Stories about Law from December, 2012
Hungarian Protesters Occupy Bridge, Three Students Arrested
Student protest rallies continue in Hungary. On Wednesday night, the protesters occupied a Budapest bridge, and three of them ended up getting arrested.
Tempers Flare As Court Frees Dagestani Boxer Who Killed Russian Teenager
Rasul Mirzaev, a 26-year-old mixed martial arts world champion from Dagestan, is a convicted killer. His victim was a 19-year-old Russian man, Ivan Agafonov, whom he murdered in a scuffle outside a nightclub in August 2011. On November 27, 2012, a Moscow court let him walk free, after a little more than a year in custody. The RuNet has responded with often vehement emotion.
Caribbean: What Happened in 2012 (Part 2)
The first part of this post observed that in the Caribbean blogosphere, the year was punctuated by hunger strikes - the first in Cuba and the second in Trinidad and Tobago. Part 2 of the regional blogosphere's 2012 summary recalls other issues that got Caribbean netizens talking - from the Olympics to the need for greater political transparency…
Macedonia Fails to Honor Victims of 1911 Terror Campaign
GV Author Filip Stojanovski blogs about Macedonia's failure to properly commemorate the victims of “the so-called ‘Donkey Assassinations'” that took place in the city of Štip in 1911: […] Several months ago, several right-wing political parties including the ruling party running the Government of RM paid respects to the organizer...
Reflections on the Croatian Generals’ Acquittal
Alan Jaksic of Balkan Anarchist posts a follow-up to his initial comments on the Nov. 16 reversal of the convictions of the Croatian generals Ante Gotovina and Mladen Markač: […] So do I still consider last month’s acquittal at the Hague a “disgraceful acquittal”, an “outrage” and an “insult to...
Caribbean: What Happened in 2012 (Part 1)
This year, events in the regional blogosphere were curiously bookended by hunger strikes. Part 1 of this 2012 recap takes a look at the topics that most shaped online discussion in the Bahamian, Cuban and French-speaking Caribbean blogospheres.
Hungarian Students Call for Nationwide Strike
Hungarian high school and college students, who are demanding that the government set university admission quotas to a reasonable level and help those from lower income households to access higher education, are calling for a nationwide strike on Wednesday.
Delhi Gang Rape Case Evokes Rage Across India
A recent gang-rape of a 23 year-old woman on a Delhi bus has stirred shock and outrage in India. This incident has raised a lot of questions regarding public safety in the Indian capital and criticized the approach of the society towards taboo subjects such as sex and rape.
Infographic: Ten Ways of Torture in China's Black Jail
Tencent News recently published an infographic introducing how prisoners have been tortured in the black jail in Chongqing, China. The black jail was set up by Bo Xilai and the controversial infographic triggered many comments from netizens. Offbeat China provides more details with the translation of the inforgraphic.
International Crimes Tribunals Bangladesh: Justice In Perspective
E-Bangladesh reports on a discussion and presentation programme on the ongoing International Crimes Tribunal in Bangladesh which took place in London, UK recently. The event highlighted different aspects of the justice process and the historical background and a Q & A session aimed at dispelling confusions and providing clarifications.
In Egypt, the Silent Majority is Still Silent
Egyptians went to the polls to vote on a new constitution, being pushed for and supported by president Mohamed Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood Freedom and Justice Party. The first round shows that about 57 per cent of the voters are in support of the constitution, despite concerns from civil society and the opposition that the new constitution, shaped by Islamists, aims to limit freedoms, cement the role of the military, and the further the Islamisation of Egypt. The second round of this two-stage referendum takes place on Saturday.
Chinese Youth Association of France Sues Magazine for Racial Defamation
We are flabbergasted that the (French magazine) Le Point would stigmatize in such manner a category of the French population in the article “The intriguing success of Chinese people in France” [..] No, not all Chinese Frenchmen are criminals. No, not all Chinese Frenchwomen are prostitutes. They are french citizens like any other citizens. The Chinese Youth...
Hungarian Blogger Leaks Secret Video on Illegal Voter Database
Gery Greyhound published a documentary [hu] on his Tumblr blog, about the ‘making of’ an illegal voter database in Pécs in 2009, when the city held a mid-term mayoral election. A similar leak took place in 2010, when a voice recording of Fidesz party director Gábor Kubatov was published online, revealing that the party had a registry of...
“Kosovo 2.0 Talks Sex” Launch Party Cancelled Due to Attack
Kosovo 2.0 was planning to launch its new print issue at the "Kosovo 2.0 Talks Sex" event, on Dec. 14. However, shortly before the launch party started, a group of approximately 20 men entered the Pristina venue, destroyed the stage and beat up one of the employees. The event was cancelled. Elena Ignatova reports.
Election Laws Hinder Japan's Political Online Activity
While Japanese citizens enjoy considerable Internet freedom, in times of election, things are little different due to Public Offices Election Act that restricts publication of political messages.
Saudi Judge: Bashar al-Assad is the Outcome of Democracy
The ninth hearing session of one of Saudi Arabia's rare public trials of two prominent human rights activists Mohammad Al-Qahtani and Abdullah Al-Hamid was held today [Dec 15, 2012] at the Riyadh Criminal Court. In the last hearing session, the defendants presented their defenses, and today, the defendants provided additional clarifications and they were questioned by the judge.
Students Rally All Over Hungary to Save Tuition-Free Education
In Hungary, the once free-for-all education system has always been a subject of heated debates. This week, the debates have grown into student protests that are taking place all over the country.
Kuku's Case Reignites Racism Debate in Portugal
The recent acquittal of a police agent who shot and killed a 14-year-old boy named Kuku in a neighborhood of the outskirts of Lisbon in 2009 reignited the debate about racism and marginalized communities in Portugal, as well as multiplied the number of social media commentary repudiating the Portuguese judicial system.
Does Peru have Internet Freedom?
It is increasingly common to hear that a particular country is considering or actually enacting some type of law that would affect Internet freedom. Peru is not immune to this. We discussed the topic with Miguel Morachimo of Blawyer (a law and technology blog in Peru), and we reviewed what some other bloggers have said about Internet freedom.
Russian Web Censorship Got You Down? Fight It With “Counter-Absurdity”!
It has now been more than a month since the blacklist of the Russian Internet went live. One Russian ISP has decided to have its own say in the matter.
India: The Menace Of Eve-Teasing
Main Toki at The Broken Scooter highlights the challenges to tackle Eve-teasing, sexual harassment of women in public places. In India the law exists but it does not define eve-teasing in proper terms and the fines are negligible.