Washington renewed calls for the release of former US Marine Paul Whelan on the third anniversary of his arrest in Moscow on dubious espionage charges. “ traveled to Russia as a tourist and was imprisoned and sentenced on false charges,” the US State Department said Tuesday. The statement called on the Russian authorities to immediately and unconditionally release Whelan, along [...]

A federal judge in the US District Court for the Southern District of California sentenced John T. Earnest, a California resident, Tuesday to life in prison plus an additional 30-year sentence for opening fire in the Chabad of Poway synagogue and for attempted arson of the Dar-ul-Arqam mosque in 2019. In June, Earnest pleaded guilty [...]

Myanmar law students are reporting for JURIST on challenges to the rule of law in their country under the military junta that deposed the civilian government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February. For privacy and security reasons we are withholding this law student’s name and institutional affiliation. The text has only been lightly edited [...]

Law students and lawyers in Afghanistan are filing reports with JURIST on the situation there after the Taliban takeover. Here, a Staff Correspondent for JURIST in Kabul reports on the restructuring of the Afghan government involving removal or renaming of key bodies such as the Independent Election Commission, and Independent Human Rights Commission. For privacy and [...]

The Russian Supreme Court Tuesday ordered the liquidation of Memorial International, one of Russia’s oldest and most well-respected human rights organizations, which was established in the late 1980s to shine a light on crimes committed by the Soviet regime, including the victims of dictator Josef Stalin’s political purges, as well as World War II-era atrocities. The [...]

A Russian court lengthened the prison sentence of historian and human rights activist Yuri Dmitriev on Monday, according to an official statement. The increase from 13 to 15 years was the latest development in a lengthy legal saga arising from charges widely decried as “spurious” and “politically motivated” efforts by Russian authorities to punish the [...]

Chairperson of the UN Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent Dominique Day called on France Monday to evaluate partnership benefits from working with people of African descent. UN experts visited France to assess issues relating to people of African descent in France and to provide advice on protecting their rights. The experts [...]

The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed a lower court decision Monday approving a class settlement between Google and 18 named plaintiffs involving its “Street View” technology. In a class-action lawsuit on behalf of around 60 million others, the plaintiffs alleged that Google illegally collected personal data, including passwords, videos and photographs, [...]

California’s Department of Fair Employment Housing (DFEH) Monday announced a settlement to resolve allegations of systemic gender discrimination and harassment by Riot Games, a popular game developer and publisher in the US market. In 2018, former employees Melanie McCracken and Jess Negrón filed a class-action lawsuit against the company before the Los Angeles County Superior [...]

The Federal Supreme Court of Iraq Monday ratified October’s parliamentary elections. The ratification comes in the wake of challenges to the results from Shiite political groups. The election took place on October 10, 2021 to determine all 329 members of the Council of Representatives. The results bring a victory for Muqtada al-Sadr’s party. He is [...]