Indonesia Recently, three soldiers were court-martialed after a Papuan priest was killed. Last week, they were sentenced to up to 15 months in jail after being convicted of various charges, including insubordination, disobeying orders, and abuse. Details about this story can be found here and here. Nigeria After an innocent woman was shot during the arrest of Boko […]
Last week, the Supreme Court in Australia froze the profits of the published memoir of David Hicks, former Guantanamo detainee. The Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions applied to seize the profits as proceeds of crime. Although this action will not be an examination of his case or his guilt, Hicks’ family is pleased that he will […]
After the recent military resignations in Turkey, a lot of changes are in the works. The Turkish Court of Accounts began auditing military-run firms after a long-standing law that kept military expenditures outside of civilian oversight was amended last year. Not all military spending is affected by the amended law and many defense expenditures remain outside of […]
The court-martial of Air Force Airman First Class Horace Wickware begins on September 8th. He is charged with murder, manslaughter, assault, negligent homicide and child endangerment after the death of his infant son. He was living on a base in Germany at the time. Social workers in Germany became concerned about the child after a […]
The case of 1st Lt. Michael Behenna, convicted of killing Ali Mansur in 2009, may be moving to the CAAF after the Army Court of Appeals denied him a new trial, disregarding new evidence. Behenna’s supporters believed he was denied the right to a fair trial when a prosecution witness who could confirm Behenna’s account of […]
Adam Winfield, the ‘whistleblower’ in this case, has agreed to plead guilty to involuntary manslaughter and a minor drug charge. He also agreed to testify against Gibbs, who prosecutors believe is the ‘ringleader’ of the kill team. Winfield will testify along with Pvt. Jeremy Morlock, who pled guilty to three murders and was sentenced to 24 years […]
On July 29, top military leaders in Turkey resigned, including the commanders of the army, navy and air force. The chief of the general staff, Isik Kosaner refused to continue serving in light of the continued detention of 250 retired and active-duty military officers who are being held for their alleged involvement in the Ergenekon and […]
Three Pakistani naval officers are being court-martialed for their alleged negligence during a terrorist attack on a naval airbase in Karachi; and charges may be brought against more officers as details of the attack come out during the trials. Some members of the military have been critical of these prosecutions, noting that senior officers are being let […]
The trial of Hosni Mubarak began yesterday in Cairo. The former President is accused of corruption and ordering the police crackdown in February that resulted in the deaths of hundreds of protestors. He pled not guilty to all charges. Mubarak appeared in court lying on a hospital bed and placed behind the bars of an iron mesh […]
This weekend, the Aspen Security Forum hosted a panel discussion about law and the war on terror. Among the speakers were former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, and John Yoo of ‘torture memo’ fame. They spoke at length about military commissions and the use of torture. During the discussion, Anthony Romero, executive director of the ACLU, reviewed […]