ICC| Conclusion of eigth session of Assembly of States Parties
The Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) concluded its eighth session on 26 November. Read more
Serbia| ICTY Trial of Serb politican to resume Jan 2010
Serbian Radical Party leader Vojislav Šešelj.
From the UN News Centre:
The United Nations tribunal set up to deal with the worst war crimes committed during the Balkan conflicts of the 1990s has ordered that the trial of Serbian Radical Party leader Vojislav Šešelj, which had been adjourned in February amid allegations that witnesses had been intimidated, resume on 12 January 2010.
The Trial Chamber of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) decided yesterday to reconsider its decision for adjournment, because of what it said were new facts that had emerged, UN spokesperson Farhan Haq told reporters in New York.
More here.
UK| Milliband and Torture Evidence
David Miliband (centre), Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, addresses correspondents following a Security Council meeting on the situation in the Middle East. 11 May 2009.
Today sees the release by Human Rights Watch (HRW) of a searing exposé of the evidence against the British government of its complicity in the torture of people held in Pakistan suspected of terrorism.
The report, Cruel Britannia, is based on evidence collected by Ali Dayan Hasan, a senior HRW researcher who interviewed not only suspects and their lawyers but also members of the Pakistani ISI agency who were involved in the torture.
It corroborates and provides further detail for the investigative reporting on torture of the Guardian’s Ian Cobain, who recently won the Paul Foot award. [...]
More here from The Guardian.
Report| Independence of Lawyers and Judges
International Law Observer analyzes the Report of the UN Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, issued 24 March 2009. The report was endorsed by the Human Rights Council during its twelfth session this past October. Read more
U.S.| Attorney General Defends Decision to Use NY Federal Court for 9/11 Trial
From the New York Times: Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. on Wednesday defended his decision to prosecute five men accused as co-conspirators in the Sept. 11 attacks in federal court in Manhattan, declaring that while he believes “we are at war,” that the venue was the best place to pursue the case against them. Read more
Brazil| Supreme Court Backs Battisti Extradition
From the BBC: Brazil’s Supreme Court has approved the extradition of former left-wing militant Cesare Battisti to Italy. Read more
Cuban Human Rights Conditions Still “Harsh”
From BBC: Cuba is continuing to violate human rights and is using draconian laws to repress its citizens, according to a new Human Rights Watch report. Read more
U.S.| 9/11 and Legal Obstacles: How Do You Defend a Nortorious Terrorist Figure?
Following the recent announcement by U.S. Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. to try Khalid Shaikh Mohammed in a civilian Manhattan courthouse, Eric Lichtblau and Benjamin Weiser of the New York Times poses the question, “How do you defend one of the most notorious terrorist figures in history?” From the question of a fair trial to that of capital punishment, to challenges that will ineluctably be made to interrogation methods used on the suspect during his more than six years of detention, the 9/11 trial evinces a host of unparalleled legal obstacles. Read more
U.S.| Key 9/11 Suspects To Be Tried in NY Federal Court
The Obama Administration has decided to move the trials of the five Guantánamo Bay detainees suspected of plotting the 9/11 attacks from the Guantánamo military commissions to federal courts to face justice. Read more
China Executes 9 Over Xinjiang Ethnic Violence
Nine people have been executed for taking part in the July ethnic rioting in the restive province of Xinjiang that left nearly 200 people dead, a state news agency reported Monday. Read more
