Germany: Syrian torture on trial

 

Torture in Syria - a German court has been deliberating it for one year now. It is an extraordinary process: not only are the defendants being held responsible, but also the Assad regime itself. Survivors are hoping justice will be served.

The big problem with how we pick juries

Four years after the shooting death of Laquan McDonald, the police officer, Jason Van Dyke, faced his day in court. But in a trial where race became central to the case, there’s only one black person on the jury. And that’s in a county where nearly a quarter of people are black. How did this happen? In jury selection, racial discrimination has historically been tricky. Discrimination isn’t allowed in jury selection, thanks to what’s called a “Batson challenge.” But the problem is — Batson has been widely regarded as a failure at keeping racism out of the jury box. Watch the video above to find out why that is, and why it complicates the prospect of a fair trial by jury.

How Do You Subvert Democratic Rule? Through The Courts

Several governments in Asia use the court and legal system to quash dissent and disenfranchise smaller political parties.  This is particularly prevalent in Malaysia and Singapore where the ruling parties have used the courts and legal system to jail political opponents or financially ruin them through libel laws.  All done in the name of elective representative government or just outright authoritarian rule under the guise of egalitarian rule.   China has decided that using those methods against pro independence legislators in Hong Kong. It gives the veneer of following the rule of law while suppressing dissent.        


Government to file lawsuit against Lau Siu-lai, who took 10 minutes to read her 77-word oath of allegiance

The Hong Kong government will seek to ban a third member of the city’s parliament, expanding a campaign to remove pro-democracy advocates after two pro-independence legislators were barred from taking their seats.

The government will file a lawsuit against pro-democracy Lau Siu-lai this week or early next week, alleging she was not sincere when she took the oath of allegiance last month.

Erdoğan And The 1,845 Cases Of Insults

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan living a life in fear of insults, criticism and dissent has taken a page out of the government of Singapore playbook.  Use the courts to silence the opposition.

Who sues school children for speaking and acting like children? Tayyip Erdogan.  Really; paranoia manifesting itself because the Donald Trump of Turkey can't take primary school insults.  Perhaps President Bevis and Butthead should find a new profession. Say pro wrestling referee, judging pie eating contests or join the circus and become a clown. He's already halfway there.

Erdoğan has been accused of aggressively using a previously seldom-used law that bars insults to the president, as a way to muffle dissent. Those who have gone on trial include celebrities, journalists and even schoolchildren.

Critics say Erdoğan, who has been accused of increasingly authoritarian behaviour, even considers strong criticism as insults.

The 3 Year Old Sentenced To Life In Prison

Ahmed Mansour was sentenced to life in prison for a crime that was committed in January of 2014 after an Egyptian military court found him and 115 other guilty of killing 3 people and destroying public and private property.  Mansour was 16 months old at the time of his alleged involvement in this crime which took place during a demonstration supporting former Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi .


     Father on the run

When the police first came to arrest Ahmed in early 2014 and realized he was a toddler, they took his father -- Mansour Qorany Sharara -- instead.

Sharara was detained for four months before a judge released him.

Lawyers of other defendants in the case had shown the court Ahmed's birth certificate in hopes of discrediting the investigations that led to their clients' arrests.

Trusting justice

The guilty verdict that came out on February 16 caused an uproar.

"How could people trust justice if they see this?" TV presenter Wael El-Ebrashy said as he interviewed Sharara on Saturday.

Ahmed was sleeping as his father held him and cried, pleading for help during the interview. Sharara said he was worried his son would be imprisoned.

Like Hong Kong, Singapore needs democracy

Singapore is one of those places that I refer to as a democratic dictatorship. It gives the world the illusion of open and free electoral government.  Don't worry it really is just an illusion.

Hong Kong's democracy movement has raised issues such as income inequality and an increasing cheerless economic outlook, especially for the younger generation. Not coincidentally, these are the same issues that are causing Singaporeans to despair over their future.

Despite the fact that, according to the Economic Intelligence Unit, Singapore lays claim to the dubious honor of being the most expensive city in the world, there is no minimum wage in Singapore. Is it any wonder then, that amongst comparable economies, the island-state has one of the highest levels of income inequality? Singapore has the highest proportion of millionaires in the world but nearly 5% of the workforce have an annual income of less than U.S. $5,000, according to a 2011 report by The Straits Times.

And it's not just the lower-income workers who are getting pounded. The middle-class squeeze is as prevalent as ever. Nearly 50% of Singaporeans subsist from paycheck to paycheck, saving less than 10% of their monthly incomes. An alarming 14% have no savings at all. If and when an economic whirlwind visits, many will be left unable to cope.

Working conditions have also deteriorated. For years, Singaporean workers have worked more hours than in most countries, and, perhaps unsurprisingly it has resulted in an extremely unhappy workforce.