Ali Riaz is a political scientist with research interests in South Asian politics, democratization, violent extremism, and Bangladeshi politics. He is a Distinguished Professor of political science at Illinois State University, a Nonresident Senior Fellow of the Atlantic Council, and the President of the American Institute of Bangladesh Studies (AIBS). His recent publications include “Pathways [...]

The human rights organization Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA) criticized Mexico’s judicial reform on Tuesday, describing it as a “setback for human rights.” The government launched the judicial reform in February of this year. The changes proposed by the government include the reduction of ministers of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation [...]

The appellate division of the Seoul Central District Court ordered on Thursday that the Japanese corporation Nippon Steel pay 100 million won to the four children of a Korean citizen who was a victim of forced labor in Japan during the Second World War, local media reported. The Seoul court ruled in favor of the [...]

Police forces across Canada on Wednesday responded to a series of identical bomb threats sent via email to over 100 Jewish organizations, including synagogues and hospitals, with the nature of the threats prompting a coordinated response by several law enforcement agencies. The threats were disseminated via email around 5 am EST targeting a wide range [...]

The recent decision by Italy’s Court of Cassation (Corte di Cassazione) in case number 27115/2024 has sparked numerous reactions due to its consideration of the COVID-19 pandemic as a potential extenuating circumstance in a femicide case. This crime, which garnered significant media attention in Italian society, involved a perpetrator who was initially sentenced to life [...]

South Carolina police arrested a sheriff’s deputy on Wednesday for shooting an unarmed suspect and causing his police dog to maul an innocent bystander. Deputy Treyvon Jonathan Sellers was charged with voluntary manslaughter and assault & battery of a high and aggravated nature. According to Sellers’s arrest warrant, “On May 26, 2024, … Sellers attempted [...]

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Oregon filed a lawsuit against the city of Medford, Oregon, on Tuesday, alleging that the city’s law enforcement authorities have been surveilling and illegally gathering information on the complainants for years. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of two local organizations and an individual activist. In the complaint, [...]

A seminal report into systemic bias in New Zealand’s policing released on Wednesday found that Māori are disproportionately stopped, subject to force and prosecuted by law enforcement. Phase one of the Understanding Policing Delivery (UPD) research programme sets 40 recommendations to improve fairness and equity for Māori (New Zealand’s Indigenous people) and other minority communities [...]

The Verkhovna Rada (Parliament) of Ukraine voted on Wednesday to ratify the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, making Ukraine a state party. 281 deputies of the Rada voted for the bill while only one voted against it. The bill was introduced by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on August 17 alongside other legislation to bring [...]

The Arizona Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that a 200-word description of a ballot initiative to enshrine a right to abortion in the state’s constitution was valid and determined voters would see the initiative on the statewide general election ballot. The plaintiff in this case is the Arizona Right to Life organization and the defendant [...]