US Attorney General Merrick Garland announced Monday that the US Department of Justice (DOJ) will begin to help Ukraine with its ongoing Russian war crime investigations and assist the International Criminal Court (ICC). This is a major policy reversal, as the Department of Defense (DOD) previously blocked cooperation with the ICC in relation to its [...]
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Belarus dispatch: two political prisoners died in Belarusian prisons last week
Belarusian law students enrolled at European Humanities University are filing reports with JURIST on current circumstances in Belarus under the constitutionally-disputed presidency of Alexander Lukashenka. Katsiaryna Vasilionak files this dispatch from Vilnius, Lithuania. On the night of July 11, Belarusian political prisoner artist Ales Pushkin died in the intensive care unit of a hospital in [...]
Ukraine receives cluster munitions from US amid international criticism
The Ukrainian armed forces confirmed Thursday they received cluster munitions sent by the US. Tavria Region defense spokesman Valery Shershen confirmed the delivery to Radio Free Liberty in Ukraine amidst international condemnation of the US’s decision to provide the weapons. Following US President Joe Biden’s July 7 announcement that the US would provide Ukraine with [...]
Belarusian law students enrolled at European Humanities University are filing reports with JURIST on current circumstances in Belarus under the constitutionally-disputed presidency of Alexander Lukashenka. Katsiaryna Vasilionak files this dispatch from Vilnius, Lithuania. During the period of June 23-24, the private military company Wagner, headed by Prigozhin, attempted an armed rebellion in Russia. Alexander Lukashenka [...]
Estonia Parliament passes bill allowing gender-neutral marriage
Estonia’s Parliament, the Riigikogu, passed a bill Monday to allow gender-neutral marriage in the country. The bill was sent to President Alar Karis for approval on Tuesday. Estonia is the first Baltic nation and the first former Soviet Union nation to legalize gender-neutral or same-sex marriage. The bill defines marriage as being between two people [...]
UN alleges human rights violations against Guantanamo Bay Prison detainee
The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention released a report alleging that Afghanistan, Lithuania, Morocco, Poland, Romania, Thailand, United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the US all participated in human rights violations against Abd al-Rahim Hussein al-Nashiri, a man accused of assisting in the bombing of the USS Cole in 2000. Al-Nashiri is currently held in [...]
International Bar Association calls for UN to create tribunal for Russia
The International Bar Association (IBA) adopted a resolution on Saturday calling for the creation of a Special Tribunal to try Russia for crimes of aggression in Ukraine. The IBA resolution condemns Russia’s war of aggression, affirms the IBA’s support for Ukrainian sovereignty, and urges UN member states to establish and international criminal tribunal for Russian leaders. The Prosecutor General of Ukraine [...]
Political activist Roman Protasevich pardoned by Belarus president
Belarusian state news outlet Belta reported Monday that journalist and former opposition figure Roman Protasevich was pardoned by President of Belarus Aleksandr Lukashenko weeks after being sentenced to eight years in prison. Protasevich was arrested in 2021 after Ryanair flight FR4978, carrying Protasevich and fellow activist Sofia Sapega, was forced to divert to Minsk after [...]
EU ratifies Istanbul Convention to prevent and combat gender-based violence
The European Parliament voted in favor of EU accession to the Istanbul Convention, which aims to prevent and combat violence against women. The convention was originally signed six years ago, but the refusal of some member states prevented it from being ratified. However, a recent opinion from the EU Court of Justice found that the [...]
Lithuania’s Minister of Justice Ewelina Dobrowolska on Thursday announced that the Lithuanian government will be filing a complaint against Belarus for “non-compliance” with international law regarding exploitative migration. The compensatory amount of 120 million euros is to cover the violation of international law, the damage the migration has caused and legal remedies. Belarus has had several sanctions [...]