Stories about Law from July, 2009
Russia: Riot Police Break Up Opposition Rally
Some 100 protesters gathered for an unsanctioned opposition rally in central Moscow on Friday. At 6 PM, hundreds of riot police broke up the rally, detaining 47 people, some of whom were said to be journalists and passerby.
Cuba: Political Prisoners
Cuban diaspora blogger Uncommon Sense reports that while one former political prisoner has started a blog, another Cuban human rights activist “faces up to 8 years in prison if convicted of trumped-up charges of assault and receiving stolen property.”
Barbados: Corruption Legislation Needed
“It doesn’t matter how many tens of millions of dollars are missing at the end of a major project, no one ever goes to jail”: Barbados Free Press suggests that part of the problem is that “Barbados lacks the laws and the codified standards necessary to prosecute public officials for...
India: The Future Of Ajmal Kasab
Golden Boy at Desicritics tells why India should not hang Ajmal Kasab, the apprehended “foot-soldier in the Mumbai Terror Attacks”.
Russia: Vasily Krima, aka the “Volgograd Obama”
Sean's Russia Blog writes about Vasily Krima, “the first Afro-Russian to run for public office” – here and here.
The Balkans: Mladic Update
Foreign Policy Association's War Crimes blog posts an update on Ratko Mladic.
Haiti: Secret Funeral
Haitian blogger Wadner Pierre reports that Kenel Pascal, “who appears to have been gunned down by UN occupation troops”, was given a secret funeral “because the priest and family were fearful of UN and Haitian government reprisals” and goes on to write another post examining the circumstances surrounding the death...
Jamaica: Doping Athletes?
Girl With a Purpose reports on five Jamaican track and field athletes “who have been found with traces of a banned substance in their urine.”
Sri Lanka: The Detained Refugees
Indi.ca comments: “Sri Lankan IDPs are not displaced as much as detained. They’re being held until LTTE cadres are ‘weeded out’ or screened or whatever, which has a logic, but there’s no particular legal basis for it. That’s why I’m interested in the Fundamental Rights case filed by the family...
Belarus, Russia: Bloggers React to Graphic Chechen War Video
On July 3, Belarusian blogger Tatsiana Elavaya posted a provocative video showing the assassination of captive Russian soldiers by Chechen guerrillas during the 1999 war in Chechnya. The video had been available elsewhere before, but when Tatsiana posted it on her blog, the reaction of the Cyrillic blogosphere was unprecedented.
Bangladesh: Adulteration And Death Of Children
Unheard Voice comments on the death of a number of children in Bangladesh due to Diethylene glycol (DEG) poisoning after intake of a fever drug and the inaction of the authorities: “Our governments, under media pressure and public outcry, successively have bothered to resort to short term damage control and...
Bermuda, Haiti: Standing Up
“In the 1980s Bermudians participated in the global anti-Apartheid anti-imperialist movement”: Catch a fire thinks “it is time that our new generation continue this tradition and pick up the mantle of fighting injustices” such the ones in Haiti.
Haiti: What Happened to Pierre-Antoine?
“July 28 marks the 94th anniversary of the US occupation of Haiti…August 12th will mark the second anniversary of the disappearance of Lovinsky Pierre-Antoine”: The Haitian Blogger wonders what has happened to this leading human rights activist.
Trinidad & Tobago: Thoughts on Alleged Plot
Of the alleged plot to assassinate the Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister, This Beach Called Life says: “Strangely, no one has been arrested even though the Papa claims he knows which group likes him the least.”
Japan: Parental child abduction
Given the rise in cases where children born to a Japanese mother and a foreign father are abducted by the Japanese mothers and brought to Japan without the father's consent, the U.S., France, Canada and the U.K. have recently urged Japan to sign the Hague Convention.
The Balkans: More on EU Visa Rules
More on the new EU visa rules for the Balkans – at A Fistful of Euros.
Trinidad & Tobago: Assassination Attempt?
The Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister has revealed an alleged plot to assassinate him a few years ago, prompting diaspora blogger Jumbie's Watch to call the claim “a serious piece of dotishness.”
Jamaica: Dancehall & Child Abuse
As the Jamaican government introduces a child pornography bill, Jamaica Salt makes it clear that the blame for the rise in child abuse on the island cannot be laid squarely at the door of dancehall music.
Czech Republic: New Mosque in Brno?
The Czech Daily Word reports that “Christian Democrats oppose plans to build a new mosque in Brno.”
The Balkans: EU Visa-Free Travel Controversy
AriRusila of Blogactiv.eu‘s BalkanPerspective writes that the EU's intention to introduce visa-free travel for some Balkan entities but not others is dividing the region.
Russia: Mourning Natalya Estemirova
A Step At A Time translates LJ user kutuzov‘s comment “on the political background to Natalya Estemirova’s murder” and links to Prague Watchdog's photo report on “the vigil-cum-rally that was held in Moscow on July 23 to remember the murdered human rights activist.” Oleg Kozlovsky writes about and posts a...
