A spokesperson for the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said Friday that they are concerned over Montenegro’s sentencing of investigative journalist Jovo Martinović. Martinović was sentenced to 18 months in prison on charges of drug smuggling and membership in a criminal organization, what the OHCHR believes were likely “politically motivated as credible [...]
Virginia’s state senate passed a bill on Thursday by a vote of 23-17 that prohibits the state from sentencing defendants with severe mental illness to death. The bill defines “severe mental illness” as the “exhibition of active psychotic symptoms that substantially impair a person’s capacity to (i) appreciate the nature, consequences, or wrongfulness of the person’s conduct; (ii) exercise [...]
Ethiopia’s House of Peoples’ Representatives passed a law on Thursday that will grant expansive rights to the nation’s refugee population. These rights include the right to “obtain work permits, access primary education, obtain drivers’ licenses, legally register life events such as births and marriages and open up access to national financial services, such as banking.” Ethiopia [...]
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, on Thursday asked the government of Sudan to protect its people’s rights to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression. Since mid-December 2018, demonstrations have been taking place in multiple cities across Sudan. As of January 6th, 816 people have been arrested, including “journalists, opposition leaders, protestors [...]
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) on Thursday filed a lawsuit against seven federal agencies, intending to obtain information on how the government surveils social media. The suit seeks to compel the agencies to turn over documents related to communications with social media platforms and the guidelines they use. The suit accuses the agencies of [...]
The Supreme Court of India on Thursday upheld the constitutional validity of a law imposing restrictions on the licensing and functioning of dance bars in the state of Maharashtra and its capital Mumbai. At the same, it struck down certain provisions of the law that it deemed unconstitutional and unreasonable. Dance bars have been at [...]
The mother of a British Islamic State (IS) member suspected of murdering hostages in Syria lost her challenge on Friday that it was illegal for the UK to assist on a US investigation which could lead to her son facing the death penalty. Her son, El Shafee Elsheikh, is one of two UK citizens being [...]
A judge for the US District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin on Thursday blocked a Wisconsin law that would place limitations on early voting, finding the “challenged provisions … clearly inconsistent with the injunctions” issued in 2016 regarding similar restrictive voting laws. Wisconsin Act 369 was enacted by the legislature in December, allegedly [...]
US President Donald Trump signed the Nuclear Energy Innovation and Modernization Act into law Monday, intended to encourage innovation in advanced nuclear power plant designs. The act requires several changes to the licensing process for nuclear reactors. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) will have 270 days to develop and implement a staged licensing process for [...]
Atlas Brew Works filed a lawsuit in DC District Court Thursday claiming that its inability to sell beer due to the partial government shutdown is a violation of its First Amendment rights. The brewery is unable to sell kegs of its apricot flavored India Pale Ale named “The Precious One” because of the federal government [...]
