Stories about Law from April, 2006
Law against abusive men
Touched by an Angel talks about a new law in the Philippines that protects women from abusive husbands. The post illustrates a case where the law came to the rescue of the blogger's friend.
Serbia & Montenegro: Kosovar Schoolgirl Battling Dutch Immigration Officials
CafeDA writes about Kosovar schoolgirl Taida Pasic's battle with the Dutch immigration authorities: “Pasic's family fled from Kosovo to the Netherlands when she was 12. The IND decided the family could not stay and they were given money to leave voluntarily. Taida said she returned to complete her schooling in...
DRC: Informal vs. Official World Order
UDPS Liege contrasts (FR) the official world order (UN and other international bodies) to the informal world order (multinational corporations and secret service agencies). According to the informal world order, the DRC is not a sovereign nation, continues the blogger.
Brutal murder of Guyanese government minister sends shockwaves
“The news that the Guyanese Minister of Fisheries, Crops and Livestock, Satyadeow Sawh, was brutally gunned down at his home along with his brother, sister and bodyguard early Saturday morning is sending shockwaves around the Caribbean,” wrote Trinidadian blogger Jonathan Ali on April 23. Jonathan noted that “the Express article...
DRC: convictions for rape
Adventures of an Armchair Traveller reports on the conviction of “seven former Mouvement Pour la liberation du Congo (MLC) (or Armed Forces of the DR Congo (FARDC)) soldiers of the rape of 119 women and girls and other crimes against humanity”
Russia: NGOs Under Attack, Anti-Fascist Killed
Sean Guillory reports on one day's news out of Russia's capital: “Soldiers’ Mothers, HIV/AIDS NGOs Under Attack & Anti-Fascist Murdered in Moscow.”
Moldova: Corrupt Police and Gang Crime
Jessica of Life in Moldova writes about gang crime and the corrupt police in a small town in Moldova.
St. Lucia: Crime on the rise
“The murder rate in Saint Lucia has risen again. One young man has been gun downed at about 5.30pm near the Bexon Bus Stand by what seems to be a known assailant,” writes Eliminator in an alarming account of the country's escalating crime rate and the efforts to halt it.
Russia: Bakhmina's Sentence “Last Drop”
Alex(ei) of The Russian Dilettante's Weblog thinks the seven-year sentence for former Yukos lawyer Svetlana Bakhmina, mother of two, is “the last drop”: “It is now painfully clear that Putin's junta has no problem imprisoning obviously innocent, essentially common people (as opposed to oligarchs) — even women, even mothers —...
Russia: Kalashnikov and Copyright
Charlie Ganske of Russia Blog writes about the popularity of Kalashnikov guns and the disregard for the copyright laws in Russia.
Rep. of Congo: Campaign to Release Two Political Prisoners
At Le Pangolin , Musi Kanda calls (FR) for a letter faxing drive to President Denis Sassou N'Guesso to demand the release of Christian Mounzéo and Brice Mackosso, two human rights activists he says are being detained on fake charges. Mr. Kanda is outraged by the lack of activism on...
Russia: Yukos Lawyer Bakhmina Sentenced
David McDuff of A Step At A Time provides links to the news about Svetlana Bakhmina's sentencing. Bakhmina, 35, used to be a Yukos lawyer and is the mother of two young children. Today, she has received a 7-year prison sentence.
China: Yahoo! implicates writer
Seen on the Chinese Law Prof Blog today is a post on Reporters Without Borders’ announcement of Yahoo!'s role in the persecution and arrest of yet another Chinese internet essayist, Jiang Lijun: “As in the Shi Tao case, the information was apparently provided by a Hong Kong company subject to...
China: Detained blogger missed
Nina, sister of illegally-detained Beijing or Bust blogger Wu Hao, spent the last few hours of his thirty-fourth birthday unable to access the MSN Spaces blog on which she documents the efforts being made to learn of her brother's whereabouts and secure his release. “My little brother also has an...
DRC: Civil Society Criticizes Electoral Process
Congolese civil society (about 2o organizations) issued an indictment of various national and international institutions involved with the electoral process on Monday, writes (FR) Tony Katombe at Le Blog du Congolais. The statement specifically asked the international community to resist imposing an electoral process that might benefit them but harm...
Belarus & Russia: Traffic Police Stories
Due to certain unprofessionalism and corruption in their ranks, traffic police feature prominently in jokes and contemporary urban folklore of the former Soviet states. Below are three actual stories and reactions to them, posted in LiveJournal this month (translated from Russian). *** Minsk, Belarus (April 6, 2006) – This story...
China: Blogger's Congressional support
Illegally-detained Beijing or Bust blogger Wu Hao is a legal permanent resident of the United States. Posted today on his sister Nina's website is a letter sent by Wu's Congressman Jim Gerlach to China's ambassador to the United States, Zhou Wenzhong. “I would greatly appreciate if you would inform me...
China: Imprisoned blogger
April 18 is illegally-detained documentarian and Beijing or Bust blogger Wu Hao's birthday and 56th day in prison. An English translation from the blog of Wu's sister Nina gives us an idea of how his disappearance is affecting the family: “Everyone believes he will be out soon, which is why...
China: Unconstitutional arrests
Richard from The Peking Duck writes with a link and a post on two Chinese journalists arrested within the last year who according to Chinese law are being held illegally. “Hao Wu's sister, blogging about her helplessness in the face of her brother's disappearance into the black hole of Chinese...
Barbados: Say no to Passa Passa
“Passa passa” events, which are also causing a stir in Grenada, have arrived in Barbados as well, according to Barbados Free Press, who notes that the story has also been picked up by Russian news service Pravda. “We must congratulate the Royal Barbados Police Force for moving against this bit...
Bermuda: Legalize it
The Limey is pleased to see that Bermuda's National Drug Control Minister is backing the partial decriminalisation of marijuana.
