“The Taliban’s new curriculum is all about killing people in the name of Jihad,” a Kabul-based teacher* told me in a recent interview. “I’m not going to teach that material, even if I know it means I will almost certainly lose my job,” the teacher said, citing an early draft of the new curriculum. Upon [...]
On January 1 of this year, amendments to the Civil Procedure Law of the People’s Republic of China (CPL) entered into effect, representing the nation’s proactive approach to refining its legal system and fostering a more credible international judiciary. Though more work remains to be done, these amendments reflect China’s commitment to aligning with global [...]
So you decided to vacation in the Afghan province of Herat. Who, you may be asking, would voluntarily spend their holidays in Taliban territory? But I ask that you suspend your disbelief and entertain the notion on this choose-your-own adventure journey. You packed your bags and you headed to the airport. The flight goes smoothly, [...]
On October 2, 2023, Ukraine’s High Anti-Corruption Court granted a $360,000 reward to a whistleblower in a corruption case involving an attempted $6 million bribe—the biggest reported bribe attempt in Ukraine’s history. This reward marks the first payment to a whistleblower under the Law of Ukraine on the Prevention of Corruption, a major piece of [...]
During every execution in the United States, Death Penalty Action* holds a virtual vigil simultaneously with local death penalty abolitionists protesting outside the prisons and state capitals or governor’s mansions where the state-sponsored killing is taking place. When these gatherings are in person, those in attendance toll the same massive bell at the time the [...]
As we prepare to usher in 2024, the outlook on Alabama’s administration of the death penalty holds many terrible knowns, and an even greater number of grim unknowns. At the top of any capital punishment-watcher’s list: Is Alabama really going to move forward with the first state-sanctioned nitrogen gassing execution in US history? If all goes according [...]
Every December 10th, international lawyers, governments, and advocacy groups commemorate Human Rights Day. This marks the day in 1948 when, improbably, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted in Paris by a nascent United Nations General Assembly under the leadership of Eleanor Roosevelt. This year, as the Declaration turned 75, I found myself in [...]
In recent weeks, the international community has been confronted with a deeply alarming crisis unfolding in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories. On October 7th, 2023, the Harakat al-Muqawama al-Islamiya , “Hamas,” and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), initiated an attack on the State of Israel, which reportedly resulted in the killing of 1,400 individuals with [...]
“For by wise counsel, thou shalt make thy war.” Proverbs 24:6 Though one might think otherwise, there is no Palestinian state at present, nor has there ever been such a state in the past. Still, once the current Gaza War comes to an end – and whatever the tangible correlates of any war termination agreements [...]
After a particularly violent beating at the hands of her husband, Sohaila,* 38, was forced out onto the streets of Kabul, where she braved the elements through the night while waiting for her parents to wake up and shelter her. No sooner did her father let her in, than did she find herself being hauled [...]
