Stories about Law from October, 2009
Ukraine: Swine Flu (and Some Election Politics)
On Oct. 30, after a few days of alarming reports on an outbreak of respiratory illness in western Ukraine, the first swine flu-related death was confirmed, and PM Tymoshenko ordered Ukraine's schools closed and public gatherings banned for at least three weeks.
Maldives: Shariah Law In The Penal Code
Random Reflexions blog discusses the recent call for shariah law to be included in the penal code of Maldives by a political party and several MPs.
Paraguay: Addressing the Growing Security Concerns
The recent kidnapping of a cattle rancher has stirred up debate about who is ultimately responsible for the security concerns and whether the blame placed on President Fernando Lugo is justified or merely a political maneuver.
Trinidad & Tobago: Death Penalty
“The term ‘death penalty’ is a literary iceberg – two words that hide a huge amount of detail beneath the surface”: Know TnT.com examines the issue.
Antigua & Barbuda: Ending Gender Violence
“I want to beat power and gender inequalities to a pulp, starting with enforcement of good legislation designed to protect women”: Antigua's playing with ink invites us to join in “16 days of activism to end violence against women, starting November 24th.”
Barbados: Key Professions
“In the Barbados context teachers, policemen and nurses represent core professions which are key to building and sustaining a productive society”: Barbados Underground is afraid these callings are in crisis.
Guyana: Restorative Justice
“Recent years have found the Caribbean embroiled in the challenges of drug trafficking, money laundering, murder, rape, robbery and crimes of all sorts”: Guyana's caribbeanlawbytes wonders whether the region is ready for restorative justice.
South Korea: Foreign gangs
Robert Koehler from the Marmot's Hole picked up a news story about police's cracking down of foreign gangs and gave an introduction to the character of different foreign gangs.
Russia: “Twitter Against Tyrants”
Oleg Kozlovsky links to and quotes from the text of a briefing held by US Helsinki Commission/Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, which included “a few recent examples of how we utilized Web 2.0 to spread information about electoral fraud” in Russia.
Russia: Riot Police vs “Senior Citizens”
Oleg Kozlovsky reports on a scandal that broke out after riot police used – during a drill – “water cannons, shock grenades, and tear gas” to disperse “a group of senior citizens that protested social injustice and blocked a federal highway.”
The Balkans: Open Letter to Amnesty International
Samaha posts Ed Vulliamy's open letter to Amnesty International regarding the invitation to Professor Noam Chomsky to lecture in Northern Ireland – as well as background info on the campaign.
Slovakia, Hungary: “Linguistic Discontents”
Edward Lucas writes about the Slovak-Hungarian relations, including the “linguistic discontents.”
Slovenia, Croatia: Updates on Border Dispute
Sleeping With Pengovsky posts updates on the recent developments in the Slovenian-Croatian relations – here and here.
Uruguay: Two Plebiscites Fail to Pass
On the same day as the Presidential elections in Uruguay, voters did not pass two plebiscites that would have given Uruguayans abroad the right to vote and the annulment of the Law of Expiration.
Argentina: Victims’ Testimony Against Members of Military Dictatorship
The La Plata branch of the Permanent Assembly for Human Rights (APDH of its initials in Spanish) recently opened a blog to translate and share the testimonies of victims and their families who are testifying at the trials against members of the military dictatorship in Argentina.
Anguilla: No News is Bad News
“Six members of the Royal Anguilla Police Force arrested in the last five years. Traditionally, the Anguilla public administration operates under the assumption that any bad news is better not published”: Corruption-free Anguilla is “simply disgusted at this state of affairs.”
Jamaica: Police Corruption
“News of police corruption is sadly no surprise”: Letter from Jamaica wonders whether “we get the constabulary we deserve.”
Russia: Khodorkovsky's Case, 6 Years On
In The Huffington Post, Robert Amsterdam writes about Mikhail Khodorkovsky's case, six years on.
The Balkans: Karadzic's Trial; Plavsic’s Release
Americans for Bosnia writes about the trial of Radovan Karadzic. Samaha writes about Biljana Plavsic’s release.
Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia: “Dumping Grounds for People”
Dumping Grounds for People is a blog devoted to the results “of a four-months long journalistic investigation, conducted mostly undercover in ten institutions for adults with intellectual disabilities or mental illnesses in Bulgaria, Romania and Serbia.” A Flickr photo set, by Yana Buhrer Tavanier, is here, along with this note:...
Ukraine: Interview With A Drug Addict
David Sasaki shares thoughts on “engaging, not exoticizing human rights” and posts a video interview with Pavel Kutsev, a self-described “average drug addict” and “the co-founder of Drop-In Center, a Ukrainian organization which advocates for the rights of the injection drug user communication and for better national policy related to...
