A group of five Pennsylvania inmates sued the state’s Department of Corrections and its employees, according to a Tuesday announcement from the Pennsylvania Institutional Law Project. The lawsuit, filed last week, alleges severe mental health consequences stemming from the use of solitary confinement in Pennsylvania prisons. The class action lawsuit, filed in the US District [...]
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Family of EU diplomat detained in Iran pushing for his release
The family of EU Diplomat Johan Floderus continue to push for his release as the Swedish citizen turns 33 in Iranian prison. The family of detained the Swedish native released a statement on Sunday appealing for his release from Iran. He was first arrested on 17 April 2022 at Tehran Airport. Since then, Floderus has [...]
Alexei Navalny sentenced to 19 years on 'extremism'-related charges
Longtime Russian dissident and critic Alexei Navalny was sentenced to an additional 19 years in prison Friday on а number of extremism-related charges after a closed-door hearing. The sentence prompted condemnation from multiple countries, international organizations and human rights groups. Interfax reported that the Moscow City Court convicted Navalny of organizing an extremist community, financing [...]
Kenya dispatch: country reeling from brutal police response to anti-government demonstrations
Aynsley Genga is a JURIST Senior Correspondent in Kenya. She files this dispatch from Nairobi. What exactly is a country? Is a country its people, or is a country its government? Moreover, do the laws of a country exist to serve its citizens or do they exist to serve the whims of its government? And [...]
Russia sentences Navalny ally to 9 years in prison for 'participation in an extremist community'
A Russian court found a supporter of opposition activist Alexey Navalny guilty of “participation in an extremist community” and sentenced him to 9 years in prison on Monday. Vadim Ostanin was a member of Team Navalny, an activist organization associated with the Russian opposition firebrand who is currently serving a lengthy prison sentence. Team Navalny [...]
Canada Supreme Court upholds Safe Third Country Agreement with US
The Supreme Court of Canada ruled unanimously Friday that the country’s Safe Third Country Agreement (SCTA) with the United States is constitutional under section 7 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, rejecting a challenge brought by a group of human rights organizations and refugees who had tried to enter Canada from the US. [...]
Russian human rights group claims 109 arrested during Navalny demonstrations
Russian human and media rights group OVD-Info on Sunday claimed police arrested at least 109 people during demonstrations supporting imprisoned opposition leader, Alexey Navalny. The group stated two journalists are known to be among those detained. The demonstrations in 23 Russian cities was organized by the Anti-Corruption Foundation (AFD) and coincided with Navalny’s birthday. OVD-Info [...]
Saudi Arabian officials announced Monday the execution of two Shi’a Muslim men from Bahrain despite criticism of the men’s trial from Amnesty International. Jaafar Mohammad Sultan and Sadeq Majeed Thamer were accused of allegedly supporting terrorist acts, protesting the government in Bahrain and smuggling explosives over the Saudi-Bahrain border. In a statement to the Saudi [...]
Iran Monday executed two men in Arak Central Prison, following multiple convictions upheld by the country’s Supreme Court. According to the human rights organisation Iran Human Rights, these hangings are the most recent of 42 executions carried out in Iran in the last ten days. Mizan, a state-linked news source for Iran’s judiciary, announced the [...]
Iran Supreme Court upholds death sentence of German-Iranian dissident
The Iranian Supreme Court Wednesday upheld the death sentence of German-Iranian dissident Jamshid Sharmahd. Supreme Court spokesman Masoud Satayshi announced the decision at a press conference, adding that “enforcement actions will be taken subsequently.” Sharmahd was sentenced to death in February for afsad-i fil arz, or “corruption on earth,” which is a broad category of [...]