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The UN war crimes tribunal in The Hague has reached a new low. They have selected a British attorney named Richard Harvey to "defend" former Bosnian-Serb president Radovan Karadzic in his war crimes trial in The Hague -- and they've done this completely against the will of the defendant. Marko Sladojevic, one of Karadzic's chosen legal advisers, told the AP news agency that "Mr. Harvey has absolutely no knowledge whatsoever about the case," and Karadzic won't cooperate with him. In my previous columns, I explained how the Tribunal denied Karadzic the same pre-trial preparation time it afforded to several high...

Per the last post, here’s how “carefully” Holder consulted the law before pulling the trigger on KSM. Not only does Graham have to tell him that there’s no precedent for trying battlefield detainees in civilian court, but Holder’s emphasis on how we don’t need a confession to convict Bin Laden completely misses the larger point Graham’s trying to make.

Are we at war -- or not? For if we are at war, why is Khalid Sheikh Mohammed headed for trial in federal court in the Southern District of New York? Why is he entitled to a presumption of innocence and all of the constitutional protections of a U.S. citizen? Is it possible we have done an injustice to this man by keeping him locked up all these years without trial? For that is what this trial implies -- that he may not be guilty. And if we must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that KSM was complicit in mass...

The Canadian Human Rights Tribunal has ruled that Section 13, Canada's much-criticized human rights hate speech law, is an unconstitutional violation of the Charter right to free expression because of its penalty provisions. The decision released Wednesday morning by tribunal chair Athanasios Hadjis appears to strip the Canadian Human Rights Commission of its controversial legal mandate to pursue hate on the Internet, which it has strenuously defended against complaints of censorship. It also marks the first major failure of Section 13(1) of the Canadian Human Rights Act, an anti-hate law that was conceived in the 1960s to target racist telephone...

BELGRADE (Reuters) - Radovan Karadzic, who led Bosnian Serbs into a 1992-1995 war that killed 100,000 people, says his conscience is clear and he does not regret his role for which he is now awaiting trial on genocide charges. "I do not regret my own role," the former Bosnian Serb leader said in a written interview with Reuters from a detention centre in the Hague. "I didn't seek public office, but when I held it, I carried out my duties with the best interest of the people in my heart." Karadzic was the president of the Bosnian Serbs, who sought...

War On Terror: In sight of where the World Trade Center stood, Osama bin Laden's former bodyguard goes on trial. Once again, terror is treated as a law enforcement matter. The Obama administration has learned nothing.It's still a mystery to us why an enemy combatant and mass murderer captured on a foreign battlefield and facing 286 charges for his terrorist activities is entitled to his day in an American civilian court.

The Obama administration is expected to revive military-run trials for terror suspects being detained at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba - but with new legal protections not provided under the Bush administration. Senior U.S. officials say the new system will limit the use of hearsay, ban evidence gained through harsh treatment, give defendants more freedom to choose their own counsel, and provide more protections for detainees who refuse to testify. President Barack Obama, who criticized the Bush-era system as a failure, is expected to ask for a 120-day delay in pending cases while the legal system is adjusted. Mr. Obama suspended the...

President Barack Obama, who was one of the Bush administration’s sharpest critics concerning the military tribunals used to prosecute detainees at the Guantanamo detention facility, may be backing away from his election promise to abolish them. Last week, a story in the New York Times reported that the Obama administration is now likely to retain the military commission system, but in a modified form. According to the Times, the announcement regarding this stunning about-face could come as early as next week. “The more they look at it,” one official told The Times, “the more commissions don’t look as bad as...

LEIDSCHENDAM, Netherlands – An international tribunal to prosecute suspects in the slaying of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri opened Sunday with a moment's silence and a pledge to impartially investigate the politically charged case. Speaking at the opening ceremony of the Special Court for Lebanon, prosecutor Daniel Bellemare said he will continue his investigations without political interference and said he will call "as soon as possible" for Lebanese authorities to turn over four pro-Syrian generals who are suspects in the case. Bellemare, a Canadian, said he could issue several indictments as a result of his wide-ranging investigation into the...

Belgrade, 23 Jan. (AKI) – Support for joining the European Union has fallen significantlyin Serbia in the past year, while support for indicted war criminals is on the rise, according to a new survey published on Friday. The survey, conducted by strategic marketing for Belgrade television B92, showed that 61 per cent of Serbia’s citizens supported the drive for EU membership, six per cent down from May 2008. At the same time, 65 per cent of those surveyed said they would not report indicted war criminal Ratko Mladic to the police, if they saw him. Mladic, the wartime Bosnian Serb...

‘Harassed for being a Christian’- the policeman who objected to gay ribbons and is turning to a tribunal Last updated at 01:08am on 20.07.08    A policeman is taking his force to an employment tribunal, claiming that he has been harassed because of his Christian beliefs.Constable Graham Cogman says he has been persecuted since he objected to wearing ribbons to mark a gay event.The controversy echoes the case of Lillian Ladele, the Christian registrar who successfully took on Islington Council in London over her refusal to conduct civil-partnership ceremonies for gay couples.  Making a stand: PC Graham Cogman says...

An education authority is investigating claims that two school pupils were punished for refusing to kneel down and pray to Allah during a religious education lesson. Parents complained after the boys, Year 7 pupils at Alsager High School in Cheshire, were given detention for being "disrespectful" to the prophet, the Congleton Chronicle reported. Parent Sharon Luinen told the paper: "This isn't right, it's taking things too far. "I understand that they have to learn about other religions, I can live with that, but it is taking it a step too far to be punished because they wouldn't join in Muslim...

"As soon as a writer expresses an opinion against Islamism, immediately someone on the left leaps to his feet and claims that because the majority of Muslims are dark-skinned, he who criticises it is racist," he said in an interview in Corriere della Sera. "This is logically absurd and morally unacceptable. Martin is not a racist. And I myself despise Islamism, because it wants to create a society that I detest, based on religious belief, on a text, on lack of freedom for women, intolerance towards homosexuality and so on - we know it well."

http://www.news-journalonline.com/NewsJournalOnline/News/Headlines/frtHEAD02051208.htm

03 April 2008 Pristina // Former Kosovo Prime Minister, Ramush Haradinaj has been found not guilty by The Hague War Crimes Tribunal. Haradinaj was accused of taking part in a conspiracy to drive Serbs out of Kosovo through murder, rape and torture. Co-defendant, Idriz Balaj was also found not guilty. “Based on the statute, factual conclusions and witnesses, the majority of the body sets you not guilty,” the Presiding judge read before the court. However, Lahi Brahimaj was sentenced to six years imprisonment. The trial of Haradinaj had been closely monitored in Kosovo. Ahmet Isufi, the Deputy Leader of AAK...

HARARE (AFP) - President Robert Mugabe has appointed a three-man tribunal to probe misconduct charges against Zimbabwe's suspended attorney-general Sobusa Gula-Ndebele, state radio reported Thursday. Gula-Ndebele was suspended by Mugabe on December 14 after he was accused of meeting with former banker James Mushore, who was wanted by police for siphoning foreign currency from Zimbabwe. "President (Robert) Mugabe (has) sworn in a three-member tribunal to investigate allegations being levelled against attorney-general, Gula-Ndebele," the report said. "Gula-Ndebele was suspended on allegations of conduct contrary to or inconsistent with duties of a public officer." According to the constitution of Zimbabwe, the president...

In the olden days, in this country, people who were hurtin' sang a country song. I remember my little sister, when she was eight years of age, singing one in the kitchen, while affecting to wash some dishes. The lyrics were, as I recall: “My daddy hates me. / My mommy hates me. / My brubber hates me. / Everybody hates me and I'm / not very happy.” It needed at least a banjo. These days in Canada, if you're feeling down and blue, and you think somebody hates you, you bring your case to a Human Rights Tribunal. And...

A national defense analyst says it's absolutely crazy that Pentagon officials will push the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to recommend the quick ratification of the U.N. Law of the Sea Treaty. Cliff Kincaid, president of America's Survival, has already expressed his concerns that the Chinese have been using their huge trade advantage with the U.S. to build up their navy, while the U.S. Navy plans to further reduce the number of ships in its fleet. (See earlier article) But Kincaid says instead of changing course and rebuilding to counter the Chinese threat, top Naval officials, including Chief of Naval Operations...

WASHINGTON, Sept. 13, 2007 – Defense officials today released the audio file of the March 10 Combatant Status Review Tribunal of terrorist leader Khalid Sheikh Muhammad, who  masterminded the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. In the tribunal at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Muhammad admitted to masterminding both the 9/11 attacks and the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. A written transcript of the hearing was released in March. Five pages of the written text of the written transcript were eliminated from the audio file because of the potential impact of the statements in spoken form, including the possibility that sound bites...

UNITED NATIONS - Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in a report released Wednesday that he hopes to appoint judges to the international tribunal to prosecute suspects in the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri by the end of the year. In the report to the Security Council, Ban said the tribunal would not be established until the U.N. had an estimated $35 million to fund its operations through the first year, as well as an additional $85 million in pledges to pay for the following two years. The Security Council approved a resolution in May to establish the tribunal...