Stories about Law from April, 2011
Cuba: Fonseca Released
“The publicity on Facebook, Twitter and blogs only intensified…”: Uncommon Sense says that the release of Cuban human rights activist Sara Martha Fonseca “is a victory for freedom.”
China: The Murder Case of Yao Jiaxin
Over the past few months, the cold-blooded murder of a young woman, Zhang Miao, by affluent music student Yao Jiaxin, has been the most heated topic on the Chinese Internet. On the eve of the verdict in the murder trial, propaganda authorities have demanded that all media outlets use the Xinhua report as their only news source, as well as to monitor all related online discussions.
Russia: Penza Prosecutor's Office Investigates Anti-Semitic Comments
The prosecutor's office of Penza region started to check anti-Semitic comments and pictures that had appeared on Penza information portal pnz.ru. After the evaluation of the material, the prosecutor's office will decide on the possibility of a criminal case.
Russia: Migration Service Official's Racist Comments
At GlobalPost, Miriam Elder writes about the spokesman of Russia's Federal Migration Service, who was “fired after telling the BBC that migrants posed a challenge to the purity of the ‘white race’.”
Lebanon: Seven Estonian Hostages Appeal for Help
On March 25, Estonian YouTube user HelensVlogs reported on the kidnapping of seven Estonian tourists two days earlier, as they were cycling in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley. On April 20, the seven hostages appeared in this video, pleading for help. (More info, on BBC News – here and here.)
Cuba: The More Things “Change”
Uncommon Sense finds recent announcements about reform in Cuba ironic in the context of developments like these.
Estonia: Security police report hits documentary filmer
Gedanken über Estland reports [GER] that the Estonian documentary filmer, Oleg Besedin, is accused of anti-Estonian propaganda in the 2010 annual report of Estonia's security police, KaPo.
Belarus: Human Rights defenders arrested after Minsk bomb
LJ user anei_aka_kirian reports [RU] that authorities in Belarus have arrested a number of human rights defenders, among others prominent activist Pavel Levinov, accused of involvement in the recent bombing of a Minsk metro station.
Ukraine: “Crumbs From the Table”
Foreign Notes reports that a Ukrainian MP Rinat Akhmetov has bought a penthouse in London for £136 million ($222 million), and intends to donate $1 million for the construction of the new containment structure at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant; Akhmetov's fellow Party of Regions MP Mykola Lisin died in...
Hungary: More on the New Constitution
More on the new Hungarian constitution – at Hungarian Spectrum and Hungarian Watch.
Trinidad & Tobago: Problem or Solution?
When it comes to the country's social ills, aka_lol says: “An uncaring person is uncaring 24-7 and no amount of phony foreign accents, flowing local dialect, paper degrees, high or low society standing and police friends can make them anything but some of the scum that is helping to run...
Jamaica: Patwa
Jamaica Woman Tongue says that although “the Jamaican Constitution covertly acknowledges the fact that ‘patwa’ is, indeed, a national language…there are no ‘fair trial’ and ‘due process’ provisions in civil cases for citizens who speak only Jamaican.”
Russia: Pullitzer prize for corruption coverage
Putin Watcher draws attention to two New York Times journalists winning the Pullitzer Prize for their coverage of Russian state corruption.
Russia: Restricting racism
Sean's Russia Blog writes about increasing government intolerance with Russia's racist movements, signified by a court ruling to outlaw an organization against illegal immigration.
Chile: Bill Seeks to Move Bicyclists off Roads and onto Sidewalks
Blogger Setty criticizes a bill that, “tries to ban cycling on the street, putting the city’s booming cyclist population onto the sidewalk.”
Ukraine: Kyiv Post Editorial Staff on Strike
Democratist writes about the situation with Kyiv Post, an English-language newspaper whose staff went on strike last week to protest the publisher's decision to fire the editor-in-chief over the publication of an interview with the Ukrainian minister of agriculture.
Bangladesh: Communal Attacks On Indigenous People
Unheard Voice blog is reporting that tension is running high in the Chittagong Hill tracts of Bangladesh as Bengali settlers attacked Jumma People with the direct support of security forces.
China: Sunday Night Political Chat
Chinese academic and Internet celebrity Yu Jianrong found time during a recent visit to the United States to talk about China's current political climate amid the long string of recent arrests, and the country's future direction, bringing the discussion onto his microblog account late Sunday night.
India: Social Media Powers Anti Corruption Bill Campaign
On April 5, 2011, social activist Anna Hazare started a fast-unto-death campaign to demand an effective anti-corruption law and hundreds of thousands of Indians supported him. Social media helped spread the campaign of Anna Hazare; netizens analyze why the campaign will never tip into a social movement.
South Asia: Reactions On The Burqa Ban In France
The recent ban imposed by France on burqa (niqab), the Islamic face veil, has created a lot of buzz across the different blogosphere of the world. Some South Asian bloggers are discussing this issue.
Ukraine: UkrTelecom's “Shady” Privatisation
Foreign Notes writes – here, here, and here – on last month's sale of “a 92.79 percent stake in Ukraine's telecom monopoly, Ukrtelecom” – apparently, Ukraine's yet “another shady privatisation” deal.
