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Law & Justice — September 2026

Ratko Mladic burial highlights divisive legacy

Ratko Mladic is due to be buried in Belgrade on Monday, with thousands expected to honour the convicted Bosnian Serb war criminal despite his life sentence for atrocities committed during the war in Bosnia. Mladic spent his final years serving a life sentence…

Ratko Mladic funeral: Balkan war figures' fates

Former Bosnian Serb military leader Ratko Mladic is due to be buried on September 7 after his death in prison on August 27, drawing attention to the fates of other major figures from the conflicts in the former Yugoslavia. Mladic was convicted of genocide and…

Alvaro Uribe denies role in 1990s Colombia massacres

Colombian former leader Alvaro Uribe denied responsibility Friday for two 1990s massacres and the killing of a human rights defender ahead of a hearing about his alleged role in the events. Uribe, 74, is due to give his account of paramilitary massacres in th…

Deniz Goktas indicted over Erdogan insult claim

Turkish prosecutors charged comedian Deniz Goktas with insulting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and other offences over a June stand-up performance, in a case that could lead to years in prison if he is convicted. Goktas, 32, was arrested in early July, about…

Lindsay Clancy mistrial paused for defense appeal

Judge William Sullivan declared a mistrial Friday in Lindsay Clancy's case over the killing of her three children, but put the ruling on hold for one hour so her lawyer could appeal to a higher court. The jury was deadlocked 11-1, with the majority apparently…

Junge Tat members on trial over LGBTQ events

Six members of the Swiss far-right Junge Tat movement went on trial in Zurich on Friday on charges including inciting hatred over disruptions of LGBTQ events. The case centres on actions by the group, including at a church service during the 2022 Zurich Pride…

Swiss Alps landslide: five acquitted over 2017 deaths

A Swiss court on Friday acquitted five people charged with homicide by negligence after a 2017 landslide killed eight hikers and destroyed part of the village of Bondo in the Swiss Alps. Four German, two Austrian and two Swiss hikers were buried in an Alpine…

Abdul Rahman Yusuf Al-Qaradawi pardoned by UAE

UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed has pardoned Abdul Rahman Yusuf Al-Qaradawi, the son of the late Muslim Brotherhood spiritual leader Yusuf al-Qaradawi, the United Arab Emirates' official WAM news agency said Friday. Qaradawi, an Egyptian opposition act…

Namal Rajapaksa held for two weeks in Airbus probe

Sri Lankan lawmaker Namal Rajapaksa, the son of former president Mahinda Rajapaksa, was ordered held for two weeks on Friday after anti-graft authorities accused him of receiving $800,000 linked to a 2013 Airbus aircraft deal. Colombo Chief Magistrate Asanga…

Sara Duterte posts bail over Marcos threat case

Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte posted bail at a Manila courthouse on Saturday, a day after an arrest warrant was issued over an alleged death threat against President Ferdinand Marcos, his wife and a congressman cousin. Duterte posted a cash bond tota…

US returns looted Roman fragments to Lebanon

The United States announced Thursday the return of Roman-era sarcophagus fragments to Lebanon after an FBI investigation recovered antiquities described as loo…

Vietnam sentences 11 to death in drugs case

A Vietnam court sentenced 11 people to death and jailed more than 200 others for trafficking illegal drugs hidden in toothpaste tubes from France and related c…

Istanbul ship sinking: tanker captain charged

The captain of an oil tanker that collided with a cargo ship off Istanbul has been arrested with the tanker's third officer on negligent homicide charges, prosecutors said. The arrests were ordered late Thursday by a court in Silivri, on the western outskirts…

Hong Kong upholds Joseph Zen protest fund convictions

A Hong Kong court upheld the convictions of Cardinal Joseph Zen and other dissidents Thursday over a multimillion-dollar fund that helped people arrested during the 2019 anti-government protests. Zen, a 94-year-old senior Catholic figure in Asia, was among th…

Maduro son says prison staff took jail photos

Nicolas Maduro Guerra said photos of his father, deposed Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, in a US detention center were taken by prison staff and mailed to the family. Two photos of Maduro appeared on his social media on Sunday. Maduro is incarcerated in a f…

Raul Asencio cleared in explicit video case

Real Madrid defender Raul Asencio was cleared Thursday by a Spanish court of distributing an explicit video involving a minor, shortly after coach Jose Mourinh…

Saint Seiya author alleges ex-aide stole $29m

Masami Kurumada, the Japanese author of the manga series "Saint Seiya", said on Wednesday in Tokyo that he is suing a former business associate accused of embe…

Haiti anti-gang force will miss staffing goal

A United Nations-backed armed force helping Haitian police fight gangs will not be fully staffed by October as planned, its spokesperson said Tuesday. The Gang Suppression Force had been expected to build up between April and October to 5,500 uniformed person…

Madagascar general gets 10 years over protest crackdown

A Madagascar court sentenced former gendarmerie general Richard Ravalomanana to 10 years of hard labour over a crackdown on protests last year, local media reported on Tuesday. Ravalomanana was a former top security official and a key figure under ousted pres…

Iraq sends 5,704 IS suspects to trial

Iraq's judiciary said Tuesday it had completed questioning 5,704 Islamic State group suspects transferred from northeast Syria and referred their cases to trial. Iraq's Supreme Judicial Council said the interrogations identified several IS commanders, includi…

India Supreme Court drops most exam leak protest cases

India's Supreme Court on Tuesday called off criminal investigations against most protesters who joined demonstrations over a leaked medical exam paper that forced the education minister to resign. The court used its special constitutional powers to provide re…

French prisons near 90,000 inmates in record crowding

French prisons held 89,668 inmates on August 1, a new high that pushed occupancy to a record 141.6 percent, justice ministry data showed Tuesday. The prison system had capacity for only around 63,300 people in France, a country of 69 million. Overcrowding for…

Japan prosecutor rape accuser urges office reform

A former Japanese prosecutor who accused Osaka's then top prosecutor of raping her said Tuesday that prosecutors' offices need reform and that victims' allegations are not properly investigated. The woman, who uses the pseudonym Hikari, publicly accused Kenta…

Mexican senator facing US drug charges rejects witness deal

Mexican senator Enrique Inzunza, who is wanted by the United States on drug trafficking charges, said on Monday that he would not become a protected witness for US authorities. The US Justice Department charged Inzunza and nine other officials from the ruling…

Sri Lanka ex-minister jailed over May Day food bill

A Sri Lankan court jailed former aviation minister Piyankara Jayaratne for seven years on Tuesday over government money used to buy lunch for voters attending a ruling party May Day rally. Jayaratne, 61, was also fined 200,000 rupees, about $615, in a case in…

South Korea officer accused of closing missing cases

A South Korean police officer was accused of lying to close more than two dozen missing-person cases, including two involving people later found dead on Jeju, authorities said Tuesday. Two of the missing people were among four bodies found over several days i…

Thai activist gets 2 years over royal livestream

A Thai criminal court sentenced activist Tantawan Tuatulanon to two years in prison after convicting her under Thailand's lese-majeste law over a 2022 livestream near a royal motorcade, Thai Lawyers for Human Rights said. The legal advocacy group said the cou…