Lawyers
People Magazine’s Most Eligible Bachelor a Rapist?
A thirty-something lawyer who appeared on People Magazine’s "Most Eligible Bachelors" list is being charged in several cases of rape.
‘That’s So Gay’ Girl Loses Lawsuit
A Mormon family in northern California sued the school district for discrimination after their daughter responded to taunts about her religion by saying "That’s so gay." A judge ruled against the family, saying their lawyers had not proven that school administrators violated any state laws or singled the girl out for punishment.
Lawyers Act Like Children, So Judge Treats Them Like Children
A federal judge got fed up with lawyers bickering about tiny details of a lawsuit, so he ordered them to settle their latest quibble with a game of "rock, paper, scissors."
Celebrity Lawyer Johnnie Cochran Dead at 67
The lawyer who became a household name after helping O. J. Simpson win an acquittal in his sensational trial for murder has died at his home in Los Angeles.
Chinese Lawyer Missing After Criticising Human Rights Record
A prominent human rights lawyer has gone missing, according to his family, in what is feared to be a move by the authorities to silence critics ahead of the Beijing Olympics
The Lawyers
Phil Shiner won the Liberty and Justice human rights lawyer of the year award in 2005
British Soldiers Accused of Executing Civilians
Lawyers say battle may have ended in 'atrocious episode' of torture and killing
Jailed Preacher Faces Us Extradition
Lawyers for Abu Hamza were scrambling last night to appeal against a formal order by the home secretary for the radical preacher's extradition to the US
'Coup Plotter' Mann Extradited From Zimbabwe, Says Lawyer
Night flight to Equatorial Guinea not confirmed· Political deal involving Mugabe suspected
Salute the Man Who is Prepared to Take on These Precious Pop Stars
Amy could teach Hillary a thing or two about love | Party boy Corey ... what a guy! | Woe betide any BA passenger who now calls his lawyer
'Society Has Become More Punitive'
For 40 years, Leonard Weinglass has been the defense lawyer in some of America's most spectacular trials, representing the Chicago Eight, the kidnappers of Patty Hearst and the man who helped bring down President Nixon. He tells Duncan Campbell why the current case of the Cuban Five shows how politics is derailing the US justice system
Democrats Despair
Leader: In Pakistan, America and Britain fund a military dictatorship, which fails to protect its leaders, locks up its lawyers, and systematically nobbles the political process. In Kenya, we underwrite a president who has just stolen an election and set his country aflame in the process
Zuma Charged With Corruption
Jacob Zuma, who defeated Thabo Mbeki to become African National Congress leader, has been charged with alleged corruption, his lawyer says
Finnish School Killer Was in Contact With Us Plotter
American teen's lawyer reveals computer links · Columbine massacre was one topic of discussion
A Faded Rose
Georgia: Four years after mass demonstrations brought down a post-Soviet regime in Georgia and installed a young American-trained lawyer as president, Mikhail Saakashvili is facing much the same display of popular discontent himself.
Health and the City Falls Foul of Hbo Lawyers
When Jennifer Cassetta set up a small health and fitness center in Manhattan, she landed on a name that she thought would appeal to the single women she was seeking to attract to her workouts: Health and the City.
Boot Camp Boy Died Under 'routine' Control
An attack that killed a teenage boy at a US boot camp was "a day at the office", according to a defense lawyer.
War Crime Lawyers Fight Un on Top Job
New secretary general is challenged over 'secret appointment' to replace top tribunal prosecutor.
Madeleine Mother Questioned for 11 Hours
· Forensic evidence gives inquiry new impetus · Kate McCann a witness, not a suspect, says lawyer
Astronaut on Assault Charge to Use Insanity Defence
A former Nasa astronaut accused of assaulting and trying to kidnap her rival in a love triangle will pursue a defence of insanity at her trial next month, according to documents released by her lawyers yesterday.
Zimbabwe's Archbishop Accused of Adultery
Zimbabwe's Roman Catholic archbishop, Pius Ncube, a strident critic of Robert Mugabe's rule, was accused yesterday of a two-year adulterous affair with a secretary at his church in a lawsuit that his lawyers described as politically motivated.
Judge Tells Deadlocked Black Trial Jury to Think Again
Media mogul's lawyers press for partial verdict - Panelists undecided on one or more of 16 charges
UK Lawyers Helped Zambia Ex-president Launder £23m
High court judgment tells of shameless plunder - Serious fraud officers investigate London firms
Surprise Witness Claims Phil Spector's Lawyers Withheld Evidence
Clerk alleges that the music producer's original defence team removed a tooth fragment from the foyer of his mansion.
Guantánamo Bay Inmates in Mass Hunger Strike Over New Solitary Cells
Inmates at Guantánamo Bay have embarked on a mass hunger strike in protest at the isolation and harsh conditions of a new maximum security unit, detainee lawyers and military officials said yesterday.
Perón's Widow Faces Asset Freeze
The former Argentine president "Isabelita" Perón faced further legal problems yesterday when lawyers asked for some $7m (£3.5m) of assets which she had inherited from her husband Juan Domingo Perón to be frozen by a Spanish court.
Resistance Hero Awaits Death Camp Son's Dna
The story of the two Robert Nants - one a survivor of birth in a camp, the other a Resistance hero - has so enchanted French lawyers and judges that they admit they are dreading the outcome of the DNA tests.
Washington Trembles As Madam Threatens to Sell Phone Records
Lawyer claims 10,000 clients were on books - Money orders may have led to woman's downfall
Legal System Criticised As Guilty Verdicts Upheld
Lawyers and human rights groups criticised the Chinese justice system yesterday after courts upheld guilty verdicts on the peasant activist Chen Guangcheng, who is blind, and New York Times researcher Zhao Yan.
Republican Who Sent Indecent Emails Was Abused
Lawyers acting for Mark Foley, the Republican congressman who resigned after it was revealed he had sent sexually charged emails to teenage boys, said yesterday that the politician had been abused by a member of the clergy as a teenager.
Lawyer: Officer at Guantánamo Threatened Me
A British lawyer who represents detainees at Guantánamo Bay yesterday claimed he was threatened with internment at the notorious camp by a US military officer.
Laywer: Officer at Guantánamo Threatened Me
A British lawyer who represents detainees at Guantánamo Bay yesterday claimed he was threatened with internment at the notorious camp by a US military officer.
Balcony Fall Father Attempts Suicide
A British father who is accused of killing his six-year-old son in a fall from a hotel balcony has made an unsuccessful attempt to kill himself in prison, his lawyer said today.
Kidnap Woman Stakes Claim to Captor's House
· Lawyers instructed to seize his assets · PR adviser hired to offer 'one or two' interviews
Idealist Hippie Lawyer Can't Beat the Taxman
Dope-smoking radical who wins unwinnable cases loses his own fight. For any other lawyer, a jail term would mean financial ruin...
Profile: Ehud Olmert
Until he was thrust into the limelight by Ariel Sharon's stroke in January, Ehud Olmert was known as a smooth millionaire lawyer and businessman with a passion for football, a former mayor of Jerusalem and a veteran Likud MP.
Too Pretty for Prison
... or so says the lawyer for Debra Lafave, the US teacher who this week escaped punishment for sleeping with her 14-year-old pupil. Suzanne Goldenberg reports.
Zimbabwean Lawyer Honoured
A media lawyer who has defended Telegraph and Guardian journalists in Zimbabwe has been honoured with an Index on Censorship freedom of expression award. By Julia Day.
Former Top Judge Says Us Risks Edging Near to Dictatorship
· Sandra Day O'Connor warns of rightwing attacks · Lawyers 'must speak up' to protect judiciary
Glitter Could Face Seven Years in Military Prison, Says Lawyer
· Former rocker insists he is innocent of child abuse · Two-day trial in Vietnam due to start tomorrow
Force-feeding Breaks Protest at Guantã¡namo
· Lawyers say abuse has left only four on hunger strike · Pentagon denies policy of punishing detainees
Madrid Suspect's Lawyer Goes Missing
The trial of the alleged ringleader of the Madrid bombings got off to a chaotic start in an Italian court today when the defendant's lawyer failed to turn up.
Long Journey of Ramsey Clark
Ramsey Clark, the lawyer defending Saddam Hussein, has gone from being America's top law enforcement official during the final years of Lyndon Johnson's administration to become a fierce opponent of the country's foreign policy and military intervention.
Diary
Gordon Ramsay is the target of the top divorce lawyer Diane Benussi, but she's not trying to fleece him of his fortune or Michelin stars.
Sharon's Son to Admit Election Offences
The son of the Israeli prime minister, Ariel Sharon, is to plead guilty to charges that he took part in illegal fundraising for his father's 1999 election campaign. A lawyer representing Omri Sharon said the Israeli MP admitted charges of falsifying corporate documents, perjuring himself...
Activist Found Alive After Beating By Mob
· Lu Banglie injured but recovering after treatment · Human rights lawyers promise legal action
Khodorkovsky's Lawyer Ordered Out of Country
Robert Amsterdam, a Canadian lawyer acting for the jailed billionaire Mikhail Khodorkovsky, has been expelled from Russia.
Bomb Suspect Lodges Extradition Appeal
Lawyers for suspected would-be suicide bomber Hussein Osman today challenged his extradition to Britain.
Guantánamo Trials 'violate Justice'
The military tribunals of suspected terrorists held at Guantánamo Bay were a "tremendous failure", a US military lawyer told Congress yesterday.
Under-18s Held at Guantã¡namo, Says Uk Lawyer
Five men who were juveniles when captured by US forces were held at Guantánamo Bay while they were under 18, despite statements by the Pentagon to the contrary, a lawyer who visited the prison has claimed.
Lawyers Win Right to Seize Saudi Assets
The court of appeal yesterday granted lawyers acting for three men who were tortured and detained in Saudi jails for more than two years permission to seize the kingdom's assets in this country, including Saudi commercial airliners.
Saudis' Tough Line on Gays
Dozens of Saudi men caught dancing and "behaving like women" at a party have been sentenced to a total of 14,200 lashes, after a trial held behind closed doors and without defence lawyers.
Lawyer - or Costa Crime Kingpin?
Described by his friends as a 'devoted family man', Fernando del Valle now sits in AlhaurÃn de la Torre prison, accused of being the kingpin of Europe's biggest ever money-laundering operation.
Racist's Mother Had Cryptic Note
The convicted white supremacist at the centre of the investigation of last week's murder of a federal judge's parents sent his supporters coded messages through his mother, according to his lawyer.
Accused Soldier 'followed Orders'
A lawyer for one of the British soldiers facing charges of abusing Iraqi detainees today blamed superiors who had called for a crackdown on looters at a British camp.
Four Weeks of Trauma in a Jamaican Jail
Lawyer Jason McCue calls for action to improve prison conditions abroad.
'Death Was Coming Little By Little' - Diver, 80, Tells How He Survived 20-hour Sea Ordeal
An 80-year-old lawyer and fishing enthusiast who clung to a buoy in the chill Atlantic waters for 20 hours until his rescue fought off despair by focusing on the finer points of the law.
Democrat's Concession Shifts Ohio From Eye of the Storm
Lawyers from both presidential campaigns arrived in Ohio yesterday morning to find that weeks of preparations for a legal battle over provisional ballots were redundant after the Democratic challenger, John Kerry, conceded the race. The state remained Mr Kerry's last chance to clinch the...
Woman Sentenced to Be Stoned Appeals
A lawyer for a woman sentenced to be stoned appealed before an Islamic court in northern Nigeria yesterday against her conviction for adultery. Daso Adamu, 25, contested her conviction on the basis that the father of her six-month-old child was a husband she divorced in 2001. Her lawyer,...
Milosevic Lawyers Ask to Be Dismissed
Europe's most important trial was thrown into uncertainty yesterday when the two British lawyers defending Slobodan Milosevic against 66 war crimes charges tendered their resignations. The two barristers, Steven Kay and Gillian Higgins, said the former Yugoslav president's refusal to deal...
Thatcher Challenges 'coup' Questioning
Sir Mark Thatcher appeared in court today for a hearing on the legality of Equatorial Guinea's attempts to question him over an alleged coup attempt that he has been charged with helping to finance. Lawyers for Sir Mark, the son of former British prime minister Lady Thatcher, asked the...
New Archer Link to Coup Plot Alleged
New evidence has emerged linking Jeffrey Archer to the alleged conspirators behind the attempted coup in Equatorial Guinea. A lawyer for the Equatorial Guinea government said in London yesterday that telephone records showed four calls between the homes of one of the alleged financiers...
Trial Puts Anc in the Spotlight
South Africa's deputy president, Jacob Zuma, began a fight for his political life yesterday when he was repeatedly named in corruption charges against his friend and financial adviser, Schabir Shaik. Although Mr Zuma was not charged, he sent lawyers to the high court in Durban for the...
ANC in Spotlight As Sleaze Trial Begins
South Africa's deputy president, Jacob Zuma, began a fight for his political life yesterday when he was repeatedly named in corruption charges against his friend and financial adviser, Schabir Shaik. Although Mr Zuma was not charged, he sent lawyers to the high court in Durban for the...
Milosevic Barred From Conducting Own Defence
The long-running trial of Slobodan Milosevic reached a turning point at the war crimes tribunal in The Hague yesterday when the three judges hearing the case ordered the accused to accept a defence lawyer despite his fierce resistance. The ruling put an end to more than two years of Mr...
Two Guantanamo Britons Meet Lawyer
A lawyer today met two of the four Britons held at Guantanamo Bay for the first time since their imprisonment more than two years ago. An American-based lawyer, Gita Gutierrez, visited Feroz Abbasi, 23, of London, and Moazzam Begg, 36, from Birmingham, at the US naval base, Camp Delta,...
Tribes Attack Uk Over 'destruction of Homeland'
Britain is facing a £25 million claim for compensation from tribes in Papua New Guinea who claim the government has backed a project that destroyed their ancestral lands, poisoned their water and made them ill. Lawyers acting for indigenous communities of the south-east Asian island...
Lawyers Unite to Condemn Us Prison Camp
Twenty-eight leaders of the legal profession around the world have together condemned the US for the continued detention of hundreds of prisoners at Guantánamo Bay. In an open letter, the heads of bar and solicitors' organisations call on the Bush administration to scrap its "review...
Briton Accused of Plotting Coup Drops Legal Team
Simon Mann, the alleged mastermind behind a suspected mercenary plot foiled by Zimbabwe, has hired new lawyers to negotiate his release from a maximum security jail in Harare. The former British officer has angered his co-accused by dropping the lawyers they share. One of them claimed...
Guantánamo Britons Kept in Dark Over Rights
Detainees unaware of decision to allow legal access. The American captors of the four Britons in Guantánamo Bay have not told them of a ruling by the US supreme court, made 10 days ago, giving them access to a lawyer, the Guardian has learned.
New Hope for Britons in Guantanamo
Supreme Court blow to Bush leaves camp policy close to collapse as lawyers prepare to file 'habeas corpus' suits.
A Torturer's Charter
Secret documents show that US interrogators are above the law. On the stage of a London theatre on Thursday night, a lawyer held up an official US document, classified by Donald Rumsfeld as "secret" and "not for foreign eyes".
Officials 'knew of Beatings at Guantã¡namo'
The UK government knew about beatings and abuses at Guantánamo Bay because Britons held there complained to UK interrogators and consular officials on numerous occasions, a lawyer for remaining detainees alleged yesterday. Louise Christian, who represents several men held at the US...
Officials 'knew of Beatings at Guantánamo'
The UK government knew about beatings and abuses at Guantánamo Bay because Britons held there complained to UK interrogators and consular officials on numerous occasions, a lawyer for remaining detainees alleged yesterday. Louise Christian, who represents several men held at the US...
Zapatero Backed As New Pm
José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero was named prime minister of Spain yesterday at the head of a minority Socialist government, after winning the backing of the majority of deputies in the parliament. The 43-year-old lawyer will be formally sworn in by King Juan Carlos this morning...
US Major Attacks Guantánamo Justice
Lawyer chosen by Pentagon says detainees face unfair trial. A US military lawyer representing a detainee at Guantánamo Bay said yesterday that his client could not receive justice under the existing system of military commissions.
Arafat Mourns Arab Shot in Error
Yasser Arafat has apologised to the father of a young Arab man who was shot dead in Jerusalem in a botched attempt by the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade to murder a Jewish settler. George Khoury, a 20-year-old economics student at Jerusalem's Hebrew University and the son of a prominent lawyer,...
War Crimes Qc Under Pressure to Quit After Bias Claims
One of Britain's leading human rights lawyers, Geoffrey Robertson QC, came under intense pressure last night to quit his post as president of the UN-backed war crimes court in Sierra Leone because of alleged bias against some defendants. Three fellow judges told Mr Robertson to decide by...
French Intellectuals Attack 'war on Intelligence'
More than 20,000 French artists, thinkers, film-makers, scientists, lawyers, doctors and academics have signed a petition accusing the centre-right government of 'waging war on intelligence' and instituting 'a new state anti-intellectualism'.
Lawyers, Damn Lawyers
"What good is the House of Commons? It's full of lawyers," somebody asks in David Hare's play, The Permanent Way. Audiences, it's said, have been cheering this sentiment.
Plea for Forgotten Men at Us Base
The lawyer of a Londoner held at Guantanamo Bay is asking the government to help him apply for citizenship from within the US naval base because the Foreign Office refuses to help non-Britons. Jamal Abdullah, 24, has lived in Britain for 10 years and is eligible for citizenship, but has...
Suspect Tells Lawyer He Killed Swedish Politician in Random Attack
The man accused of murdering the Swedish foreign minister, Anna Lindh, has confessed to stabbing her in a "random" attack, his lawyer said yesterday. Prosecutors said they would now move to formally charge Mijailo Mijailovic, a 25-year-old Swede of Serbian origin, as early as next week,...
Move to Evict Danish Hippies
The residents of Copenhagen's hippy enclave can be evicted because the Danish state gave them the right to borrow the land - not rent it - in 1989, the government's lawyers said yesterday. In 1971, hippies moved into a derelict 18th-century navy fort and proclaimed their freewheeling...
Hippies Are 'borrowing' Danish Land
The residents of Copenhagen's hippie enclave can be evicted because the Danish state gave them the right to borrow the land - not rent it - in 1989, the government's lawyers said yesterday. In 1971, hippies moved into a derelict 18th-century navy fort and proclaimed their freewheeling...
Lawyer to Visit Camp Delta Man
An Australian lawyer will make the first independent legal visit to Guantanamo Bay's Camp Delta tomorrow to meet David Hicks, accused of fighting for the Taliban. Stephen Kenny will become the first non-military lawyer to visit the camp when he begins five days of talks with Mr Hicks and...
US Fires Guantanamo Defence Team
A team of military lawyers recruited to defend alleged terrorists held by the US at Guantanamo Bay was dismissed by the Pentagon after some of its members rebelled against the unfair way the trials have been designed.
Fact is Safer Than Fiction
Sir Michael Peat's PR has allowed royal gossip to gain wide credence. Kafka worked in insurance but should have been a lawyer. He would have loved a world in which a man called Michael Fawcett can persuade the courts to make him "Mr X" and in which a royal...
Apartheid Spy Clears Prosecutor
An investigation into whether South Africa's top prosecutor was once an apartheid spy was rocked yesterday when a human rights lawyer confessed that she was the agent at the centre of the inquiry. The judicial inquiry into the past of director of public prosecutions Bulelani Ngcuka has...
Fears As Nepalese Disappear
At least 30 people have disappeared in renewed counter-insurgency operations by Nepal's security forces in the past six weeks, according to Amnesty International. In a report released today, the human rights group documents a surge in the number of students, journalists and lawyers...
Apartheid 'rip-off' May Cost $100bn
A US lawyer, Ed Fagan, was due yesterday to file a $100bn (£60bn) lawsuit against companies accused of ripping off South African workers under the cover of apartheid. Companies including Union Carbide Corporation, the Dow Chemical Company and the South African finance group Alexander...
Spanish Pm Refuses Torture Extradition
The conservative government of Spain's prime minister, Jose Maria Aznar, yesterday outraged human rights campaigners by overriding the courts and refusing to request the extradition of 40 suspected Argentinian torturers and killers to face trial in Spain. The decision, which lawyers said...
Downing Street is Obsessed With the Kelly Affair
Downing Street has been dangerously obsessed with the Kelly affair. So Tony Blair spent the whole of last weekend with the lawyers, did he? The diary has been cleared, they say. We are invited to imagine Blair closeted at Chequers, knee-high in old emails and minutes, thinking only about what he will say to Lord Hutton this morning.
Peace hopes blown apart in tit for tat
The road map is off course. Can both sides steer away from the brink? Two months ago, as the US national security adviser, Condoleezza Rice, was making her debut as the Bush administration's point person on the Middle East, an Israeli lawyer visited Washington.
Kursk families demand new inquiry
Investigators' expert evidence defied by conclusion of report to protect navy's top brass, says lawyer. Forty families are calling on the Russian authorities to reopen the inquiry into the sinking of the submarine Kursk with the loss of 118 lives in the Barents sea three years ago.
Camp Delta Rules 'bar' Civilian Lawyers
The guidelines established by the US authorities in Guantanamo Bay may make it impossible for the Britons facing military tribunals to get civilian lawyers without direct British government intervention, it emerged yesterday. The tribunal rules for civilian legal counsel, a copy of which...
'He may not be fit to face trial or brief a lawyer'
The family and supporters of Feroz Abbasi, 23, fear for the mental health of the former computing student from Croydon, south London. UK officials last saw him in April, but he kept silent for an hour as they tried to talk to him.
Guardian Reporter's Zimbabwe Lawyer Threatened With Jail
The lawyer representing the Guardian's correspondent in Zimbabwe, Andrew Meldrum, was threatened with detention herself yesterday after she went on his behalf to the headquarters of the immigration service in Harare. Beatrice Mtetwa, a prominent local lawyer, was there to hand in a letter...
Reporter Willing to Face Questions, Says Lawyer
Lawyers acting for the Guardian's Zimbabwe correspondent, Andrew Meldrum, insisted yesterday he was willing to be interviewed by bona fide officials following proper procedures. Meldrum's legal team suspect immigration officials intended to deport him when they turned up in force at his...
Jailed colleagues refuse to testify against Barghouti
The murder trial of a prominent Palestinian leader, Marwan Barghouti, opened yesterday with prosecution witnesses refusing to testify and defence lawyers only grudgingly representing their client.
Ian Black: Inside Europe
It is a truth not widely acknowledged, though gloomy francophones know it well, that Brussels speaks with an English accent these days. For the past three years the voice has been that of Jonathan Faull, sometime Londoner, lawyer and chief spokesman for Romano Prodi, president of the European commission.
Shin Bet takes US lawyer's computer
Israel's intelligence service confiscated a computer from a controversial American lawyer this week as he left the country after gathering evidence for a legal action in the US courts against Ariel Sharon, George Bush and weapons manufacturers.
Schröder in new gag attempt
Lawyers for the German chancellor Gerhard Schröder will today face another court battle in an effort to suppress press reports about his private life.
Mike Burleson: US Pilots Take "Go Pills"
The two American F-16 fighter pilots were taking amphetamines which impaired their judgment, says lawyer Charles Gittins, after a friendly-fire incident which killed four Canadian soldiers.
Briton Vows Prison Protest
A Scottish academic convicted by an Indonesian court of violating visa regulations was led away to a five-month prison sentence yesterday angrily proclaiming her innocence and denouncing the judge and lawyers in the case. Lesley McCulloch, 40, from Dunoon in Argyll, listened to the guilty...
A chilling smile from my torturer ...
Jadranka Cigelj, 54, is a Bosnian Croat, lawyer and political and human rights activist, who in June 1992 was imprisoned for almost two months in the north-west Bosnian Serb camp of Omarska, the most notorious of the camps in the Bosnian war.
Former President Admits Crime Against Humanity
Biljana Plavsic, the former Bosnian Serb president, confessed to crimes against humanity yesterday as the Hague tribunal pondered how to punish the most senior ex-Yugoslav leader to admit wartime atrocities. Plavsic, 72, dubbed the Iron Lady, remained composed after her lawyers submitted...
British Woman to Stand Trial in Indonesia
A Scottish academic and her American friend who have been detained for more than two months in the Indonesian province of Aceh for alleged immigration offences are to go on trial on Monday, court officials and defence lawyers said yesterday. The head of the district court, Judge Sabirin...
Jakarta's Military Chief Threatens to Sue Washington Post for £640m
Lawyers representing Indonesia's military chief demanded yesterday that the Washington Post take out advertisements in newspapers around the world apologising for implicating their client in an ambush in which two Americans were killed. One of the lawyers, Trimoelja Soerjadi, said that if...
Memo Emerges to Haunt President
George Bush quashed evidence in the insider dealing inquiry he faced a decade ago, it was claimed yesterday, further undermining White House efforts to restore some confidence in Wall Street. A memo has emerged that was sent by lawyers in 1990 that warned executives of the energy firm...
Government Hopes Academic's Plan Will Please Eurosceptics
Britain backed up its bid for a European Union constitution that keeps power under national control yesterday with a detailed blueprint designed to assuage Eurosceptic concerns. The draft constitutional treaty was drawn up by an academic lawyer funded by the government, now battling to...
Shoe-bomber Reid to Plead Guilty
Richard Reid, the Briton accused of trying to blow up a transatlantic airliner in December with explosives hidden in his shoes, will plead guilty to all charges against him, his lawyer said yesterday. The lawyer, Owen Walker, said that Mr Reid "has no disagreement with the facts" alleged...
'20th hijacker' hits out at his lawyer
Zacarias Moussaoui, the alleged "20th hijacker", launched a fresh attack on his state-appointed lawyer in a pleading in Virginia yesterday which was revealed after the judge partially lifted a gag order banning the publication of the defendant's vociferous and frequently bizarre court motions.
Vichy Collaborator Freed on Health Grounds
A French appeal court today ordered the release of Maurice Papon, a Vichy-era collaborator jailed for 10 years in 1999 for sending Jews to Nazi death camps. Lawyers for Papon, the highest-ranking French official to be convicted of crimes against humanity, said he would be freed by the end...
City of Extremes Spruces Up to Play Host to Earth Summit
If it's a United Nations summit, it must be South Africa. The world's most favoured former pariah is the destination of choice these days for international gatherings of just about every hue, from lawyers and boy scouts to the world's beekeepers. But the juicy prizes are the lavish UN...
Plot to kill Belfast lawyers revealed
Inquiry reveals plot to kill Belfast lawyers. The loyalist gang that assassinated solicitor Patrick Finucane also planned to shoot two more lawyers listed in British army intelligence files as being "sympathetic" to the IRA, the Canadian judge launching a new Finucane inquiry is to be told.
Journalist's Killer Sentenced to Death
A British-born man was today sentenced to death by a Pakistani judge for the murder of an American journalist. Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, from Wanstead, east London, was one of four men found guilty of killing Daniel Pearl of the Wall Street Journal. Lawyers for Sheikh and the...
Constitution for a God of Small Things
US lawyers make merry over the separation of church and state. The earlier of the two President Bushes, who first revealed to the world the mis-speaking gene unfortunately carried by the family, was once asked what he'd thought about while waiting for rescue after his plane ditched in the sea during the second world war.
QC: Reporter's Trial Could Set Dangerous Precedent
One of the country's leading human rights lawyers last night said the trial of the Guardian's correspondent in Zimbabwe, Andrew Meldrum, had ramifications stretching beyond the country's borders. Geoffrey Robertson QC, attending the trial in Harare, warned that if the case was upheld, a...
Libya 'may Accept Lockerbie Guilt'
Libya may accept responsibility for the Lockerbie bombing when official discussions on the atrocity resume next month, a US lawyer representing victims' families said today. Speaking on CNN's Crossfire show in the US, Lee Kreindler said he expected the wording of such a concession would...
Dogs Barking, Lawyers Shouting and an Air of Disbelief As the Spotters Are Guilty of Spying
At times it was hard to know if the events unfolding in the courtroom in the Peloponnesian town of Kalamata were part of a Greek tragedy or a farce.
Mafia trial ponders startling recovery of 'mad' Vinnie The Chin
For decades, Vincent Gigante's lawyers insisted that he was insane, a legendary New York mafia boss reduced to wandering the streets of Greenwich Village in a dressing gown and beret, muttering incoherently to himself.
Eight Years in Jail and 800 Lashes for Briton
A Briton accused of running the most successful drinking club in Saudi Arabia was yesterday sentenced to 800 lashes and eight years in jail following a secret trial at which he was denied access to his lawyer. Gary O'Nions, 56, was also fined around £400,000, according to the Foreign...
Tristram Hunt: In the scales of history
Truth commissions, inquiries and tribunals can distort our understanding of the past. Not content with controlling the present, lawyers are now turning their attention to the past.
Pearl Trial Adjourned
10.15am: The trial of the British-born Islamist militant accused of the murder of Daniel Pearl has been adjourned after lawyers for the defence asked for key evidence, writes Jessica Hodgson.
'Lipstick Killer' Fights for Freedom
A man who has spent 56 years in jail in what his lawyers describe as "one of the grossest miscarriages of justice in the history of the US" could finally be freed. A new investigation into the case of the man known as the Lipstick Killer indicates that the evidence against him was fabricated by...
Victory for cussing canoeist up **** creek without a paddle
The United States constitution guarantees freedom of speech, but it has its limits: it does not, in the famous lawyerly phrase, protect the right to shout "Fire!" in a crowded theatre.
Lindh was tortured, say lawyers
A photograph showing the suspected US Taliban fighter, John Lindh, bound and blindfolded proves that he was tortured into confessing, his lawyers told a Virginia court this week.
Zimbabwe Journalist in Danger of Jail Term
Lawyers for the Daily Telegraph correspondent detained in Zimbabwe, Peta Thornycroft, expect her to be charged today with publishing.
Nigerian Woman to Hear Verdict on Death By Stoning
Nigerian human rights lawyers have expressed cautious optimism that an Islamic court of appeal will lift the sentence of death by stoning imposed on a woman convicted of adultery. Their hope that Safiya Huseini, a 35-year-old mother of two, will be freed today is based on a statement by...
Lawyers Jailed for Fatal Dog Attack
The owners of two dogs which mauled a woman to death in San Francisco last year were convicted yesterday of killing her.
Libyan's Appeal Told of Break-in
Two witnesses told the Lockerbie bomber's appeal hearing yesterday they had uncovered what appeared to be a professional break-in at Heathrow hours before Pan Am flight 103 took off for New York. Defence lawyers for Abdel Baset al-Megrahi argue that the fresh evidence casts serious doubt...
Elan Used Bermuda Connection to Raise $950m
Pressure grew on the management of Elan yesterday, as it emerged that the Irish drugs company had used two controversial Bermuda-based vehicles to raise $950m (£670m) over the past three years. Elan's shares fell a further 18% on the Dublin Stock Exchange as lawyers in America...
Hearing 'soon' for Bomb Case Britons
Five Britons held in Saudi Arabia in connection with a series of terrorist attacks on westerners will face a court hearing in the next three months, according to the lawyer representing them. Salah al-Hejailan told the Guardian that the five men, four of whom have appeared in televised...
Refugee hunger strikes spread
Two hundred refugees joined another 181 detainees on hunger strike inside Woomera detention centre yesterday as pressure mounted on the Australian government to end its mandatory detention of all unauthorised migrants. A lawyer for the migrants said 370 people were taking part in the...
Sharon case 'strong' despite assassination
Lawyers seeking to prosecute the Israeli prime minister, Ariel Sharon, for war crimes said yesterday that their case was still strong, despite the assassination of a key witness. The Lebanese warlord Elie Hobeika was blown up at his Beirut home on Thursday, two days...
Civil rights lawyers challenge US on detainees
A group of leading civil rights lawyers and activists have filed a petition requiring the US government to bring the detainees at Guantanamo Bay before a civil court and define the charges against them. The petition is due to be heard in a Los Angeles court today. The petition for habeas...
A prominent human rights lawyer has gone missing, according to his family, in what is feared to be a move by the authorities to silence critics ahead of the Beijing Olympics
The Lawyers
Phil Shiner won the Liberty and Justice human rights lawyer of the year award in 2005
British Soldiers Accused of Executing Civilians
Lawyers say battle may have ended in 'atrocious episode' of torture and killing
Jailed Preacher Faces Us Extradition
Lawyers for Abu Hamza were scrambling last night to appeal against a formal order by the home secretary for the radical preacher's extradition to the US
'Coup Plotter' Mann Extradited From Zimbabwe, Says Lawyer
Night flight to Equatorial Guinea not confirmed· Political deal involving Mugabe suspected
Salute the Man Who is Prepared to Take on These Precious Pop Stars
Amy could teach Hillary a thing or two about love | Party boy Corey ... what a guy! | Woe betide any BA passenger who now calls his lawyer
'Society Has Become More Punitive'
For 40 years, Leonard Weinglass has been the defense lawyer in some of America's most spectacular trials, representing the Chicago Eight, the kidnappers of Patty Hearst and the man who helped bring down President Nixon. He tells Duncan Campbell why the current case of the Cuban Five shows how politics is derailing the US justice system
Democrats Despair
Leader: In Pakistan, America and Britain fund a military dictatorship, which fails to protect its leaders, locks up its lawyers, and systematically nobbles the political process. In Kenya, we underwrite a president who has just stolen an election and set his country aflame in the process
Zuma Charged With Corruption
Jacob Zuma, who defeated Thabo Mbeki to become African National Congress leader, has been charged with alleged corruption, his lawyer says
Finnish School Killer Was in Contact With Us Plotter
American teen's lawyer reveals computer links · Columbine massacre was one topic of discussion
A Faded Rose
Georgia: Four years after mass demonstrations brought down a post-Soviet regime in Georgia and installed a young American-trained lawyer as president, Mikhail Saakashvili is facing much the same display of popular discontent himself.
Health and the City Falls Foul of Hbo Lawyers
When Jennifer Cassetta set up a small health and fitness center in Manhattan, she landed on a name that she thought would appeal to the single women she was seeking to attract to her workouts: Health and the City.
Boot Camp Boy Died Under 'routine' Control
An attack that killed a teenage boy at a US boot camp was "a day at the office", according to a defense lawyer.
War Crime Lawyers Fight Un on Top Job
New secretary general is challenged over 'secret appointment' to replace top tribunal prosecutor.
Madeleine Mother Questioned for 11 Hours
· Forensic evidence gives inquiry new impetus · Kate McCann a witness, not a suspect, says lawyer
Astronaut on Assault Charge to Use Insanity Defence
A former Nasa astronaut accused of assaulting and trying to kidnap her rival in a love triangle will pursue a defence of insanity at her trial next month, according to documents released by her lawyers yesterday.
Zimbabwe's Archbishop Accused of Adultery
Zimbabwe's Roman Catholic archbishop, Pius Ncube, a strident critic of Robert Mugabe's rule, was accused yesterday of a two-year adulterous affair with a secretary at his church in a lawsuit that his lawyers described as politically motivated.
Judge Tells Deadlocked Black Trial Jury to Think Again
Media mogul's lawyers press for partial verdict - Panelists undecided on one or more of 16 charges
UK Lawyers Helped Zambia Ex-president Launder £23m
High court judgment tells of shameless plunder - Serious fraud officers investigate London firms
Surprise Witness Claims Phil Spector's Lawyers Withheld Evidence
Clerk alleges that the music producer's original defence team removed a tooth fragment from the foyer of his mansion.
Guantánamo Bay Inmates in Mass Hunger Strike Over New Solitary Cells
Inmates at Guantánamo Bay have embarked on a mass hunger strike in protest at the isolation and harsh conditions of a new maximum security unit, detainee lawyers and military officials said yesterday.
Perón's Widow Faces Asset Freeze
The former Argentine president "Isabelita" Perón faced further legal problems yesterday when lawyers asked for some $7m (£3.5m) of assets which she had inherited from her husband Juan Domingo Perón to be frozen by a Spanish court.
Resistance Hero Awaits Death Camp Son's Dna
The story of the two Robert Nants - one a survivor of birth in a camp, the other a Resistance hero - has so enchanted French lawyers and judges that they admit they are dreading the outcome of the DNA tests.
Washington Trembles As Madam Threatens to Sell Phone Records
Lawyer claims 10,000 clients were on books - Money orders may have led to woman's downfall
Legal System Criticised As Guilty Verdicts Upheld
Lawyers and human rights groups criticised the Chinese justice system yesterday after courts upheld guilty verdicts on the peasant activist Chen Guangcheng, who is blind, and New York Times researcher Zhao Yan.
Republican Who Sent Indecent Emails Was Abused
Lawyers acting for Mark Foley, the Republican congressman who resigned after it was revealed he had sent sexually charged emails to teenage boys, said yesterday that the politician had been abused by a member of the clergy as a teenager.
Lawyer: Officer at Guantánamo Threatened Me
A British lawyer who represents detainees at Guantánamo Bay yesterday claimed he was threatened with internment at the notorious camp by a US military officer.
Laywer: Officer at Guantánamo Threatened Me
A British lawyer who represents detainees at Guantánamo Bay yesterday claimed he was threatened with internment at the notorious camp by a US military officer.
Balcony Fall Father Attempts Suicide
A British father who is accused of killing his six-year-old son in a fall from a hotel balcony has made an unsuccessful attempt to kill himself in prison, his lawyer said today.
Kidnap Woman Stakes Claim to Captor's House
· Lawyers instructed to seize his assets · PR adviser hired to offer 'one or two' interviews
Idealist Hippie Lawyer Can't Beat the Taxman
Dope-smoking radical who wins unwinnable cases loses his own fight. For any other lawyer, a jail term would mean financial ruin...
Profile: Ehud Olmert
Until he was thrust into the limelight by Ariel Sharon's stroke in January, Ehud Olmert was known as a smooth millionaire lawyer and businessman with a passion for football, a former mayor of Jerusalem and a veteran Likud MP.
Too Pretty for Prison
... or so says the lawyer for Debra Lafave, the US teacher who this week escaped punishment for sleeping with her 14-year-old pupil. Suzanne Goldenberg reports.
Zimbabwean Lawyer Honoured
A media lawyer who has defended Telegraph and Guardian journalists in Zimbabwe has been honoured with an Index on Censorship freedom of expression award. By Julia Day.
Former Top Judge Says Us Risks Edging Near to Dictatorship
· Sandra Day O'Connor warns of rightwing attacks · Lawyers 'must speak up' to protect judiciary
Glitter Could Face Seven Years in Military Prison, Says Lawyer
· Former rocker insists he is innocent of child abuse · Two-day trial in Vietnam due to start tomorrow
Force-feeding Breaks Protest at Guantã¡namo
· Lawyers say abuse has left only four on hunger strike · Pentagon denies policy of punishing detainees
Madrid Suspect's Lawyer Goes Missing
The trial of the alleged ringleader of the Madrid bombings got off to a chaotic start in an Italian court today when the defendant's lawyer failed to turn up.
Long Journey of Ramsey Clark
Ramsey Clark, the lawyer defending Saddam Hussein, has gone from being America's top law enforcement official during the final years of Lyndon Johnson's administration to become a fierce opponent of the country's foreign policy and military intervention.
Diary
Gordon Ramsay is the target of the top divorce lawyer Diane Benussi, but she's not trying to fleece him of his fortune or Michelin stars.
Sharon's Son to Admit Election Offences
The son of the Israeli prime minister, Ariel Sharon, is to plead guilty to charges that he took part in illegal fundraising for his father's 1999 election campaign. A lawyer representing Omri Sharon said the Israeli MP admitted charges of falsifying corporate documents, perjuring himself...
Activist Found Alive After Beating By Mob
· Lu Banglie injured but recovering after treatment · Human rights lawyers promise legal action
Khodorkovsky's Lawyer Ordered Out of Country
Robert Amsterdam, a Canadian lawyer acting for the jailed billionaire Mikhail Khodorkovsky, has been expelled from Russia.
Bomb Suspect Lodges Extradition Appeal
Lawyers for suspected would-be suicide bomber Hussein Osman today challenged his extradition to Britain.
Guantánamo Trials 'violate Justice'
The military tribunals of suspected terrorists held at Guantánamo Bay were a "tremendous failure", a US military lawyer told Congress yesterday.
Under-18s Held at Guantã¡namo, Says Uk Lawyer
Five men who were juveniles when captured by US forces were held at Guantánamo Bay while they were under 18, despite statements by the Pentagon to the contrary, a lawyer who visited the prison has claimed.
Lawyers Win Right to Seize Saudi Assets
The court of appeal yesterday granted lawyers acting for three men who were tortured and detained in Saudi jails for more than two years permission to seize the kingdom's assets in this country, including Saudi commercial airliners.
Saudis' Tough Line on Gays
Dozens of Saudi men caught dancing and "behaving like women" at a party have been sentenced to a total of 14,200 lashes, after a trial held behind closed doors and without defence lawyers.
Lawyer - or Costa Crime Kingpin?
Described by his friends as a 'devoted family man', Fernando del Valle now sits in AlhaurÃn de la Torre prison, accused of being the kingpin of Europe's biggest ever money-laundering operation.
Racist's Mother Had Cryptic Note
The convicted white supremacist at the centre of the investigation of last week's murder of a federal judge's parents sent his supporters coded messages through his mother, according to his lawyer.
Accused Soldier 'followed Orders'
A lawyer for one of the British soldiers facing charges of abusing Iraqi detainees today blamed superiors who had called for a crackdown on looters at a British camp.
Four Weeks of Trauma in a Jamaican Jail
Lawyer Jason McCue calls for action to improve prison conditions abroad.
'Death Was Coming Little By Little' - Diver, 80, Tells How He Survived 20-hour Sea Ordeal
An 80-year-old lawyer and fishing enthusiast who clung to a buoy in the chill Atlantic waters for 20 hours until his rescue fought off despair by focusing on the finer points of the law.
Democrat's Concession Shifts Ohio From Eye of the Storm
Lawyers from both presidential campaigns arrived in Ohio yesterday morning to find that weeks of preparations for a legal battle over provisional ballots were redundant after the Democratic challenger, John Kerry, conceded the race. The state remained Mr Kerry's last chance to clinch the...
Woman Sentenced to Be Stoned Appeals
A lawyer for a woman sentenced to be stoned appealed before an Islamic court in northern Nigeria yesterday against her conviction for adultery. Daso Adamu, 25, contested her conviction on the basis that the father of her six-month-old child was a husband she divorced in 2001. Her lawyer,...
Milosevic Lawyers Ask to Be Dismissed
Europe's most important trial was thrown into uncertainty yesterday when the two British lawyers defending Slobodan Milosevic against 66 war crimes charges tendered their resignations. The two barristers, Steven Kay and Gillian Higgins, said the former Yugoslav president's refusal to deal...
Thatcher Challenges 'coup' Questioning
Sir Mark Thatcher appeared in court today for a hearing on the legality of Equatorial Guinea's attempts to question him over an alleged coup attempt that he has been charged with helping to finance. Lawyers for Sir Mark, the son of former British prime minister Lady Thatcher, asked the...
New Archer Link to Coup Plot Alleged
New evidence has emerged linking Jeffrey Archer to the alleged conspirators behind the attempted coup in Equatorial Guinea. A lawyer for the Equatorial Guinea government said in London yesterday that telephone records showed four calls between the homes of one of the alleged financiers...
Trial Puts Anc in the Spotlight
South Africa's deputy president, Jacob Zuma, began a fight for his political life yesterday when he was repeatedly named in corruption charges against his friend and financial adviser, Schabir Shaik. Although Mr Zuma was not charged, he sent lawyers to the high court in Durban for the...
ANC in Spotlight As Sleaze Trial Begins
South Africa's deputy president, Jacob Zuma, began a fight for his political life yesterday when he was repeatedly named in corruption charges against his friend and financial adviser, Schabir Shaik. Although Mr Zuma was not charged, he sent lawyers to the high court in Durban for the...
Milosevic Barred From Conducting Own Defence
The long-running trial of Slobodan Milosevic reached a turning point at the war crimes tribunal in The Hague yesterday when the three judges hearing the case ordered the accused to accept a defence lawyer despite his fierce resistance. The ruling put an end to more than two years of Mr...
Two Guantanamo Britons Meet Lawyer
A lawyer today met two of the four Britons held at Guantanamo Bay for the first time since their imprisonment more than two years ago. An American-based lawyer, Gita Gutierrez, visited Feroz Abbasi, 23, of London, and Moazzam Begg, 36, from Birmingham, at the US naval base, Camp Delta,...
Tribes Attack Uk Over 'destruction of Homeland'
Britain is facing a £25 million claim for compensation from tribes in Papua New Guinea who claim the government has backed a project that destroyed their ancestral lands, poisoned their water and made them ill. Lawyers acting for indigenous communities of the south-east Asian island...
Lawyers Unite to Condemn Us Prison Camp
Twenty-eight leaders of the legal profession around the world have together condemned the US for the continued detention of hundreds of prisoners at Guantánamo Bay. In an open letter, the heads of bar and solicitors' organisations call on the Bush administration to scrap its "review...
Briton Accused of Plotting Coup Drops Legal Team
Simon Mann, the alleged mastermind behind a suspected mercenary plot foiled by Zimbabwe, has hired new lawyers to negotiate his release from a maximum security jail in Harare. The former British officer has angered his co-accused by dropping the lawyers they share. One of them claimed...
Guantánamo Britons Kept in Dark Over Rights
Detainees unaware of decision to allow legal access. The American captors of the four Britons in Guantánamo Bay have not told them of a ruling by the US supreme court, made 10 days ago, giving them access to a lawyer, the Guardian has learned.
New Hope for Britons in Guantanamo
Supreme Court blow to Bush leaves camp policy close to collapse as lawyers prepare to file 'habeas corpus' suits.
A Torturer's Charter
Secret documents show that US interrogators are above the law. On the stage of a London theatre on Thursday night, a lawyer held up an official US document, classified by Donald Rumsfeld as "secret" and "not for foreign eyes".
Officials 'knew of Beatings at Guantã¡namo'
The UK government knew about beatings and abuses at Guantánamo Bay because Britons held there complained to UK interrogators and consular officials on numerous occasions, a lawyer for remaining detainees alleged yesterday. Louise Christian, who represents several men held at the US...
Officials 'knew of Beatings at Guantánamo'
The UK government knew about beatings and abuses at Guantánamo Bay because Britons held there complained to UK interrogators and consular officials on numerous occasions, a lawyer for remaining detainees alleged yesterday. Louise Christian, who represents several men held at the US...
Zapatero Backed As New Pm
José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero was named prime minister of Spain yesterday at the head of a minority Socialist government, after winning the backing of the majority of deputies in the parliament. The 43-year-old lawyer will be formally sworn in by King Juan Carlos this morning...
US Major Attacks Guantánamo Justice
Lawyer chosen by Pentagon says detainees face unfair trial. A US military lawyer representing a detainee at Guantánamo Bay said yesterday that his client could not receive justice under the existing system of military commissions.
Arafat Mourns Arab Shot in Error
Yasser Arafat has apologised to the father of a young Arab man who was shot dead in Jerusalem in a botched attempt by the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade to murder a Jewish settler. George Khoury, a 20-year-old economics student at Jerusalem's Hebrew University and the son of a prominent lawyer,...
War Crimes Qc Under Pressure to Quit After Bias Claims
One of Britain's leading human rights lawyers, Geoffrey Robertson QC, came under intense pressure last night to quit his post as president of the UN-backed war crimes court in Sierra Leone because of alleged bias against some defendants. Three fellow judges told Mr Robertson to decide by...
French Intellectuals Attack 'war on Intelligence'
More than 20,000 French artists, thinkers, film-makers, scientists, lawyers, doctors and academics have signed a petition accusing the centre-right government of 'waging war on intelligence' and instituting 'a new state anti-intellectualism'.
Lawyers, Damn Lawyers
"What good is the House of Commons? It's full of lawyers," somebody asks in David Hare's play, The Permanent Way. Audiences, it's said, have been cheering this sentiment.
Plea for Forgotten Men at Us Base
The lawyer of a Londoner held at Guantanamo Bay is asking the government to help him apply for citizenship from within the US naval base because the Foreign Office refuses to help non-Britons. Jamal Abdullah, 24, has lived in Britain for 10 years and is eligible for citizenship, but has...
Suspect Tells Lawyer He Killed Swedish Politician in Random Attack
The man accused of murdering the Swedish foreign minister, Anna Lindh, has confessed to stabbing her in a "random" attack, his lawyer said yesterday. Prosecutors said they would now move to formally charge Mijailo Mijailovic, a 25-year-old Swede of Serbian origin, as early as next week,...
Move to Evict Danish Hippies
The residents of Copenhagen's hippy enclave can be evicted because the Danish state gave them the right to borrow the land - not rent it - in 1989, the government's lawyers said yesterday. In 1971, hippies moved into a derelict 18th-century navy fort and proclaimed their freewheeling...
Hippies Are 'borrowing' Danish Land
The residents of Copenhagen's hippie enclave can be evicted because the Danish state gave them the right to borrow the land - not rent it - in 1989, the government's lawyers said yesterday. In 1971, hippies moved into a derelict 18th-century navy fort and proclaimed their freewheeling...
Lawyer to Visit Camp Delta Man
An Australian lawyer will make the first independent legal visit to Guantanamo Bay's Camp Delta tomorrow to meet David Hicks, accused of fighting for the Taliban. Stephen Kenny will become the first non-military lawyer to visit the camp when he begins five days of talks with Mr Hicks and...
US Fires Guantanamo Defence Team
A team of military lawyers recruited to defend alleged terrorists held by the US at Guantanamo Bay was dismissed by the Pentagon after some of its members rebelled against the unfair way the trials have been designed.
Fact is Safer Than Fiction
Sir Michael Peat's PR has allowed royal gossip to gain wide credence. Kafka worked in insurance but should have been a lawyer. He would have loved a world in which a man called Michael Fawcett can persuade the courts to make him "Mr X" and in which a royal...
Apartheid Spy Clears Prosecutor
An investigation into whether South Africa's top prosecutor was once an apartheid spy was rocked yesterday when a human rights lawyer confessed that she was the agent at the centre of the inquiry. The judicial inquiry into the past of director of public prosecutions Bulelani Ngcuka has...
Fears As Nepalese Disappear
At least 30 people have disappeared in renewed counter-insurgency operations by Nepal's security forces in the past six weeks, according to Amnesty International. In a report released today, the human rights group documents a surge in the number of students, journalists and lawyers...
Apartheid 'rip-off' May Cost $100bn
A US lawyer, Ed Fagan, was due yesterday to file a $100bn (£60bn) lawsuit against companies accused of ripping off South African workers under the cover of apartheid. Companies including Union Carbide Corporation, the Dow Chemical Company and the South African finance group Alexander...
Spanish Pm Refuses Torture Extradition
The conservative government of Spain's prime minister, Jose Maria Aznar, yesterday outraged human rights campaigners by overriding the courts and refusing to request the extradition of 40 suspected Argentinian torturers and killers to face trial in Spain. The decision, which lawyers said...
Downing Street is Obsessed With the Kelly Affair
Downing Street has been dangerously obsessed with the Kelly affair. So Tony Blair spent the whole of last weekend with the lawyers, did he? The diary has been cleared, they say. We are invited to imagine Blair closeted at Chequers, knee-high in old emails and minutes, thinking only about what he will say to Lord Hutton this morning.
Peace hopes blown apart in tit for tat
The road map is off course. Can both sides steer away from the brink? Two months ago, as the US national security adviser, Condoleezza Rice, was making her debut as the Bush administration's point person on the Middle East, an Israeli lawyer visited Washington.
Kursk families demand new inquiry
Investigators' expert evidence defied by conclusion of report to protect navy's top brass, says lawyer. Forty families are calling on the Russian authorities to reopen the inquiry into the sinking of the submarine Kursk with the loss of 118 lives in the Barents sea three years ago.
Camp Delta Rules 'bar' Civilian Lawyers
The guidelines established by the US authorities in Guantanamo Bay may make it impossible for the Britons facing military tribunals to get civilian lawyers without direct British government intervention, it emerged yesterday. The tribunal rules for civilian legal counsel, a copy of which...
'He may not be fit to face trial or brief a lawyer'
The family and supporters of Feroz Abbasi, 23, fear for the mental health of the former computing student from Croydon, south London. UK officials last saw him in April, but he kept silent for an hour as they tried to talk to him.
Guardian Reporter's Zimbabwe Lawyer Threatened With Jail
The lawyer representing the Guardian's correspondent in Zimbabwe, Andrew Meldrum, was threatened with detention herself yesterday after she went on his behalf to the headquarters of the immigration service in Harare. Beatrice Mtetwa, a prominent local lawyer, was there to hand in a letter...
Reporter Willing to Face Questions, Says Lawyer
Lawyers acting for the Guardian's Zimbabwe correspondent, Andrew Meldrum, insisted yesterday he was willing to be interviewed by bona fide officials following proper procedures. Meldrum's legal team suspect immigration officials intended to deport him when they turned up in force at his...
Jailed colleagues refuse to testify against Barghouti
The murder trial of a prominent Palestinian leader, Marwan Barghouti, opened yesterday with prosecution witnesses refusing to testify and defence lawyers only grudgingly representing their client.
Ian Black: Inside Europe
It is a truth not widely acknowledged, though gloomy francophones know it well, that Brussels speaks with an English accent these days. For the past three years the voice has been that of Jonathan Faull, sometime Londoner, lawyer and chief spokesman for Romano Prodi, president of the European commission.
Shin Bet takes US lawyer's computer
Israel's intelligence service confiscated a computer from a controversial American lawyer this week as he left the country after gathering evidence for a legal action in the US courts against Ariel Sharon, George Bush and weapons manufacturers.
Schröder in new gag attempt
Lawyers for the German chancellor Gerhard Schröder will today face another court battle in an effort to suppress press reports about his private life.
Mike Burleson: US Pilots Take "Go Pills"
The two American F-16 fighter pilots were taking amphetamines which impaired their judgment, says lawyer Charles Gittins, after a friendly-fire incident which killed four Canadian soldiers.
Briton Vows Prison Protest
A Scottish academic convicted by an Indonesian court of violating visa regulations was led away to a five-month prison sentence yesterday angrily proclaiming her innocence and denouncing the judge and lawyers in the case. Lesley McCulloch, 40, from Dunoon in Argyll, listened to the guilty...
A chilling smile from my torturer ...
Jadranka Cigelj, 54, is a Bosnian Croat, lawyer and political and human rights activist, who in June 1992 was imprisoned for almost two months in the north-west Bosnian Serb camp of Omarska, the most notorious of the camps in the Bosnian war.
Former President Admits Crime Against Humanity
Biljana Plavsic, the former Bosnian Serb president, confessed to crimes against humanity yesterday as the Hague tribunal pondered how to punish the most senior ex-Yugoslav leader to admit wartime atrocities. Plavsic, 72, dubbed the Iron Lady, remained composed after her lawyers submitted...
British Woman to Stand Trial in Indonesia
A Scottish academic and her American friend who have been detained for more than two months in the Indonesian province of Aceh for alleged immigration offences are to go on trial on Monday, court officials and defence lawyers said yesterday. The head of the district court, Judge Sabirin...
Jakarta's Military Chief Threatens to Sue Washington Post for £640m
Lawyers representing Indonesia's military chief demanded yesterday that the Washington Post take out advertisements in newspapers around the world apologising for implicating their client in an ambush in which two Americans were killed. One of the lawyers, Trimoelja Soerjadi, said that if...
Memo Emerges to Haunt President
George Bush quashed evidence in the insider dealing inquiry he faced a decade ago, it was claimed yesterday, further undermining White House efforts to restore some confidence in Wall Street. A memo has emerged that was sent by lawyers in 1990 that warned executives of the energy firm...
Government Hopes Academic's Plan Will Please Eurosceptics
Britain backed up its bid for a European Union constitution that keeps power under national control yesterday with a detailed blueprint designed to assuage Eurosceptic concerns. The draft constitutional treaty was drawn up by an academic lawyer funded by the government, now battling to...
Shoe-bomber Reid to Plead Guilty
Richard Reid, the Briton accused of trying to blow up a transatlantic airliner in December with explosives hidden in his shoes, will plead guilty to all charges against him, his lawyer said yesterday. The lawyer, Owen Walker, said that Mr Reid "has no disagreement with the facts" alleged...
'20th hijacker' hits out at his lawyer
Zacarias Moussaoui, the alleged "20th hijacker", launched a fresh attack on his state-appointed lawyer in a pleading in Virginia yesterday which was revealed after the judge partially lifted a gag order banning the publication of the defendant's vociferous and frequently bizarre court motions.
Vichy Collaborator Freed on Health Grounds
A French appeal court today ordered the release of Maurice Papon, a Vichy-era collaborator jailed for 10 years in 1999 for sending Jews to Nazi death camps. Lawyers for Papon, the highest-ranking French official to be convicted of crimes against humanity, said he would be freed by the end...
City of Extremes Spruces Up to Play Host to Earth Summit
If it's a United Nations summit, it must be South Africa. The world's most favoured former pariah is the destination of choice these days for international gatherings of just about every hue, from lawyers and boy scouts to the world's beekeepers. But the juicy prizes are the lavish UN...
Plot to kill Belfast lawyers revealed
Inquiry reveals plot to kill Belfast lawyers. The loyalist gang that assassinated solicitor Patrick Finucane also planned to shoot two more lawyers listed in British army intelligence files as being "sympathetic" to the IRA, the Canadian judge launching a new Finucane inquiry is to be told.
Journalist's Killer Sentenced to Death
A British-born man was today sentenced to death by a Pakistani judge for the murder of an American journalist. Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, from Wanstead, east London, was one of four men found guilty of killing Daniel Pearl of the Wall Street Journal. Lawyers for Sheikh and the...
Constitution for a God of Small Things
US lawyers make merry over the separation of church and state. The earlier of the two President Bushes, who first revealed to the world the mis-speaking gene unfortunately carried by the family, was once asked what he'd thought about while waiting for rescue after his plane ditched in the sea during the second world war.
QC: Reporter's Trial Could Set Dangerous Precedent
One of the country's leading human rights lawyers last night said the trial of the Guardian's correspondent in Zimbabwe, Andrew Meldrum, had ramifications stretching beyond the country's borders. Geoffrey Robertson QC, attending the trial in Harare, warned that if the case was upheld, a...
Libya 'may Accept Lockerbie Guilt'
Libya may accept responsibility for the Lockerbie bombing when official discussions on the atrocity resume next month, a US lawyer representing victims' families said today. Speaking on CNN's Crossfire show in the US, Lee Kreindler said he expected the wording of such a concession would...
Dogs Barking, Lawyers Shouting and an Air of Disbelief As the Spotters Are Guilty of Spying
At times it was hard to know if the events unfolding in the courtroom in the Peloponnesian town of Kalamata were part of a Greek tragedy or a farce.
Mafia trial ponders startling recovery of 'mad' Vinnie The Chin
For decades, Vincent Gigante's lawyers insisted that he was insane, a legendary New York mafia boss reduced to wandering the streets of Greenwich Village in a dressing gown and beret, muttering incoherently to himself.
Eight Years in Jail and 800 Lashes for Briton
A Briton accused of running the most successful drinking club in Saudi Arabia was yesterday sentenced to 800 lashes and eight years in jail following a secret trial at which he was denied access to his lawyer. Gary O'Nions, 56, was also fined around £400,000, according to the Foreign...
Tristram Hunt: In the scales of history
Truth commissions, inquiries and tribunals can distort our understanding of the past. Not content with controlling the present, lawyers are now turning their attention to the past.
Pearl Trial Adjourned
10.15am: The trial of the British-born Islamist militant accused of the murder of Daniel Pearl has been adjourned after lawyers for the defence asked for key evidence, writes Jessica Hodgson.
'Lipstick Killer' Fights for Freedom
A man who has spent 56 years in jail in what his lawyers describe as "one of the grossest miscarriages of justice in the history of the US" could finally be freed. A new investigation into the case of the man known as the Lipstick Killer indicates that the evidence against him was fabricated by...
Victory for cussing canoeist up **** creek without a paddle
The United States constitution guarantees freedom of speech, but it has its limits: it does not, in the famous lawyerly phrase, protect the right to shout "Fire!" in a crowded theatre.
Lindh was tortured, say lawyers
A photograph showing the suspected US Taliban fighter, John Lindh, bound and blindfolded proves that he was tortured into confessing, his lawyers told a Virginia court this week.
Zimbabwe Journalist in Danger of Jail Term
Lawyers for the Daily Telegraph correspondent detained in Zimbabwe, Peta Thornycroft, expect her to be charged today with publishing.
Nigerian Woman to Hear Verdict on Death By Stoning
Nigerian human rights lawyers have expressed cautious optimism that an Islamic court of appeal will lift the sentence of death by stoning imposed on a woman convicted of adultery. Their hope that Safiya Huseini, a 35-year-old mother of two, will be freed today is based on a statement by...
Lawyers Jailed for Fatal Dog Attack
The owners of two dogs which mauled a woman to death in San Francisco last year were convicted yesterday of killing her.
Libyan's Appeal Told of Break-in
Two witnesses told the Lockerbie bomber's appeal hearing yesterday they had uncovered what appeared to be a professional break-in at Heathrow hours before Pan Am flight 103 took off for New York. Defence lawyers for Abdel Baset al-Megrahi argue that the fresh evidence casts serious doubt...
Elan Used Bermuda Connection to Raise $950m
Pressure grew on the management of Elan yesterday, as it emerged that the Irish drugs company had used two controversial Bermuda-based vehicles to raise $950m (£670m) over the past three years. Elan's shares fell a further 18% on the Dublin Stock Exchange as lawyers in America...
Hearing 'soon' for Bomb Case Britons
Five Britons held in Saudi Arabia in connection with a series of terrorist attacks on westerners will face a court hearing in the next three months, according to the lawyer representing them. Salah al-Hejailan told the Guardian that the five men, four of whom have appeared in televised...
Refugee hunger strikes spread
Two hundred refugees joined another 181 detainees on hunger strike inside Woomera detention centre yesterday as pressure mounted on the Australian government to end its mandatory detention of all unauthorised migrants. A lawyer for the migrants said 370 people were taking part in the...
Sharon case 'strong' despite assassination
Lawyers seeking to prosecute the Israeli prime minister, Ariel Sharon, for war crimes said yesterday that their case was still strong, despite the assassination of a key witness. The Lebanese warlord Elie Hobeika was blown up at his Beirut home on Thursday, two days...
Civil rights lawyers challenge US on detainees
A group of leading civil rights lawyers and activists have filed a petition requiring the US government to bring the detainees at Guantanamo Bay before a civil court and define the charges against them. The petition is due to be heard in a Los Angeles court today. The petition for habeas...