Russia charges former US consulate contractor with high treason
The Federal Security Service (FSB) of the Russian Federation announced a high treason charge on Monday against Robert Shonov, a former US consulate contract employee in Moscow. High treason carries a possible sentence of 12 to 20 years’ imprisonment. The charge falls under Article 275 of Russia’s Criminal Code. The code forbids Russian citizens from [...]
Yevgeny Prigozhin, leader of powerful Russian mercenary group Wagner, died in a plane crash on Wednesday, alongside the group’s alleged founder Dmitry Utkin. “The Wagner leadership has confirmed the deaths of Prigozhin and Utkin,” according to the Wagner Group Telegram channel, which for several hours prior had urged the public to “not panic” as rumors [...]
ECOWAS rejects Niger junta proposal to hold elections within three years
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) signaled on Monday that it had rejected a proposal by Niger’s military junta to hold elections within three years, raising the political tensions which have lingered since the country’s July coup. A delegation from ECOWAS, West Africa’s main regional bloc, arrived Saturday in Niamey to discuss diplomatic paths [...]
Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs Mélanie Joly Friday declared new sanctions against 15 Russian individuals and three entities following human rights violations and state-sponsored violence faced by political opponents and critics in Russia. The new sanctions aim to supplement the previous sanctions by expanding the list of restricted individuals and entities. Canada has previously imposed [...]
UN human rights chief raises concern over treason charges against Niger president
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk raised concerns on Friday about the Nigerien military junta’s decision to prosecute President Mohamed Bazoum and others working with him for high treason. Türk expressed worries for people in Niger, calling on the generals who seized power in July to immediately restore constitutional order and democracy. According to [...]
Pakistan dispatch: corruption verdict against ex-PM Imran Khan may end his political career
Law students and law graduates in Pakistan are reporting for JURIST on events in that country impacting its legal system. Rabia Shuja holds an LLM in International Human Rights Law from Griffith College, Dublin and is Chief Correspondent for JURIST in Pakistan. She reports from Islamabad. This past Saturday, Pakistan’s former Prime Minister and Pakistan [...]
The UK Government announced Monday that it has sanctioned six people involved in Russia’s sentencing of dual British-Russian national Vladimir Kara-Murza after his appeal was rejected. The government sanctioned three judges, two prosecutors and an “expert witness” over what it has called “politically motivated targeting.” Those sanctioned include: Moscow City Court Judges Vitaly Alexsandrovich Belitsky and [...]
The Moscow City Court sentenced Ilya Sachkov, a prominent cybersecurity executive, to 14 years in jail Wednesday on charges of treason, following his conviction under Article 275 of Russia’s Criminal Code. The verdict came shortly after the state prosecutor urged the court to impose an 18-year sentence. Sachkov was arrested in 2021 by Russia’s Federal [...]
Ghana’s Parliament voted Tuesday to amend the country’s Criminal Offences Act to replace the death penalty with life imprisonment. The vote came after Minister of Parliament (MP) Francis-Xavier Sosu introduced the amended bill with the backing of rights groups. The bill will see 170 inmates currently on death row have their sentences commuted to life [...]
Peter Stager of Arkansas was sentenced Monday to 52 months in prison and ordered to pay $2,000 in restitution in a District of Columbia courtroom for beating a police officer with a flag pole during the January 6, 2021 Capitol riot. In the criminal complaint filed in the US District Court for the District of [...]
