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Tuesday, February 16, 2016

JURIST Daily Digest In the 16 February 2016 edition

JURIST Daily Digest

 In the 16 February 2016 edition:

Today's Legal News Latest Legal Commentary:
Today's Legal News


Bosnia authorities detain former policemen for war crimes
By Matthew Santiago on Feb 15, 2016 01:35 pm
[JURIST] Bosnian police arrested three former policemen, including previously-convicted Darko Mrdja, on new charges of war crimes against non-Serb detainees during the Bosnian War. The three suspects have been accused [AP report] of killing at least 10 non-Serbs as part of a massacre of over 150 detainees scheduled for transfer to nearby detention camps in 1992. Mrdja was already convicted for war crimes by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) [official website] in 2004, and he was...   +read more


UN rights experts call for release of foreign UAE prisoners
By Gwenyth Gamble on Feb 15, 2016 01:23 pm
A group of UN human rights experts on Monday demanded the immediate release [press release] of five foreign-national detainees that have been held by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) [BBC backgrounder] for the past 18 months. The prisoners were incarcerated for suspected terrorist activity under a new counter-terrorism law [text, PDF] and have reportedly been subjected to torture, leading them to sign forced confessions. According to the rights experts, the prisoners suffer from chronic and potentially permanent hearing and sight-loss...   +read more


Rights expert asks UN to notify North Korea of crimes against humanity probe
By Gwenyth Gamble on Feb 15, 2016 01:05 pm
UN Special Rapporteur on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea [official website] Marzuki Darusman [official profile] is asking the UN to provide North Korea with notice that Kim Jong Un may be investigated for crimes against humanity. In a report [text, DOC] to the UN Human Rights Council made public Monday, Darusman outlines that North Korea's leader is ripe to be prosecuted for crimes against humanity, and that three independent legal experts should determine the best course of action to...   +read more


Former Israel PM begins prison sentence for bribery
By Matthew Santiago on Feb 15, 2016 12:34 pm
[JURIST] Former Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert [Knesset profile] began his 19-month prison sentence on Monday following his attempts to appeal his conviction for bribery. Olmert was convicted [JURIST report] in 2014 for accepting several bribes for housing projects in Jerusalem during his term as mayor. While his original six-year sentence was postponed and later reduced by the Israeli Supreme Court, he was given a month extension [JURIST report] after the court denied his plea bargain for a concurrent obstruction...   +read more


14 Serbians indicted in Kosovo war crimes charges
By Taylor Isaac on Feb 15, 2016 12:27 pm
The Basic Court of Pec, a region in western Kosovo, has issued an indictment charging 14 Serbians in the region with committing war crimes in 1999. Although charging the suspects in Pec, the arrest warrants [B92 report] appear to show that at least some of the suspects reside outside of Kosovo. According to Ljubomir Pantovic, a lawyer in the area, the crimes are being classified under the Kosovo Criminal Code, which went into effect in 2013 and is more restrictive...   +read more


Bangkok bombing suspect claims confession forced under torture
By Bradley McAllister on Feb 15, 2016 12:01 pm
[JURIST] The lawyer for a suspect in a 2015 bombing in Bangkok on Monday retracted his client's earlier confession a day before a scheduled military court appearance to formally hear the charges against him. The suspect, Bilal Mohammed, maintains he had no involvement [Guardian report] in the August bombing that left 20 people dead. Mohammed was arrested [Reuters report] in late August while carrying a Turkish passport that authorities claim was fake. Mohammed's lawyer contends that his client was tortured...   +read more


Egypt court overturns sentence of police officer in protester death
By Bradley McAllister on Feb 15, 2016 11:27 am
[JURIST] The highest appeals court in Egypt on Sunday overturned the 15-year prison sentence levied against a police officer for the killing of a female protester in January 2015. The officer, Yaseen Mohamed Hatem, will face a new trial for charges of battery leading to death [NYT report] for the fatal shooting of Shaimaa el-Sabbagh. Sabbagh was a participant in a march in Tahrir Square in remembrance of the individuals killed during the 2011 protests [JURIST backgrounder]. The graphic images...   +read more


HRW: Kenya not doing enough for post-election rape victims
By Taylor Isaac on Feb 15, 2016 10:20 am
Human Rights Watch (HRW) [advocacy website] released a report [text] Monday stating hundreds of women who were victims of rape during the 2007-2008 Kenyan post-election violence are still suffering from long-term trauma, poverty, and social exclusion, and the Kenyan government is not providing basic assistance [HRW report]. The violence during this period resulted in more than one thousand deaths, approximately 600,000 people displaced, and around 900 victims of sexual violence, but HRW believes these official reports are most likely underestimates.The...   +read more



Latest Legal Commentary


Worse Than Nothing: The Criminal Code “Improvement” Act of 2015
By Eric Johnson on Feb 10, 2016 04:45 pm
JURIST Guest Columnist Eric A. Johnson of University of Illinois School of Law discusses the recent Criminal Code Improvement Act ... +read more


The Poison Poor Children Drink: Six Lessons from the Flint Tragedy
By Robert Percival on Feb 09, 2016 11:30 am
JURIST Guest Columnist Richard Percival from University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law discusses what can be learned from the tragedy in Flint, Michigan... +read more


The Future of Abortion Rights and Regulations
By Kermit Roosevelt on Feb 08, 2016 09:55 pm
JURIST Guest Columnist Kermit Roosevelt of the University of Pennsylvania Law School discusses abortion rights in America ... +read more


The Failure of the Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act 2015
By Nicholas M. Wooldridge on Feb 06, 2016 03:16 pm
JURIST Guest Columnist Nicholas M. Wooldridge of LV Criminal Defense discusses the Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act of 2015 and its problematic aftereffects on offenders, society and the criminal justice system... +read more


Why Police May Still Have Free Reign to Search an Arrestee’s Cell Phone Despite a Warrant Requirement
By Veronica Reyes on Feb 03, 2016 10:58 am
JURIST Guest Columnist Veronica Reyes of St. John's University School of Law, Class of 2016, is the tenth author in a twelve-part series from the staffers of the Journal of Civil Rights and Economic Development. Reyes discusses why warrantless searches of cell phones by the police may not be the best solution in protecting our Fourth Amendment rights... +read more
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