Big news today when it comes to justice and the law in the United States.
First, a federal court ruled that the “stop and frisk” tactics of the New York Police Department violate the rights of minorities. Between 1996 and 2010, 86 percent of people “stopped and frisked” were African-American or Latino.
Additionally, US Attorney General Eric Holder will reportedly announce plans today for the reform of federal mandatory minimum sentences for low-level drug offenders. Under these policies, non-violent criminals have served long – and expensive – prison terms.
Ecuador’s policies took a dark turn when it adopted a presidential decree granting far-reaching powers to the government to oversee, and even dissolve nongovernmental organizations.
Rwanda may have finally allowed its Green Party to register, but the party wasn’t able to submit its list of candidates in the few days remaining before the deadline. It will, however, prepare for future election.
As soon as tomorrow, a court in eastern Kazakhstan will rule on whether to convict and imprison a journalist and civil society activist for ‘inciting religious discord’ for articles he published critical of world religions.After President Robert Mugabe’s party swept Zimbabwe’s disputed elections, what may the future have in store for Zimbabwe?
In Bangladesh, security forces arrested prominent activist Adilur Rahman Khan on August 10, 2013, in what appears to be an attempt to silence one of the government’s most vocal critics prior to national elections.Human Rights Watch has documented extensive use of torture by the Bangladeshi security forces and Khan remains at serious risk while detained. Since February 2013, Bangladeshi security forces have frequently used excessive force in responding to street protests, killing at least 150 protesters and injuring 2,000 more.
