Stories about Law from February, 2017
Police in Hong Kong Want It to Be Illegal to Insult Them
A crowd of more than 30,000 people gathered in Hong Kong this week to protest a prison sentence handed down to seven police officers convicted of assaulting a protester.
Privacy Is Hard to Protect in Tunisia, Thanks to Politics
Almost six years after the regime's ousting, and despite having a constitution that grants all citizens the right to privacy, Tunisia's privacy law still do not meet international standards.
Hong Kong Police and Pro-Beijing Groups Protest After Court Convicts Officers of Assaulting Activist
"Police misconduct is not frightening as these are single cases. What's frightening is police wrongdoing can be justified by politics."
Twitter Walks a Fine Line in Russia
Why does Twitter comply with Kremlin requests to censor Tweets inside Russia? It's complicated.
Thousands Joined ‘Walk for Life’ to Protest Extrajudicial Killings and Revival of Death Penalty in the Philippines
"If the response to violence is also violence, we double the violence. We should match it with non-violence."
Islamist Groups Demand Removal of Sculpture in Front of Supreme Court in Bangladesh
Authorities have less than a week to respond to a request that top officials and social media users alike are arguing is unreasonable.
Uproar After a Syrian Judge Says Taking a Second Wife Could Fix ‘Spinsterhood’
"[The decreasing number of men] exacerbates the problem and negatively affects young women and families, given the social norms that stigmatize unmarried women, divorcees, or even widows."
Award-Winning Hong Kong Political Cartoonist Refuses Self-Censorship
"You speculate that the government may sue the publisher, and so decide to censor the work. The whole incident goes against my principles."
‘Graduations from Hell': A Documentary on the Mexican Prison System Crisis
"...a small fraction of all the corruption there is in our rotten prison system."
Marcus Garvey and President Obama's Missed Opportunity
By refusing to pardon or highlight the accomplishments of Marcus Garvey during his tenure, President Obama missed the opportunity for "honest discussion about race and the erasure of black heroes."
Palestinian Authority Bans Novel for ‘Threatening Morality and Public Decency’
The Palestinian Authority's decision to ban a novel is being met with a lot of resistance.
Bulgaria's New President Vetoes Law That Would Have ‘Opened a Door to Corruption’
"The extension of the time limit to indefinite is a way to privatize services, rights and functions, which society guarantees to its citizens and therefore they are not for sale!"
Russian Censor's Warning to Radio Station Raises Alarm, Briefly
Alarm about another crackdown on Russian media spread quickly—and briefly—yesterday, when news broke that the state media censor had warned radio station Ekho Moskvy that it could be shut down.
Thai Media Groups Say Proposed Law Could Bring Total Government Control of the Press
"Government presence on a press panel and licensing of journalists are never part of a free press."
Ukrainian Anti-Corruption Watchdog Catches MPs Casting Multiple Votes, Again
Knopkodavstvo, or button pushing, as the tactic is known, has plagued voting in Ukraine's parliament for years.
Fighting the Good Fight: Immigration Advocates Challenge Trump's Executive Order
In airports and law offices around the United States, legal advocates and grassroots activists have found common ground in the fight against President Trump's Executive Order on Immigration.
Protesters Say Jordanian Law Encourages ‘Honour Killings’ and Must Be Changed
"There are women that are being killed without doing anything wrong, and people are using this law to justify the killing these women."
Chinese Say Authorities Are Going After the Little Guy With Curbs on Foreign Exchange
"It seems more useful to crack down on underground banks and illegal channels than to just control ordinary people’s money."
Trinidad & Tobago's Prime Minister Says Women Should Choose Their Men More Wisely to Avoid Violence
"As per our usual culture. Let's victim-blame, right? She should've chose[n] better? How about he should've been brought up better?"
‘Tambourine Army’ Gathers Recruits as Jamaicans’ Anger Over Child Sexual Abuse Grows
"I want a different kind of Jamaica for women and girls. And I hope the #TambourineArmy will create that different Jamaica that is needed."
Ukrainian Social Media Users Get Five Years in Prison For ‘Supporting Separatism’
The two men were sentenced to five years in prison by a Sloviansk city court for threatening the territorial integrity of Ukraine.