Belarusian law students enrolled at European Humanities University are filing reports with JURIST on current circumstances in Belarus under the constitutionally-disputed presidency of Alexander Lukashenka. Katsiaryna Vasilionak files this dispatch from Vilnius, Lithuania. A decree on passports that came into effect late last year has effectively stranded tens of thousands of Belarusians living abroad who [...]
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2023 CPJ prison census shows incarceration of journalists near record high
The Committee to Protect Journalists’ (CPJ) 2023 prison census shows near-record levels of journalist imprisonment, with Israel jumping from being tied at 24th place to ranking at sixth place amongst the world’s leading jailers of journalists. The census revealed the top five jailers of journalists as China, Myanmar, Belarus, Russia and Vietnam, respectively. Israel’s journalist [...]
Belarus refuses to invite OSCE observers to its upcoming election
Belarus’s permanent representative to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Andrei Dapkiunas announced on Monday that Belarus would refrain from inviting observers from the OSCE to monitor the country’s upcoming parliamentary election. The election is currently scheduled for February 25. Dapkiunas explained that the decision has been taken due to certain geographical and [...]
Belarus president enacts stricter presidential candidate criteria and presidential immunity
The President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko assented on Wednesday to comprehensive amendments to the law “On the President of the Republic of Belarus,” which tightened the requirements for a presidential candidate within the country. Under the amended law, only a person aged 40 years or older, who is a citizen of the Republic of Belarus by [...]
45 journalists killed in 2023, marking lowest toll since 2002: RSF report
In its annual report, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) revealed that 45 journalists were killed in line with their work in 2023, marking the lowest total since 2002. The report also revealed that 54 journalists were held hostage, 84 remain missing and 521 are currently detained. The report identified varying trends contributing to these numbers, such [...]
Time is of the essence when it comes to creating a court or tribunal dedicated to adjudicating Russian aggression against Ukraine. And while much consideration has already been given to the creation of a UN General Assembly-backed tribunal, the preferred option in my opinion, I would suggest the time has come to expand our consideration [...]
UK, US and Canada sanction individuals and entities for human rights abuse
The UK, the US and Canada announced coordinated sanctions on Friday against individuals and entities linked to human rights abuse, approaching the 75th anniversary of the ratification of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The UK has imposed 46 sanctions of asset freezes and travel bans. The first category of these focuses mainly on forced labour [...]
Baroness Helena Kennedy of the Shaws, KC, is one of the UK’s most established lawyers, a bencher at Gray’s Inn and a member of the House of Lords. Kennedy is also a broadcaster, journalist and lecturer. She has not only acted in many of the most prominent cases of the last decade but has promoted civil [...]
Yale report: Belarus and Russia collaborate in systematic deportation of Ukrainian children
The Yale School of Public Health’s Humanitarian Research Lab released a report detailing alleged collaboration between Belarus and Russia in the systematic deportation of Ukrainian children on Thursday. The 66-page report, titled “Belarus’ Collaboration with Russia in the Systematic Deportation of Ukraine’s Children,” analyzes open source information to establish key details regarding the removals. It [...]
Facing Trump II: America's Urgent Obligation to Rethink Nuclear Command Authority
“The man who laughs has simply not yet heard the horrible news.” Berthold Brecht An Existential Task Until the end of his presidency – and even after his open complicity in subverting the United States Constitution on January 6, 2021 – Donald J. Trump held effectively unchecked nuclear command authority. Now, after multiple criminal [...]