The US Supreme Court Monday denied a petition for a writ of certiorari in McCutchen v. United States, a challenge to the federal ban on gun bump stocks. Promulgated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF), the ban prevents anyone from possessing bump-stock-type devices, including slide-fire devices, and encourages possessors to either destroy [...]

Family members of Egyptian activist Alaa Abd El-Fattah Monday reported they have received a letter in Abd El-Fattah’s handwriting confirming he is still alive. Abd El-Fattah went on a water strike last week, and his lawyer claims he is not allowed to visit Abd El-Fattah in prison. According to the letter shared by Abd El-Fattah’s sister [...]

The German Bundeskartellamt Monday expanded two ongoing proceedings against US e-commerce giant Amazon to include the application of §19(a) of the German Competition Act (GWB). Provisions enacted in 2021 enable the Bundeskartellamt to intervene earlier in the regulation of large digital companies and allow for strong and effective “supervision of large digital groups,” says the [...]

The US Supreme Court Monday denied an application for stay and injunction, allowing the US House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack on the Capitol to obtain the phone and text records of Arizona Republican Party Chair Kelli Ward. Ward filed an emergency application for a stay and injunction on October 24, after a [...]

An Iranian court in Tehran Monday sentenced the first Mahsa Amini protestor to death. Iran’s Revolutionary Court found the protestor guilty of “enmity against God” after he was arrested for setting fire to a government building. According to Mizan, a state-linked news source for Iran’s judiciary, the court charged the unnamed protestor with disturbing public [...]

Thomas Kraemer is Senior Counsel at Kakar Advocates in Kabul, Afghanistan, and a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh School of Law. He is a Special Correspondent for JURIST currently based in Istanbul, Türkiye.  The Supreme Leader of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, Hibatullah Akhundzada, has issued a decree directing that a plan be prepared [...]

The Taliban’s Supreme Leader Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada Sunday commanded judges in Afghanistan to fully enforce Islamic law. According to statements from the Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Majuhid, Akhundzada met with Afghan judges and ordered them to properly investigate and scrutinize cases of thieves, kidnappers and seditionists.  Akhundzada told the judges that they must enforce the proper [...]

Australian law firm, Slater and Gordon, Monday reached a settlement of 126 million Australian dollars ($84.4 million) with Australia’s largest banks and insurers. The settlement is the result of several class action lawsuits filed by the firm on behalf of bank customers who were improperly sold insurance policies when they took out loans or obtained [...]

Several FBI documents were released by the New York Times Saturday highlighting an effort by the FBI in 2020-2021 to secure and deploy Pegasus spyware. Pegasus spyware, developed by the NSO Group, is a zero-click hacking tool that can invade a target’s mobile phone and extract messages, photos, contacts, messages and video recordings. Numerous governments, both autocracies [...]

Authorities in the Indian state of Punjab Sunday issued a restrictive order on gun ownership. The order introduces a three-month pause on new gun registration, a complete ban on the public display of weapons and a ban on songs that glorify weapons and violence. The order also applies to the display of weapons at on [...]