· May, 2012

Stories about Law from May, 2012

A Social Network for Wikileaks Supporters

  28 May 2012

Friends of Wikileaks (FoWL) is an independent social network for worldwide supporters of Wikileaks. People who join the site are paired with twelve others who speak the same language. FoWL groups from different countries have issued a statement of support for Julian Assange in advance of a United Kingdom supreme...

Brazil: Sex Abuse Revealed by Children's TV Presenter Provokes Debate

  28 May 2012

Xuxa Meneghel, the most famous children's TV presenter in Brazil, revealed on national television that she was the victim of sexual abuse during childhood. Her declaration divided opinions on the Internet and opened up a debate on a subject that is still considered taboo in the country: sexual abuse against children and adolescents. Paula Góes reports on the first week of the debate.

Ukraine: Homophobic Legal Initiatives in Sync with Public Attitudes

Ukraine's first Gay Pride Parade ever failed to take place on May 20 due to perceived threats of violence against its participants; one of the organizers was attacked and beaten by a group of masked men. Meanwhile, Ukrainian MPs representing various political forces seem for once united in their attempts to ban "homosexual propaganda" in the country.

Egypt: The Resurrection of Ahmed Shafiq

The initial results of the first stage of the Egyptian presidential election indicate that Mohamed Morsi and Ahmed Shafiq will take part in the runoff vote. There has been widespread shock at the reemergence of Shafiq, one of the “feloul”, or “remnants” of Mubarak's regime.

Cuba: The State of Human Rights

  26 May 2012

The recent request for information by the United Nations‘ Committee Against Torture with regard to alleged abuses in Cuba has got bloggers talking about the human rights situation on the island.

Trinidad & Tobago: Same Sex Issues

  25 May 2012

Globewriter comments on a Senate debate about a clause of the Children's Bill “involving a clause that includes buggery”; B.C. Pires adds: “The People’s Partnership of UNC [United National Congress] MPs [Ministers of Parliament] yesterday refused, despite urgings from Independent senators, to decriminalize same gender sexual activity between minors –...

Barbados: The Jaws of Justice

  23 May 2012

“Bajans deserve the truth, all the truth and nothing but the truth. It is not enough for the Court of Appeal or the news media to gloss over this story”: Barbados Free Press is curious about a case in which a man who bit a police officer apparently got off...

Pakistan: Twitter Goes Through Weekend of Censorship

  20 May 2012

On Sunday 20 May, Twitter users in Pakistan suffered a total blanket censorship across all ISPs in Pakistan on order of the Pakistan Telcommunucation Authority who cited the reason as censoring blasphemous contents. However, the netizens think that the authorities were testing their url filtering service.

Trinidad & Tobago: Laws for LGBT Too

  18 May 2012

Globewriter applauds the contribution of Senator Corinne Baptiste-McKnight “in response to a Clause in the Children Bill that criminalized same sex intimacy among youth”, saying: “Give that woman an award!”

Barbados, Cuba: Prisoner's Rights

  18 May 2012

“Raul is clearly going to be a thorn in the flesh of any government in power unless passage can be found for him somewhere”: Barbados Free Press expresses concern for Cuban-born prisoner Raul Garcia's safety.

Togo : Presidential Patrimony versus University Facilities

  17 May 2012

Commenting on the declaration of assets of the new French President Francois Hollande, Jeogo  wrote [fr]: “What is certain is that the patrimony of Francois Hollande (..) is no match for the patrimony of the “big shots “of the Togolese Republic (..) yet the crowded university is still without air-conditioned computer rooms; one room...