Russia has shown again how the dream of post-Soviet civil liberties has plummeted under the authoritarian ambitions of Vladimir Putin. On Wednesday, a Russian court sentenced a blogger to five years in jail for extremist views and advocacy. Terrorism? Religious fanaticism? No, Vadim Tyumenstev, 35, from the Siberian region of Tomsk, encouraged people to protest against corruption and high transport fares.
Category: International
People across the political spectrum in Israel were disgusted recently to see others at a Jewish wedding celebrating the fire bombing of a Palestinian family and holding up a picture of 18-month-old Ali Dawabshe who was burned away in the attack. One youth was shown stabbing the picture of the baby as others danced and rejoiced. Israeli police arrested four of the men in the videotape today, though (as despicable as these extremists are) the arrests raise questions over the criminalization of speech.
We have another example of the grotesque Sharia legal system this week. A 20-year-old Indonesian woman was hospitalized after being publicly caned for violating Sharia law in having affectionate contact with a man who was not her husband. The chilling scene was magnified by cheering crowds who watched as students Nur Elita and Wahyudi Saputra were caned outside a mosque in Banda Aceh.
Continue reading “Indonesian Woman Caned for Having “Affectionate Contact””
An extraordinary English law came into effect this week that allows for five years imprisonment for spouses who inflict psychological cruelty on their other partners. Domestic abuse will now extend to “coercive and controlling behaviour.” The definition of the offense however is quite vague and the potential scope of criminalization is considerable. Indeed, a single episode of the Honeymooners would rack up a major case under the new Section 76 law from limiting funds to threatening language to controlling aspects of spouse’s life. (Frankly, I never understood why Alice Kramden stayed with Ralph Kramden).
Among the other costs of war, there may be a type of counter Darwinistic effect on a population according to a new study. A new British study has found that the most intelligent soldiers in World War II had a higher mortality rate in combat. In other words, the war favors the least intelligent soldiers in terms of survival.
This month a new airline will emerge with a curious mission: to be the Halal friendly skies. Rayani Air will be Malaysia;s first “Islamic airline.” That alone is not too surprising. After all, we had Hooters Airline for people with a different transportation need. (Frankly, I would just be delighted if a religious airline declared that God intended passengers to have legroom). No, the surprising thing is the impetus for the airline: conservative Muslims believe that the two Malaysia Airlines recent disasters were punishments from God for not adhering to Islamic values. That’s right. God killed a couple hundred people (including devout Muslim passengers) because the airline was not sufficiently pious.
We have been discussing the continued rollback of civil liberties by our Asian ally, Thailand, including absurd prosecutions such as the recent arrest of a mechanic who merely “liked” a photo viewed disrespectful of the King’s dog. He appears however to be in the disgruntled one percent according to the military junta. The authoritarian government just released the type of poll that only a junta would find plausible: 99 percent of Thais are happy with the junta’s governance since it took power last year. Well, if you can’t believe a junta, who can you believe?
Continue reading “Thai Junta Proclaims 99 Percent Support From Public . . . In Its Own Poll”
We have previously discussed acts of heroism in the face of terrorism, including acts by Muslims who reject the violence and claims of morality by ISIS and others such as the Muslims who formed a human shield around tourists in Tunisia. We have another such case out of Kenya where Muslim passengers refused to identify non-Muslims when their bus was seized by the Islamic extremist group Al-Shabaab. The passengers reportedly told the terrorists that they would have to kill them all or let them all go.
There is a truly bizarre case out of London where a former Ernst & Young manager was sentenced in what is viewed as largely voyeur case in the country’s history. Some 3,500 people were filmed by George Thomas, 38, who installed cameras in bedrooms and bathrooms in his own home, shower rooms and lavatories at his work place and bathrooms in a large number of coffee shops in central London.
Continue reading “Former Ernst & Young Executive Arrested In Largest Voyeur Case in English History”
The United States lost six more soldiers in Afghanistan when a Taliban terrorist rammed a foot patrol with an explosive-laden motorbike. One of those killed was already familiar to many lawyers. Air Force Major Adrianna Vorderbruggen was one of the first openly gay service members to come forward after “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” was repealed in 2011. She was among a true “band of brothers” who represented the very best of this country in its diversity and patriotism. Vorderbruggen shows how gay and lesbian personnel continue to step forward to put themselves in peril in defense of their fellow citizens — even those who have long fought their effort to achieve equal rights.
We have been discussing the criminalization of Christmas celebrations by the Sultan of Brunei. Now, as if to show that Muslim extremists have no monopoly on crazy, Benzi Gopshtain (also reported as “Gopstein”), who heads the far-right Lehava organisation, has called for the same prohibition in Israel. Indeed, the statement of Gopstein and those of the Muslim clerics in Brunei seems almost indistinguishable.
It often seems like some countries like Saudi Arabia are the first to respond to any slight or barrier to Islam in other countries, but routinely deny such accommodations for other religions in their own country. The latest such hypocrisy was shown by the Sultan and Muslim clerics in Brunei after the country criminalized celebrating Christmas. Brunei’s Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah previously was denounced for introducing the medieval Sharia law system to his kingdom. He has now ordered that anyone found illegally celebrating Christmas could face a five year jail sentence. While Bolkiah cuts the same comical figure of Burgermeister Meisterburger, he is not a bit comical for those who reject Islamic extremism.
Saudi Arabia’s medieval legal system is back in the news with another attack on free speech and free thought. A Saudi reformist writer, Zuhair Kutbi, has been jailed for four years and banned from writing for his calls to reform the Kingdom. Kubti had called fellow intellectuals “cowards” in failing to stand up for reforms. Rather than engage Kubti in debate over its alleged racist and repressive elements, the response of the Kingdom was to jail him and ban him from writing for 15 years.
Civil libertarians have long been critical of the German speech crimes, including the prohibition on any Nazi symbols. Not only have the laws not had any discernible impact on the neo-Nazi movement but they actually make these extremists into victims and force them further underground. The laws also lead to bizarre cases like the arrest of a German man for a cellphone ringtone of Hitler. The latest case is out of Oranienburg where German politician Marcel Zech was arrested due to a tattoo spotted on his back at a pool.
Continue reading “German Politician Arrested After Being Spotted At Pool With Death Camp Tattoo”
Juries generally comes to reasonable results in my view and tend to get cases right despite the criticism that one reads in the media or popular culture. However, there are cases that leave me baffled. Often this is due to the fact that not all facts have been reported accurately, but some are left a mystery. One such case is out of London this week where a jury spent just 30 minutes to acquit Saudi millionaire Ehsan Abdulaziz, 46, of rape. Abdelaziz’s defense? he accidentally tripped, fell on her, and may have penetrated her by mistake.