Hong Kong’s West Kowloon Magistrates’ Court granted bail Thursday to 15 of the 47 opposition figures charged with subversion under the region’s controversial national security law after organizing and participating in an unofficial primary election last July. A challenge from the prosecutors, however, meant that all 15 were kept in custody. In a “surprise u-turn,” four [...]
Chinese parliamentarians in Beijing proposed an overhaul of Hong Kong’s electoral system on Friday. The proposed structural changes would involve re-drafting Hong-Kong’s mini-constitution, the Basic Law, consolidating China’s “overall jurisdiction” over Hong Kong. China’s legislature is debating draft guidelines, and it is expected that it will pass the guidelines by March 11. Once the guidelines [...]
The Supreme Court of Ghana Thursday affirmed the election victory of President Nana Akufo-Addo after his opponent brought a legal challenge to the final result. The court rejected the petition filed by National Democratic Congress candidate John Mahama, who previously served a term as president starting in 2012 but failed to secure his re-election in [...]
A court in southern Kazakhstan on Thursday sentenced two activists to two years of probation for their involvement with banned political groups. The court in Taraz found both Nazira Lesova and Nazira Lepesova guilty of organizing and participating in prohibited demonstrations as part of their activities with the groups Koshe (Street) Party and the Democratic Choice [...]
JURIST EXCLUSIVE – Police and soldiers in Myanmar launched violent attacks on peaceful protesters assembled in several major cities Sunday and then launched raids on residential areas and university campuses. Law students reporting for JURIST in Mandalay said that over 100 people were arrested in that city alone after authorities used tear gas, flash-bangs and [...]
While welcoming of the commutation of the death sentences of three Shia Muslim minors in Saudi Arabia, UN experts on Wednesday called for the country to quash their convictions and release them. The new sentence is 10 years imprisonment, including the time served. Ali al-Nimr, Dawood al-Marhoon and Abdullah al-Zaher were under the age of 18 when [...]
The US Senate on Thursday unanimously passed an Act to impose limitations on Confucius Institutes situated on college campuses. The Confucius Act, sponsored by Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana, governs cultural organizations “directly or indirectly” funded by the Chinese government. Confucius Institutes hold cultural events, teach Chinese, and sponsor trips to China on college campuses. [...]
The Constitutional Court of Moldova on Thursday granted a partial victory to President Maia Sandu in her bid to be allowed to appoint new ministers. Sandu won the presidency in a landslide election last November, defeating pro-Moscow incumbent Igor Dodon. Following her election, the previous administration resigned, leaving Sandu at odds with the parliament, which [...]
Germany’s cabinet on Wednesday launched the bill for the Act on Corporate Due Diligence in Supply Chains (or Supply Chain Act) aimed at strengthening the protection of human rights, health and the environment in German companies’ global supply chains. The bill mandates German companies with at least 3,000 employees to comply with supply chain standards throughout the [...]
JURIST EXCLUSIVE – Law students filing for JURIST in Myanmar reported Saturday that an arrest warrant has now been issued for U Tun Kyi, the outspoken Mandalay lawyer who publicly denounced the military coup as illegal in videos posted to the internet in early February, shortly after the army deposed civilian leader Aung San Suu [...]
