Stories about Law from August, 2011
India: Corruption Begins At Home
Amidst all the brouhaha about the recent Anti-corruption campaign in India, Vijay Menon points out that it is the ordinary public who encourage corruption one way or another. Vijay asks: “Aren't WE the real problem?”
Nepal: Kathmandu Metropolitan Traffic Police Has A Facebook Page
Nepali Blogger informs that the Kathmandu Metropolitan police department has launched a facebook page, which aims to provide traffic information, related news and updates on Kathamandu’s traffic.
Pakistan: Youth Gets Justice After Video of Extra-Judicial Killing Emerged
On June 8, 2011, a 19 year old boy was shot dead at point blank by a Pakistan Rangers personnel in Karachi. Video footage emerged showing that the boy was unarmed. After two months, the accused Rangers official who fired the shots has been convicted with the death penalty.
Brazil: Loggers Threaten Government Officials in the Amazon
Police officers and officials from the Brazilian government's agencies dedicated to the environment (Ibama) and indigenous rights (Funai) were surrounded and threatened by a group of about 60 loggers in the Amazon forest on August 12. Journalist Leonardo Sakamoto reports [pt] that the loggers wanted to prevent the seizure of...
Russia: Arresting Political Opposition
Vladimir Kara-Murza of Spotlight on Russia argues that Putin's Russia is becoming increasingly Kafkaesque as opposition leader Boris Nemtsov again – twice in two days – has been arrested for exercising political rights and freedoms, at the same time as Prime Minister Putin is seemingly becoming all the more detached...
Ukraine: Closing Window to West
LEvko of Foreign Notes writes about increasing western critique against the trials against former Ukrainian Prime Minister, Yulia Timoshenko, and several of her ex-colleagues, and how this – combinded with corruption and bad business climate – is effectively closing the window to integration with the European Union.
China and Hong Kong: Citizen Arrested for Wearing Political T-Shirt
A Hong Kong man was dragged off and detained yesterday because of the T-shirt he was wearing. The incident happened during a visit to the city by China's future premier Li Keqiang. Today, local bloggers are demanding answers to several questions, starting with concerns over the sanctity of Hong Kong's laws.
Hungary: Hate Crimes and Double Standards
Hungarian Spectrum writes about the Hungarian authorities’ dubious ways of dealing with what by all accounts appear to be hate crimes against the Roma.
Russia: 20 Years Since the Putsch
Putin Watcher writes about the Putsch that dealt “the fatal blow to the Soviet Union” 20 years ago.
Bulgaria: Mapping Crime and Electoral Violations
Bulgarian blogger Boyan Yurukov has set up Bulgaria's first Ushahidi-based site, Crime.bg, whose goal is to collect signals of crimes and irregularities, via the site itself as well as through mobile applications, Twitter and Facebook. On his blog, Yurukov explained the reasons [bg] for creating Crime.bg: “1. People's lack of...
Ukraine: Politics, Economy, Euro 2012 and Relations With the West
At OpenDemocracy.net, Sergei Zhadan writes in depth on how Ukraine's political and economic situation affects the ongoing preparations for the Euro 2012 football championship, which is less than a year away. Earlier this month, Iryna Solonenko and Peter Rutland wrote about Western policy towards Ukraine.
Vietnam: Blogger Pham Minh Hoang Sentenced to 3 Years in Prison
On August 10, 2011, Pham Minh Hoang, a math teacher and political blogger, has been sentenced to 3 years in prison and an additional 3 years of house arrest; he was charged with “attempt to overthrow the [vietnamese] goverment” reports Reporters Without Borders [fr]. Hoang, who has been in pre-trial...
Peru: New Bills for a New Congress
Miguel Morachimo in Blawyer [es] comments on two bills currently being discussed by Peru's new Congress. One is “another attempt to change the Penal Code to establish the dissemination of private conversations through the media as a crime”, and the other seeks to create a “Computer crime law” which adds...
India: RTI and Wildlife Activist Killed in Broad Daylight
Indian Right To Information activist and NGO worker Shehla Masood (39) was shot dead in front of her residence in Bhopal on Tuesday morning. She was also known for campaigning on wildlife conservation. Indian Twitter users react to this tragic death.
Trinidad & Tobago: Meet Morvant
“As a true-blue, third-generation Morvant denizen, I realize that most people know not of the Morvant of which they speak”: Outlish fills us in about life in this Port of Spain suburb, which is all too often stigmatized.
Cuba: Everyday Violence
“We are a society where a blow and a scream have replaced words, let’s admit it and begin to look for solutions for it”: Generation Y blogs about “violence not reflected in the official media.”
Jamaica: No Love for Gays?
“The situation in Jamaica concerning the status and well-being of its homosexual citizens continues to evolve in a one step forward-two steps backward manner”: Active Voice explains.
Russia: New Legislation to Allow “Creative Commons” License
Russian Communication Ministry submitted to President Medvedev a project for legislation update that would allow using “Creative Commons” (CC) copyright license in Russia, newspaper Vedomosti reports [ru]. The project is a follow-up to a meeting between Medvedev and leaders of Russian Internet community [en] where the president promised to support...
Lebanon: Checkpoint Detention
Danielle at This is Beirut writes about her experience during the detention and release of her friend (for a couple of hours) at a security checkpoint, as they were returning to Beirut after a day at a winery in the Bekaa Valley.
Hungary: New Law on Churches and Scientology
Eva S. Balogh of Hungarian Spectrum writes about Hungary's new law on churches – according to which the legal status of a church is to be decided by the parliament – and the alleged role of the Church of Scientology in the adoption of this law.
Cuba: First “Gay” Marriage
This past weekend, a gay man and a trans-sexual woman, got married. In Cuba - on the same day that Fidel Castro turned 85. Bloggers weigh in on the landmark event, including Cuba's most well-known netizen, Yoani Sanchez, who acted as matron of honour.