Middle East

Rights Group Asks Saudi King to Halt Woman’s Beheading for Witchcraft

Human Rights Watch is asking Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah to halt the beheading of a woman convicted of the “absurd” charge of witchcraft. A letter to the king says the woman, Fawza Falih, asserted in her appeal that she had been beaten by religious police, BBC News reports. Because she…

Feb 14, 2008 5:27 PM CST

Going for Gold in the Gulf

As Dubai takes its place among the world’s financial centers, law firms follow

Feb 1, 2008 4:40 PM CST

In Smuggled Letter, Pakistan’s Ex-Chief Justice Backs Independent Courts

Pakistan’s former chief justice has released a letter criticizing President Pervez Musharraf for eliminating the country’s independent judiciary. The letter by Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry was his second public statement since Musharraf imposed emergency rule on Nov. 3, the New York Times reports. The document says Chaudhry and his family are…

Jan 31, 2008 4:37 PM CST

Kansas Lawyer Helps Rewrite Jordan’s ADR Laws in ABA Project

A Kansas lawyer traveled to Jordan for three months to help teach alternative dispute resolution through the American Bar Association’s Rule of Law Initiative. Lawrence lawyer Kathy Kirk of Lawrence helped teach lawyers and judges about ADR, and helped rewrite the laws to allow judges to order the procedure, the…

Jan 28, 2008 4:26 PM CST

Congress Briefed on Legal Obstacles to Blackwater Shooting Prosecution

The Justice Department has told congressional staffers that legal obstacles could hinder prosecutions of Blackwater security guards who shot and killed 17 Iraqi civilians in September. Justice officials told staffers of two potential problems, but said neither are insurmountable, the New York Times reports. A federal grand jury is weighing…

Jan 16, 2008 12:58 PM CST

Pakistan Bomb Kills at Least 23 People Near Planned Lawyer Rally

A suicide bomber near the Lahore High Court in Pakistan has killed at least 23 people, 22 of them police officers, the New York Times reports. Another 58 people were wounded. The police were stationed at the court for a planned protest rally by lawyers opposing the firing of former…

Jan 10, 2008 2:29 PM CST

Attorney Avatars Create Virtual Bar, Virtual Law & Virtual CLE Courses

In many ways, it looked like a standard bar association meeting. But the woman clad in an orange tutu and thigh-high black stockings offered one clue that the attorneys attending the Oct. 20, 2007 meeting in the Second Life Bar Association’s conference room were actually avatars—animated characters created to represent…

Jan 8, 2008 8:29 PM CST

Detainees Quietly Released from Pakistan’s Secret Detention System

Pakistan has quietly freed nearly 100 terrorism suspects, apparently to avoid embarrassing revelations about the country’s secret detention system, the New York Times reports. In at least two instances, detainees were handed over to U.S. authorities without formal extradition. In another, a detainee suspected in the death of U.S. journalist…

Dec 19, 2007 12:20 PM CST

Saudi Rape Victim Pardoned for Being Alone in Car

Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah has pardoned a woman who was sentenced to prison for being alone in a car with a man before she was raped by seven men. The woman’s sentence was increased to six months in prison and 200 lashes when she appealed a shorter original sentence, the…

Dec 17, 2007 7:10 PM CST

International Law Firms Like Riyadh, But Lawyers Don’t

The American Lawyer reports that U.K. law firm Norton Rose has established a presence in Riyadh, explaining the reason this way: “With one-fifth of the world’s oil reserves under Saudi Arabia’s desert sands, it might seem unnecessary to ask what exactly attracts international law firms to the kingdom–a bit like…

Dec 14, 2007 1:59 PM CST

Pakistan Police Block March to Ex-Chief Justice’s Home

Police in Pakistan today blocked a planned march to the home of the country’s ousted chief justice. Marchers found the route to the home of former chief justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry was blocked by concrete blocks, steel and barbed wire, the Associated Press reports. Chaudhry is under house arrest. Meanwhile,…

Dec 6, 2007 6:37 PM CST

Another U.S. Law Firm Opens Abu Dhabi Office

White & Case is expanding in the Middle East with the opening of an office in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, and the addition of four lawyers to its office in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The moves bring the number of White & Case lawyers in the Middle East to more…

Dec 6, 2007 1:57 PM CST

Lawyers Protest Musharraf Swearing-In

Lawyers in the Pakistani city of Lahore clashed with police today as they protested the swearing-in of President Pervez Musharraf. Soon after he began his second five-year term, Musharraf announced that he will end emergency rule on Dec. 16, the New York Times reports. He used the power to suspend…

Nov 29, 2007 4:47 PM CST

Blackwater Suit Cites ‘Culture of Lawlessness’

An amended lawsuit filed Monday claims guards employed by Blackwater Worldwide ignored orders to stay in a secure area the day they shot and killed 17 Iraqis. The suit was filed in Washington, D.C., federal court on behalf of seven shooting victims, including five who died. The complaint says the…

Nov 28, 2007 4:46 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