Israel has postponed a rare visit by relatives of Jordanian prisoners in its jails to November 25 to complete `related procedures,` a Jordanian foreign ministry spokesman said on Sunday.

LONDON, Oct 11, 2007 (AFP) - The case of a Libyan man convicted for the 1988 bombing of a US airliner over Lockerbie, Scotland, returned to court Thursday, with his lawyers demanding access to files kept from his original defence team.

The procedural hearing at the Court of Criminal Appeal in Edinburgh was told that the non-disclosure of prosecution files could indicate a 'miscarriage of justice' against the convicted man, Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al-Megrahi.

LONDON, Oct 11, 2007 (AFP) - The case of a Libyan man convicted for the 1988 bombing of a US airliner over Lockerbie, Scotland, goes back to court Thursday, following a review body's assessment that should be granted a second appeal.

The hearing at the Court of Criminal Appeal in Edinburgh is procedural and has been listed to last for one day, according to the Scottish Courts website. The convicted man, Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al-Megrahi is not expected to attend.

BANGKOK, Oct 10, 2007 (AFP) - A political dissident arrested over last month's anti-government protests in Myanmar has died after being tortured during interrogation, a Thailand-based watchdog said Wednesday.

Win Shwe, a 42-year-old member of the opposition National League for Democracy, was arrested on September 26 near Myanmar's second city of Mandalay, the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) said in a statement.

He was arrested along with four other people for joining anti-government protests led by Buddhist monks in Mandalay, the group said.

RAMALLAH, West Bank, Oct 1, 2007 (AFP) - Dozens of joyous Palestinian prisoners arrived to a hero's welcome in the West Bank on Monday after Israel released them in a Ramadan goodwill gesture to president Mahmud Abbas.

But another 29 prisoners who were due to be released into Gaza continued to languish behind bars as Israeli President Shimon Peres had not signed their pardons, officials said. It was unclear when they would finally be freed.

RAMALLAH, West Bank, Oct 1, 2007 (AFP) - Dozens of joyous Palestinian prisoners arrived to a hero's welcome in the West Bank on Monday after Israel released them in a Ramadan goodwill gesture to president Mahmud Abbas.

But another 29 prisoners who were due to be released into Gaza continued to languish behind bars as Israeli President Shimon Peres had not signed their pardons, officials said. It was unclear when they would finally be freed.

KETZIOT, Israel, Oct 1, 2007 (AFP) - Israel released dozens of Palestinian prisoners on Monday after an hours-long delay, as a Ramadan goodwill gesture to president Mahmud Abbas and ahead of a US-sponsored peace conference.

Two windowless armoured buses carrying 57 detainees left the Ketziot prison in southern Israel around 0930 GMT under a heavy security escort and headed to the Beitunya checkpoint in the occupied West Bank.

KETZIOT, Israel, Oct 1, 2007 (AFP) - Israel began freeing dozens of Palestinian prisoners Monday after an hours-long delay, carrying out a goodwill gesture to president Mahmud Abbas for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Two armoured windowless buses left the Ketziot prison in southern Israel around 0930 GMT and headed to the Beitunya checkpoint in the occupied West Bank.

A third bus that was supposed to leave for the Erez crossing with the Gaza Strip remained inside the prison for the time being.

KETZIOT, Israel, Oct 1, 2007 (AFP) - Israel was due to release 87 Palestinian prisoners on Monday as a goodwill gesture to president Mahmud Abbas during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, officials said.

Buses carrying the prisoners, all men and two minors among them, were due to drive out of Ketziot prison in southern Israel around 0430 GMT towards checkpoints with the occupied West Bank and Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip.

KETZIOT, Israel, Oct 1, 2007 (AFP) - Israel delayed on Monday the planned release of 87 Palestinian prisoners as a goodwill gesture to president Mahmud Abbas during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, officials said.

Buses carrying the prisoners, all men and two minors among them, were due to drive out of the Ketziot prison in southern Israel around 0430 GMT towards checkpoints with the occupied West Bank and Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip.

GAZA CITY, Sept 12, 2007 (AFP) - A bearded man in the blue combat fatigues of the new Hamas-run Gaza police held the steel door open as cameramen clamoured to enter Gaza City's notorious Soraya jail.

Less than an hour earlier the Executive Force, the new face of law and order in the restive coastal territory, had announced it would free 84 prisoners as a gesture of goodwill on Wednesday, the eve of the holy month of Ramadan.

GAZA CITY, Sept 12, 2007 (AFP) - The Hamas movement announced on Wednesday the release of 84 prisoners in the Islamists-controlled Gaza Strip on the eve of the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

The director of Gaza's central prison, Ali Hamid, said at a press conference that the 84 prisoners had been sentenced over criminal and security-related charges as well as disturbing public order.

After the release, some 270 people would remain held in the central prison, he said.

FREETOWN, Aug 9, 2007 (AFP) - Sierra Leone's outgoing President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah on Thursday ordered the release of 50 low-risk prisoners who had served most of the sentences in a bid to cut down on overcrowding in jails.

'The president had decided to release prisoners who have spent a substantial part of their time in prison and in any event due for release anytime now,' said Kabbah's office in a statement.

'The release of these prisoners is not only to reduce the congestion in the prisons but is also a farewell gesture of goodwill by the president,' it said.

RAMALLAH, West Bank, July 31, 2007 (AFP) - A Palestinian minister on Tuesday accused Israel of 'medical negligence' over the death of a Palestinian prisoner in one of its jails.

Minister for penal affairs minister Ashraf Ajrami said Shadi Said Suleiman al-Saidi, 28, died after being transferred from Nafkha prison in Israel's Negev desert to hospital in the southern town of Soroka with a kidney infection.

'We consider this death is due to medical negligence,' Ajrami told a news conference.

JERUSALEM, July 24, 2007 (AFP) - Hardline Palestinian movement Hamas last month issued a tape from an Israeli soldier being detained in the Gaza Strip under pressure from Norway, Israeli army radio reported on Tuesday.

Noam Shalit, whose son Gilad was captured by Palestinian militants in a raid on the Gaza-Israeli border on June 25, 2006, travelled to Oslo in June.