UN officials urged the international community on Wednesday to unite with the UN Security Council to protect civilians in the war-torn eastern Aleppo region of Syria. UN Special Envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, stated that there is a “humanitarian tragedy” underway in Aleppo displacing an estimated 25,000 individuals from their homes in the last [...]
A UN commission on human rights in South Sudan warned Thursday that ethnic cleansing is taking place in some areas of the country. Chairwoman for the commission, Yasmin Sooka, said, “here is already a steady process of ethnic cleansing underway in several areas of South Sudan using starvation, gang rape and the burning of villages.” [...]
A judge for the US District Court for the Northern District of California ruled Wednesday that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) can serve a “John Doe” summons to digital-currency-services company Coinbase seeking detailed information on their customers’ 2013-2015 transactions. The summons will allow the IRS to have access to the names of all taxpayers in [...]
Bahraini authorities charged human rights lawyer Mohamed al-Tajer on Thursday with insulting government institutions. In addition, Al-Tajer, who previously defended human rights advocates, is facing two other charges : inciting hatred of a religious sect and misusing a telecommunications appliance. Prosecutors are investigating a WhatsApp voice message in which al-Tajer accused the Bahraini government of [...]
A judge for the Cuyahoga County Probate Court in Ohio approved a settlement on Wednesday in which the city of Cleveland will pay $6 million to the family of Tamir Rice, a 12-year-old black child who was shot and killed by a white police officer in a recreation center in November 2014. The parties reached [...]
The Brazilian Chamber of Deputies , the lower house of Congress, passed a measure on Wednesday that would permit defendants to seek criminal consequences for prosecutors and judges if the officials abuse their powers, a change that many believe would impair law enforcement’s ability to investigate political corruption. A bill urging widespread investigation of corruption [...]
JURIST Guest Columnist Fuad Rafidi of Valparaiso University School of Law, Class of 2018, discusses safe spaces on college campuses… Do safe places belong on college campuses? On November 22, 2016, Yue Zhang wrote a critical piece about colleges not having safe spaces. Yue personally believes safe spaces only spoils kids and makes them more [...]
Planned Parenthood, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and other women’s groups filed suits Wednesday challenging abortion laws in Alaska , Missouri and North Carolina . Citing 42 USC § 1983 , which provides a means of attaining injunctive relief for constitutional violations, the cases specifically attack a restriction in Alaska banning abortions at outpatient [...]
Colombia’s Congress approved a peace accord Wednesday with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). The Senate and House of Representatives both voted in support of the agreement, although many voting members walked out before the vote took place in protest of the deal. Opponents of the agreement argue that it is too lenient on [...]
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein on Wednesday expressed concern for global human rights. The commissioner urged the promotion of human rights and dignity in an informal briefing to the human rights council after completing an international tour. The briefing served as an announcement of a global public information campaign to [...]
