A coalition of 31 human rights organizations issued a joint letter on Friday, urging the European Union (EU) to engage with Bahraini authorities to secure the release of Danish-Bahraini Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja and Swedish-Bahraini Sheikh Mohammed Habib Al-Muqdad. For almost 14 years, both men have been arbitrarily detained, enduring torture and denial of medical care. According [...]
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Military Justice v. Civil Rights: Pakistan's Legal Battle Intensifies
With the sun of 2024 having scattered the last of its rays on Earth, it feels like freedom, independence and justice will soon be engulfed by darkness in Pakistan. Today, we find ourselves mired in a troubling quagmire of lawlessness and a hogtied judicial system. On Dec. 21, military courts in Pakistan sentenced 25 civilians [...]
The National Assembly of Pakistan approved the 26th Constitutional Amendment Bill on Monday, with international groups voicing concern about erosion of judicial independence in the country. The amendment modifies Article 175 of the Constitution, introducing a selection process for the Chief Justice of Pakistan. A parliamentary committee will select the Chief Justice from the three most [...]
HRW denounces detention of human rights activist ahead of Tunisia election
HRW denounced the pre-trial detainment of prominent activist and former president of Tunisia’s Truth and Dignity Commission, Sihem Bensedrine, in a press release on Monday calling for her immediate release. Bensedrine was detained in Manouba prison by order of an investigative judge on August 1, 2024, for her work as president of the Commission. Her [...]
Tunisia electoral commission rejects court ruling reinstating 3 presidential candidates
Tunisia’s Independent High Authority for Elections (ISIE) on Monday rejected a decision of the country’s Administrative Court reinstating three candidates for its presidential election on October 6. In a press conference midday yesterday, the ISIE announced its approval of incumbent President Kais Saied, Zouhair Magzhaoui and Ayachi Zammel as the final list of candidates for [...]
Tunisia court reinstates presidential candidate in upcoming election
Tunisia’s Administrative Court reinstated former minister Mondher Znaidi on Thursday as a candidate in the October 6, 2024, presidential election after upholding his appeal, according to local news. The court’s decision overturns an earlier ruling by Tunisia’s Independent High Authority for Elections (ISIE), which had disqualified Znaidi’s candidacy over alleged insufficient voter signatures. This ruling [...]
Law students and law graduates in Pakistan are reporting for JURIST on events in that country impacting its legal system. Hussain Abbas is an LLB student in the University of London External Programme. He files this from Islamabad. Since the first promulgation of Pakistan’s constitution back in 1971 the country still wanders, bewildered by the [...]
With the Fall of Roe, It’s Time for Our Fundamental Rights to Transcend History
As Women’s History Month draws to a close, we should recognize that our history of gender inequity and oppression is now being used by our highest courts to narrowly define the contours of women’s rights going forward. We need to fight back to ensure our principles — of equality, human dignity, and respect for the [...]
Pakistan High Court commutes death sentence in Daniel Pearl case
A court in Pakistan on Thursday commuted the death sentence of the man accused of beheading Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl in 2002. Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh had been arrested and sentenced to death for orchestrating the kidnapping and murder of Pearl. Pearl had been in Pakistan following a story about “shoe bomber” Richard [...]
Former Pakistan president Pervez Musharraf declared a fugitive
A Pakistan anti-terrorism court declared former president and army general Pervez Musharraf a fugitive from the law on Thursday concerning the assassination of former prime minister, and first female leader in the Muslim world, Benazir Bhutto...