Serbian authorities issued a new arrest warrant for the wife of former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic Thursday. Mirjana Markovic , who fled Russia in 2003 in the face of an international warrant, failed to appear before a Belgrade court for alleged corruption charges. The international warrant was revoked in June when her lawyers promised she [...]

The Ohio Supreme Court has ruled that it is unconstitutional for judges to require cash-only bonds pending trial. In a 4-3 ruling Wednesday, the court said that a 1993 decision that said that Ohio defendants can meet bond requirements by cash deposit, pledges of property or securities, or by bail bond was not changed by [...]

The UN-backed International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) has said that it will allow former Kosovo Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj to participate in politics during his provisional release pending his war crimes trial. The tribunal eased the conditions of Haradinaj's release , giving the UN Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) the ability to allow [...]

A spokesman for the Iraqi Special Tribunal (IST) said Thursday that the trial of Saddam Hussein is still set to begin on October 19, despite concerns that the trial may be postponed. Investigatory judge and IST spokesman Raad Jouhi also said Thursday that Hussein and seven others will appear in court next week to face [...]

New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) condemned Australia's proposed anti-terror legislation Thursday as a violation of international law and called the proposal "a shocking departure from Australia's proud tradition of protecting individuals from an overly powerful state". Last month, Australian Prime Minister John Howard won unanimous support for the legislation which allows detention without charge, [...]

The Swedish government plans to introduce a new law that would require anyone held on reasonable suspicion of a crime to provide a DNA sample to be kept in a national registry. Swedish Justice Minister Thomas Bodstrom presented the proposal to the Social Democrats parliamentary group earlier this week, saying the recommended law would "strengthen [...]

The government of The Netherlands is considering a ban on the burka , the Muslim article of clothing for women that leaves only the eyes visible. Dutch Integration Minister Rita Verdonk , known domestically as the "Iron Lady" for her tough anti-immigration initiatives, says she will explore where and when the burka should be banned, [...]

British authorities in Iraq have said that the UK will pay compensation for damages and injuries caused when British troops stormed a Basra jail to free two detained British soldiers last month. The soldiers, apparently undercover members of the SAS, had been accused of killing an Iraqi policeman, wounding another, and carrying false identification. The [...]

Turkish prosecutors have rejected a demand by Ankara's deputy governor to shut down a new homosexual association. The governor's office urged that the title and purpose of the Kaos Gay and Lesbian Cultural Research and Solidarity Association violated the Turkish Civil Code, which prohibits associations against law and morality, but prosecutors disagreed. Homosexuality has never [...]

The Uzbekistan interior ministry on Thursday denied allegations that they used illegal torture methods to extract confessions from the 15 men on trial for the political uprising in Andijan , which led to government troops killing 500 . The 15 men currently on trial for attempting to build an Islamic state have all given long, [...]