Human Rights

Extras Wanted for New PBS Human Rights Trial Program Pilot Starring Ogletree & Cherie Blair

Law and international affairs leaders will be among a number of well-known attorneys showcased in an upcoming PBS series on human rights trials that is being produced by Penn State Public Broadcasting. And for those who expect to be in central Pennsylvania within the next week there’s even a chance…

Sep 14, 2010 9:51 PM CDT

Was Same Gun Used to Kill Judge, Human Rights Attorney & Journalist?

The same handgun that was used to kill a Russian judge outside his Moscow home this week also was the weapon used to murder a human rights attorney and a journalist last year, a lawyer contends. The latest slaying reportedly could be a contract hit related to Moscow City Court…

Apr 14, 2010 5:11 PM CDT

Wife of Missing Human Rights Lawyer Pens Plea: ‘Help My Husband’

Geng He says her family’s first reaction was joy when a Chinese official commented last month that her missing lawyer husband was “where he should be” following a judicial proceeding. The pronouncement indicated her husband was alive, Geng concluded. “Then we started thinking about what ‘alive’ meant,” Geng writes in…

Feb 4, 2010 2:25 PM CST

Chinese Official Says Missing Human Rights Lawyer Is ‘Where He Should Be’

A spokesman for China’s foreign ministry says a missing human rights lawyer “is where he should be” following a judicial proceeding. The missing lawyer, Gao Zhisheng, has taken on cases advocating reform and involving the banned Falun Gong spiritual group, the Associated Press reports. A memoir describes his past torture…

Jan 22, 2010 3:56 PM CST

US-Educated Human Rights Lawyer Among 4 Convicted in Vietnam

An American-educated human rights lawyer was among four dissidents sentenced in Vietnam yesterday after being tried for trying to overthrow the government. The lawyer, Le Cong Dinh, was sentenced to five years in prison after admitting he had joined a banned political party and had met with foreign groups, according…

Jan 21, 2010 12:30 PM CST

China ‘Disbars’ Human Rights Lawyers by Letting Licenses Lapse

Yitong Law Firm, which has become one of China’s fiercest and most vocal advocates for human rights, may find it has lost its voice. Since the beginning of this year, authorities in China have quietly been forcing firms, including Yitong, to shut down, the Washington Post reports. Yitong is well-known…

Jun 26, 2009 10:35 AM CDT

Human Rights Victims Want $5M Accounting From Judge Real

Lawyers battling over funds seized for human rights victims of the late Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos have asked an appeals court to force a controversial federal judge to account for $5 million disbursed from an account controlled by the court while its ownership was being contested. The appeal, filed March…

Mar 31, 2009 6:42 PM CDT

Russian Human Rights Lawyer Shot and Killed

A Russian human rights lawyer and a journalist were shot and killed Monday. Colleagues suspect lawyer Stanislav Markelov and journalist Anastasia Baburova were targeted because of their work, the Washington Post reports. The shooting occurred after a news conference in which Markelov protested early parole for a former Russian military…

Jan 20, 2009 7:14 PM CST

Torture Tactics of ‘24’ Examined by Human Rights Group—and Show’s Characters

Tough-guy Jack Bauer of the FOX TV program 24 never thought twice about hardball tactics that included shootings, beatings, mutilations and electroshocks. He and his colleagues did whatever was needed to battle terrorism and save the innocent. But in the new season of the show, Bauer, played by Kiefer Sutherland,…

Jan 12, 2009 7:30 PM CST

Toxic Mercury Pellets Found in Car of Russian Human Rights Lawyer

Russian human rights lawyer Karinna Moskalenko is ill, and toxic mercury pellets found in her car in Strasbourg, France, may be to blame. French police were investigating, the New York Times reports. The pellets were found a few days before Moskalenko was to appear at a hearing into the death…

Oct 16, 2008 5:39 PM CDT

New Legal Frontier: Defining the Rights of Frozen Human Embryos

Thanks to today’s reproductive technology, the interrelated questions of when life begins and who has the right to make decisions about someone else’s body and children are becoming increasingly complex. The latest wrinkle: Whether frozen embryos belong to the couple (usually married) who asked a medical clinic to fertilize their…

Oct 6, 2008 6:20 PM CDT

Human Rights Groups Sue for Access to Gitmo Transcripts

Claiming the Pentagon is covering up abusive treatment of detainees, human rights lawyers filed a federal lawsuit against the Bush administration Thursday seeking full transcripts of military hearings held for those alleged to be senior al-Qaida leaders. The Miami Herald reports that several of the detainees claim they’ve been tortured,…

Mar 13, 2008 4:13 PM CDT

Chinese Human Rights Lawyer Freed, Warned About Speaking Out

A Chinese human rights lawyer is free after spending 41 hours in government custody. Teng Biao said officers from the Beijing Public Security Bureau warned him about recent articles he had posted on the Internet and told him he should not speak out, the New York Times reports. Teng said…

Mar 10, 2008 5:39 PM CDT

Another Chinese Human Rights Lawyer Disappears

A prominent Chinese human rights lawyer is missing. At least two other lawyers who have spoken out against the government have recently run into trouble with authorities, and activists now fear a third, Teng Biao, has been detained. Teng never returned home Thursday evening; witnesses said they saw a man…

Mar 7, 2008 1:53 PM CST

Iran’s Human Rights Lawyers Face Threats, Jail for Cases They Choose

Human rights lawyers in Iran face insults, physical assaults and jail time for taking on such politically charged cases. The Los Angeles Times chronicles their stories in an article published today. Among those profiled is Mohammed Dadkhah, who on the eve of his first human rights case, was assaulted by…

Nov 27, 2007 8:09 PM CST