Search Results for: journalist prison

The US Department of State released its annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices on Monday, amidst the seventy-fifth anniversary of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights, or UDHR. The report emphasized “several new commitments, including to renew investments around the world in democracy and human rights, to help protect human rights defenders online, [...]

Renowned Russian scientist Alexander Kuranov received a seven-year sentence in a high-security prison on Thursday for state treason, according to the Head of the United Press Service of the Courts of St. Petersburg. Kuranov, who formerly headed a state research institute in St. Petersburg overseeing the Ayaks hypersonic aircraft program, faced arrest in 2021 at the age [...]

Gijs de Bra is a JURIST Assistant Editor and SCOTUS special correspondent, and a 2L at Cornell Law School. When, if ever, does a person “corruptly” solicit or offer a gift with intent to influence government action? That question kept Colleen Sinzdak, counsel for the US government, busy for almost all of her argument before [...]

The US Department of State decided on Friday to prevent former President of Suriname Desi Bouterse and six former Surinamese military officials from entering the US because they were involved in the “extrajudicial killings of political opponents during the December Murders of 1982.” According to a statement published by the State Department, Desi Bouterse, six [...]

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) urged the Italian government on Friday to amend their planned reforms to defamation legislation to comply with European and international law. This comes days after amendments to this proposed legislation were revealed to include a potential ban on working as a journalist as well as increased fines. RSF heavily criticized the [...]

Ecuador’s foreign ministry released a statement Thursday calling Mexico’s ambassador Raquel Serur Smeke a “persona non grata” following Andrés Manuel López Obrador, the president of Mexico’s, comments about the 2023 Ecuador elections and the assassination of former presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio. The foreign ministry noted that Ecuador was still in mourning following the assassination and [...]

Yonatan Shapira is an ex-captain and pilot in the Israeli Air Force. In 2003, he helped coordinate the circulation of a letter that was signed by 27 Israeli Air Force pilots expressing their refusal to engage in Israeli military actions targeting Palestinians. Additionally, Shapira has endorsed the domestic Israeli movement supporting Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions [...]

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) on Friday called on Liberian authorities to investigate the physical assault and violent arrest of Liberia journalist Kesselee Sumo on March 11 and to drop the charges against him. Sumo hosts a daily radio talk show from the Bong Mine Community in Liberia. A few days before his arrest, [...]

Radio Free Asia’s (RFA) president, Bay Fang, announced Friday that the news organization has already closed its Hong Kong bureau and will “no longer have full-time personnel in Hong Kong” due to safety concerns after the enactment of the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance. The statement cited actions by Hong Kong authorities, who have referred to [...]

One year ago today, Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich was detained in Russia. His arrest came amid a broader media crackdown and surging suspicion of the West, both of which have loomed heavily amid Moscow’s ongoing war against Ukraine. On this grim anniversary, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken implored Russia to release Gershkovich [...]