iraq following the 1991 Persian Gulf War, according to testimony offered Thursday in the crimes against humanity trial ongoing at the Iraqi High [...]

READ MORE

The Swiss Federal Tribunal , Switzerland's supreme court, ruled Thursday that Swiss authorities cannot hand over to Russia financial documents linked to Russian oil giant Yukos , finding that the Russian prosecution of former Yukos owner Mikhail Khodorkovsky and his business partner Platon Lebedev was politically motivated. Referring to Khodorkovsky, the court said that facts [...]

READ MORE

Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki has refused to sign a bill that would give courts the authority to force journalists to disclose confidential sources. The Media Bill 2007 also establishes an independent council to adjudicate complaints against the media, but Kibaki specifically objected Wednesday to clause 35 subclause (4), which he said "could act as a [...]

READ MORE

Japan's national bar association Thursday criticized the execution of three death row inmates and called for a moratorium on the death penalty until new safeguards can be enacted to prevent wrongful executions based on dubious evidence. The Federation of Bar Associations said that flaws in the justice system create a high risk for condemning innocent [...]

READ MORE

A fistfight broke out between lawmakers in the Bolivian legislature Wednesday as opposition leaders tried to prevent lawmakers loyal to Bolivian President Evo Morales from bringing charges against four Constitutional Tribunal justices for overstepping their authority. The dispute, the latest in a series of disagreements between Morales' Movement Toward Socialism (MAS) and opposition lawmakers, stems [...]

READ MORE