Stories about Law from April, 2009
Guyana: Minor Charged
Guyanese bloggers Imran Khan and Live in Guyana take notice of a case in which a minor allegedly stabbed and killed her “stepfather”.
Barbados: Waiting on the Verdict
AfriKa CRY BLOOD is very interested in the outcome of the inquest into the death of Barbadian I’Akobi Maloney – the verdict will be given today.
Maldives: The Benefits Of Not Joining ILO
Abdullah Waheed explains why Maldives did not join ILO all these years.
Jamaica: Wasn't Me
Girl With a Purpose learns that as investigations are launched into the security breach at the Jamaican airport which resulted in a (now resolved) hostage situation, “the persons in charge of security at the airport (MBJ Airports Limited) are telling us – it wasn't them…”
Brazil: Judicial decisions, a growing threat to online freedom
When it comes to freedom on the Internet, Brazil is a free country according to recent report. However, bloggers face a growing threat from judicial decisions leading to content censorship and the risk of prosecution for libel and defamation. News of blogs being closed down, bloggers having to delete posts or receiving threats abound, appearing on a near monthly basis.
Morocco: Media on Trial
‘The Committee to Protect Journalists is reporting that Ali Anouzla and Jamal Boudouma, managing editor and publishing director of the Moroccan newspaper Al-Jarida Al-Oula, have received suspended jail sentences and large fines for “defamation” and “insulting the judiciary,”’ reports Moroccan blogger Laila Lalami.
Barbados: Maloney Inquest Verdict
Barbados Free Press blogs about the upcoming inquest verdict on the death of I’Akobi Maloney, saying: “No matter what the findings of the coroner, the big losers in this inquest are every officer of the Royal Barbados Police Force.”
Estonia: “The Fog of Cyberwar”
IZO links to the Guardian piece on “NATO's cyber-defence headquarters in Estonia.” Evgeny Morozov links to his own piece on it on Newsweek.com.
Bosnia & Herzegovina: Genocide Prevention Month Commemorations
Srebrenica Genocide Blog writes about the Genocide Prevention Month commemorations in Sarajevo – here and here.
Bosnia & Herzegovina: Intermarriage
Gray Falcon writes about intermarriage in Bosnia & Herzegovina.
Haiti: Senate Elections
Alice Smeets posts a series of photographs of Haiti's senatorial elections this past weekend, while My Life, an Open Book… says: “It turned out to be a terrible election…not because people were killed, but because the voice of the people was not heard.”
Jamaica: Ripple Effect
Life, Unscripted, on the Rock, has more questions than answers about the recently-resolved hostage situation at a Jamaican airport.
Russia: Bakhmina's Parole; Khodorkovsky's ‘Not Guilty’ Plea
Former Yukos lawyer Svetlana Bakhmina has been granted parole today, while former Yukos CEO Mikhail Khodorkovsky has pleaded not guilty before court, Robert Amsterdam's Blog reports.
China: Free Wu Baoquan
A netizen has been sentenced to 2 year imprisonment for criticizing Ordos city government (in Inner Mongolia) for illegal land requisition. Spontaneous Online campaign calling for justice to Wu has been harmonized. (more in GVA).
Indian Elections 2009: Villains And Votes
If elections are to be described as a process to elect better leaders for the country, the ongoing elections in India are of a very different variety. A number of convicted felons, gang members with long criminal history and leaders accused of violent crime (murder, attempted murder, armed robbery) - villains in every sense are going to the people asking for their vote.
Bhutan: Don't Ban Nano!
Dipika, a Bhutanese journalist who blogs at On The Job, criticizes the recent debate in Bhutan on whether the $2500 car Tata Nano should be banned.
Jamaica: Hostages Released
Breaking news in Jamaica this morning is that a hostage situation has developed with the crew of a Canadian jet at Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay. Canadian mainstream media is since reporting that the situation was resolved without any loss of life when "an anti-terrorism unit of the Jamaican military stormed the plane and disarmed the gunman", but bloggers Caribbean-wide and throughout the diaspora are still in disbelief.
Jamaica: Perspective on Pirates
Jamaica-based blogger Annie Paul happened to be reading a manuscript about pirates at a time when “the pirates of Somalia were rousing international consternation by capturing a US ship and holding its crew hostage” – and she shares an alternative perspective on this age-old profession.
Moldova: “Making Sense of Recent Events”
Below is a follow-up to the three earlier GV posts on the blog coverage of the protests and rioting in Chisinau, Moldova, that followed the April 5 election.
Korea: Is teachers’ physical punishment toward students a crime?
A second grade student at a primary school was struck 27 times by her teacher because she gave the wrong answer to a math question. After her mother put a photo of her daughter’s bottom with bruises on the internet, parents’ associations and other netizens criticized the teacher’s behavior. In...
Azerbaijan: Youth activist expelled from university
According to information spread by the Dalga Youth Movement, Parviz Azimov, the head of its Southern Regional Office, has been expelled from university. Both inside and outside Azerbaijan, bloggers are concerned by the action taken against the student activist.
