Shamima Begum, a young woman who left the UK as a schoolgirl to join ISIS in Syria, has recently lost an appeal to regain her British citizenship. This decision, leaving her effectively stateless and in a Syrian detention camp, has sparked renewed debate. In this interview, JURIST speaks with Professor Ben Saul, a UN expert [...]
Search Results for: violent crime
US federal court sentences leader of January 6 Capitol riot to over seven years imprisonment
The US District Court District of Columbia sentenced an orchestrator of the January 6, 2021, US Capitol riot to 87 months of imprisonment and ordered him to pay $2000 in restitution. On November 21, 2023, the court found Taylor James Johnatakis guilty of seven charges, including three felonies, due to his participation in the riot. [...]
Explainer: US Mass Incarceration and Its Disparate Racial Impacts
The US prides itself on being a nation built on freedom, justice, and individual rights. And yet the evolution of its system of mass incarceration — a system that cannot be defined without reference to shocking racial disparities — seems to directly contradict these founding principles. The US prison population dwarfs those of nearly every other [...]
Ecuador mayor Brigitte Garcia found dead in car amid nation-wide escalations of violence
Ecuador’s youngest mayor, Brigitte Garcia, and her director of communications, Jairo Loor, were found shot dead in a car in San Vicente Canton early on Sunday, Ecuadorian police reported to local media outlets. Garcia, who was initially reported missing on Saturday, was found by local authorities after they used the GPS installed in Garcia’s rental [...]
Explainer: Unpacking SB 4, Texas's Controversial Border Security Legislation
In recent days, an unusual state border-security law has ricocheted back and forth between US federal courts, introducing novel questions of state and federal supremacy. Long disgruntled over the federal government’s perceived inadequate efforts to curb illegal immigration along its southern border, Texas enacted a state law that would enable it to take action in [...]
Final member of Mississippi 'Goon Squad' sentenced for involvement in assault of Black men
The last of the six members of the Mississippi law enforcement group known as the “Goon Squad,” Joshua Hartfield, was sentenced to just over ten years in prison on Thursday for his involvement in the January 2023 torturing of two Black men. All six officers were terminated and pleaded guilty to their involvement in the [...]
Canada Supreme Court declines to hear appeal of school that prohibited Muslim students from praying
The Supreme Court of Canada on Thursday declined to hear the appeal of a school that was found to be discriminating against its Muslim students by denying them access to prayer space. Webber Academy, a private school in Calgary, prohibited two Muslim students from publicly praying on campus, claiming that providing prayer space violated the school’s secular [...]
The Cost of Revenge: A Cantor's Critique of Israel's Response to Hamas
In the wake of the deadly Hamas terrorist attacks of Oct. 7, 2023, many of Israel’s supporters, myself included, have succumbed to the understandable impulse for violent retribution. Israel is a land that I love, both culturally as a Jew — and third-generation Holocaust survivor — and spiritually as an ordained cantor. It follows that [...]
Explainer Part II: The Israel-Hamas War and the International Court of Justice
The ongoing conflict engulfing Israel and Palestine continues to raise significant issues of international law and policy. My earlier contribution focused on the jurisdiction and substantive law of the International Criminal Court (ICC). Here I address the ongoing litigation before the International Court of Justice (ICJ or Court). Because the crime of genocide can be [...]
Breaking Barriers: A Global Review of Legislative Reform on Women's Rights
The plight of women’s rights in various countries reflects a complex interplay of legal, cultural and societal norms that significantly disenfranchise women and girls, threatening their human rights and dignity. Countries like Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Iran, Yemen, Sudan, Pakistan, Somalia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Syria, and Nigeria present challenging environments where women’s rights [...]