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Army general denies Chelsea Manning's request for clemency
[JURIST] US Army [official website] Major General Jeffery S. Buchanan on Monday upheld [press release] Private Chelsea Manning's [advocacy website; JURIST news archive] conviction and prison sentence for turning over classified information to WikiLeaks [official website]. Manning is currently serving her 35-year prison sentence in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, and she could be released [TIME report] as early as February 2020 with good behavior. The case will be automatically appealed to the Army Court of Criminal Appeals [official website]. Manning's lawyers... [more].
Posted by Cynthia Miley on Apr 14, 2014 04:38 pm

UN rights investigator urges Iran to halt execution of sexual assault victim
[JURIST] UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran [official website] Ahmed Shaheed on Monday urged [press release] Iran to immediately halt the execution of Reyhaneh Jabbari, a woman sentenced to death of murdering Mortez Abdolali Sarbandi, a former employee of the Iranian Intelligence Ministry [official website, in Persian]. Jabbari, who is scheduled to be executed tomorrow, has maintained that Sarbandi was attempting to sexually assault her and that she killed him in... [more].
Posted by Daniel Mullen on Apr 14, 2014 04:33 pm

Egypt court declares Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis a terrorist organization
[JURIST] An Egyptian court on Monday ruled that the militant organization Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis [BBC backgrounder] be officially considered a terrorist group. Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis, which means "Worriers of Jerusalem," has claimed responsibility [IANS report] for the majority of attacks on Egyptian military and police that have occurred since former President Mohamed Morsi was ousted [JURIST report] in July. Last Wednesday, the US Department of State [official website] also designated [press release] Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis as a terrorist organization. The... [more].
Posted by Cynthia Miley on Apr 14, 2014 04:03 pm

Military judge halts 9/11 trial following accusations of FBI spying
Army Col. James Pohl [JURIST news archive], the military judge presiding over the trials of those accused of involvement with the 9/11 terrorist attacks, halted a hearing [trial transcript, PDF] on Monday following accusations that the FBI [official website] was spying on attorneys for one of the accused. Defense attorneys for admitted 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (KSM) and Ramzi bin al-Shibh [JURIST news archives] filed an emergency motion with the court on Sunday alleging that two members of the... [more].
Posted by Daniel Mullen on Apr 14, 2014 03:43 pm

New treaty allows children to complain about rights violations directly to the UN
[JURIST] United Nations child rights experts on Monday praised [press release] the new Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on a Communications Procedure [text, PDF], which grants children access to international human rights protections by allowing minors to complain directly to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRD) [official website] about the violation of their rights. The Protocol permits children or their representatives to submit formal complaints, upon which the CRD must... [more].
Posted by Addison Morris on Apr 14, 2014 03:09 pm

Federal judge rules Ohio must recognize out-of-state same-sex marriages
[JURIST] Judge Timothy Black of the US District Court for the Southern District of Ohio [official website] ruled [opinion, text] on Monday that Ohio authorities must recognize same-sex marriages legally performed in other states. The court found that the state's refusal to recognize such marriages violates the Due Process Clause, Equal Protection Clause and Full Faith and Credit Clause [Cornell LII backgrounders] of the US Constitution. This does not force Ohio to allow same-sex marriages to be performed within the... [more].
Posted by Addison Morris on Apr 14, 2014 01:35 pm

Iran to sue US over UN nominee's visa denial
[JURIST] A foreign ministry spokesperson on Monday said that Iran plans to sue the US over its refusal to grant an entry visa to Hamid Aboutalebi, Tehran's newly-proposed ambassador to the United Nations (UN) [official website]. As the UN is based in New York, this US decision bars the nominee [BBC report] from taking up and carrying out the role of ambassador. The White House informed the Iranian government earlier this week that the selection of Aboutalebi was "not viable"... [more].
Posted by Taylor Gillan on Apr 14, 2014 12:30 pm

UN urges peaceful solution in Ukraine
[JURIST] The UN Security Council [official website] convened Sunday to address violence occurring in the Ukraine between government troops and pro-Russia militias. Ukrainian special forces reportedly exchanged gunfire [AP report] with the militias early Sunday, resulting in at least one death and several injuries. Sources indicate that the militias seek to limit the government's power, which, they assert, has subscribed to western influence. The militias are demanding autonomy or Russian annexation. The Ukranian government issued an ultimatum to the pro-Russia... [more].
Posted by Benjamin Minegar on Apr 14, 2014 12:19 pm

Libya trial of Gaddafi sons and ex-officials begins
[JURIST] Prosecutors in Libya on Monday opened the trial of former Libyan leader Col. Muammar Gaddafi's [BBC obituary, JURIST news archive] sons, Saadi Gaddafi and Saif al-Islam [JURIST news archives], and more than two dozen of his former officials for crimes allegedly committed during the 2011 uprising [JURIST backgrounder]. While his sons were not present [Reuters report] in the court room at the Al-Hadba prison in Tripoli, the group of former senior officials sitting behind the fenced-in section included the... [more].
Posted by Taylor Gillan on Apr 14, 2014 11:55 am

Alaska lawmakers pass bill restricting Medicaid payments for abortions
[JURIST] The Alaska State House of Representatives [official website] on Monday passed a bill that would restrict state Medicaid payments for abortions. The bill [materials] sets forth specific medical circumstances [APRN report] under which physicians may deem an abortion "medically necessary," thereby justifying Medicaid reimbursement. The bill defines an abortion as "medically necessary" if the pregnancy poses "serious risk to the life or physical health of a woman." Procedures falling outside those circumstances would not be eligible for Medicaid coverage.... [more].
Posted by Benjamin Minegar on Apr 14, 2014 11:24 am

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