Amnesty International and Justice Project Pakistan (JPP) shared concerns Tuesday on overcrowded Pakistani prisons amid the COVID-19 outbreak. The report specifically mentioned a prisoner that tested positive for COVID-19 after being arrested in Italy. Italy deported the prisoner to Pakistan, and Pakistan placed the prisoner among 3,500 uninfected inmates in a jail barracks. Authorities eventually [...]
UN Secretary-General António Guterres called Monday for “an immediate global ceasefire in all corners of the world.” The stark language comes in response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, which has dramatically altered life in nations the world over, including many engaged in ongoing armed conflicts. The UN leader characterized the virus as a problem faced [...]
The Israeli Supreme Court on Sunday intervened against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s alleged attempt to seize power under the guise of combating COVID-19. The Supreme Court ordered Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein to put forth a motion in Parliament. Edelstein refused to hold a vote because it would likely lead to his removal and lead to [...]
Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf issued stay-at-home order for six counties on Monday in response to COVID-19. The order began Monday at 8 PM and will continue until April 6, 2020. The six counties affected are Allegheny, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Monroe, Montgomery and Philadelphia. “To protect the public from the spread of … COVID-19[], it is [...]
Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India on Tuesday announced announced “a total ban of coming out of your homes” for the nation of 1.3 billion. The ban follows several similar bans adopted by Indian states and arrives as the country confirms more than 500 cases of COVID-19 as well as 10 deaths. The ban will [...]
Colorado Governor Jared Polis signed a bill on Monday to repeal the death penalty in the state for any defendant convicted of a Class 1 felony. The bill will take effect for anyone convicted after July 1, 2020. While the bill itself did not commute the sentences of the three men serving death sentences at [...]
The US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit ruled Monday that the Fourth Amendment does not bar an officer from stopping a vehicle to investigate a criminal misdemeanor that has already occurred. The case arose when police officers stopped Jermaine Jones’ vehicle to investigate allegations that he committed fourth-degree assault, a misdemeanor in Kentucky. The [...]
The Trump administration announced Monday that Migrant Protection Protocol asylum hearings scheduled through April 22 will be postponed due to COVID-19. The joint statement between the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Justice Department’s Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) calls on those with hearings to present at their port of entry on their [...]
Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Monday called on Cambodian authorities to stop arresting people for expressing concerns about COVID-19’s impact in Cambodia and claiming they are spreading “fake news.” Phil Robertson, HRW Deputy Asia Director, said that the Cambodian government is misusing the COVID-19 outbreak to lock up opposition activists and others expressing concern about [...]
The US Supreme Court ruled Monday in Guerrero-Lasprilla v. Barr that a request for equitable tolling of a deadline to file a statutory motion to reopen deportation cases is a question of law, which can be reviewed by the courts. Courts can review a request for an appeal of an immigration matter despite a statute [...]
