Stories about Law from April, 2009
Russia: Teen Curfew; Police Officer's Shooting Spree
President Dmitry Medvedev approved changes to children's rights law, allowing regional authorities to bar unaccompanied minors under the age of 18 from public places from 10 PM to 6 AM. Below are some reactions from the Russian blogosphere, including a few mentions of Denis Yevsyukov, a Moscow police officer who shot three people to death and wounded six at a supermarket on the day he turned 32.
Sri Lanka: Living In Fear
Indi.ca sheds a light on the lives of Tamils in Colombo as some of them are living in fear of being arrested for questioning without prior charges. The bloggers comments: “Perhaps this is necessary in the short-term (this being my lifetime) but it’s important to remember that this is a...
Hong Kong: SexyPhotoGate uploader sentenced
Just over a year since photos of Edison Chen in bed with his Hong Kong celebrity friends appeared online, computer technician Sze Ho-chun has been found guilty of uploading the 1,300 images, blogs an anonymous The Dark Side blogger.
Syria: Reactions to the Hariri Tribunal
The UN's Special Tribunal for Lebanon today ordered the release of all four suspects in the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri on February 14th, 2005, in Beirut. Syria was largely blamed for the attack, and that caused the deterioration of its relations with the West, including the Bush Administration's recall of the American Ambassador to Damascus. Anas Qtiesh rounds up reactions from Syrian bloggers in this post.
Jamaica: Career Crime?
“In times of economic downturn, crime pays”: Jamaica Salt is saddened that “more and more Jamaicans are taking up robbery as a professional career.”
Hungary, Bolivia: Eduardo Rózsa-Flores
Hungarian Spectrum writes about Eduardo Rózsa-Flores and the alleged plot to kill Bolivia's president – here, here, and here. (An earlier GV post on Rózsa-Flores, by Eduardo Avila, is here.)
Trinidad & Tobago: What's Happening?
Trinidad diaspora blogger Jumbie's Watch is not pleased with recent developments in his home country: “Have criminals become so hardened that they wage war on children now?”
Central & Eastern Europe: Racism Roundup
The beatroot writes about Poland's boycott of the UN conference on fighting racism; Hungarian Spectrum writes about the Hungarian Guard and Holocaust denial; coverage of Slovenia's neo-Nazis – here and here, by Sleeping With Pengovsky, as well as here, by Piran Cafe; Borut Peterlin posts photos from an anti-fascist rally...
Russia: Sochi Election
Sean's Russia Blog writes about the results of the Sochi mayoral election.
Brazil: Fly me to the moon with public money
Another scandal has taken the Brazilian blogosphere by storm – it has come to light that public money is being used to fund holidays abroad for parliament members and their family, friends and acquaintances. As bloggers report, it seems that an even bigger scheme to resell unused air ticket is to be exposed.
Pakistan: Death Penalty Mandatory for Blasphemy
KO blog reports that according to a new law in Pakistan penal code, death penalty is now mandatory for blasphemy convicts.
Kenya: Biggest ivory seizure in recent times
Paul writes about the biggest ivory seizure in recent times in Kenya. The seizure was made possible by game scouts.
Indian Elections '09: On the Black Money trail
Black money stashed away in overseas tax havens/secret Swiss bank accounts - is not a new topic in India. However, the very same topic is generating quite a bit of heat in the ongoing parliamentary Elections in India. The Indian blogosphere weighs on the issue.
China: Who is Siemen's Man in China?
Tword last week that a ban had been sent down on any reporting of the Siemens bribery case led netizens to realize that the case involves someone in China, and the growing [zh] consensus seems to rest on Jiang Zemin's son, Jiang Mianheng. ProPublica is still looking to name names.
Russia: Sochi Mayoral Election
James writes this about the mayoral election in Sochi at Robert Amsterdam's blog: “It can be tough work to continue coming up with new ways to fake the democratic process … after a while, the voters seem to wonder ‘why bother?'” Russia! reports on the detention of journalist Keith Gessen...
Brunei: Child-safety laws
Rogue Economist from Brunei notes that laws on child-seat and safety belts are not properly observed and implemented.
Brazil: Judges quarrel live on TV and scandalize the country
The live broadcast of a fight between two judges of the Brazilian Supreme Court (STF) has scandalized Brazilians and excited the blogosphere and social networks across the country.
Russia: Union of Repressed Peoples
Window on Eurasia reports that “six of the more than a dozen nations Stalin deported during World War II – the Kalmyks, the Chechens, the Ingush, the Balkars, the Karachays, and the Volga Germans — have formed a Union of Repressed Peoples to demand an apology from Moscow and the...
Poland: Banning “Offensive Symbols”?
The beatroot writes about the government's proposal “to make all images that promote dictatorship, communism or fascism illegal from public display.”
Cambodia: Doubts over the Khmer Rouge Tribunal
The Khmer Rouge Tribunal is now weeks into its first trial with the prosecution of Duch for crimes against humanity and war crimes. But as the trial continues, many wonder how effective the Tribunal will be in achieving national reconciliation in Cambodia.
Guyana, Trinidad & Tobago: Summit Summary
GuyToons, a Guyanese cartoon blog, posts a series of funnies on the recently-concluded Summit of the Americas, while Trinbago Forever waits to see what benefits will be derived from the Summit and Mauvais Langue adds: “Instead of wasteful spending, use the money wisely and spend it to fight crime.”
