The Cost of Revenge: A Cantor's Critique of Israel's Response to Hamas
In the wake of the deadly Hamas terrorist attacks of Oct. 7, 2023, many of Israel’s supporters, myself included, have succumbed to the understandable impulse for violent retribution. Israel is a land that I love, both culturally as a Jew — and third-generation Holocaust survivor — and spiritually as an ordained cantor. It follows that [...]
Gambia lawmakers refer bill reversing 2015 female genital mutilation ban to national committee
Gambian lawmakers referred a bill attempting to reverse the Women’s (Amendment) Act, 2015 to the national committee for further consultation on Monday. The Women’s (Amendment) Act, 2015 bans female genital mutilation (FGM). Local activists gathered outside the National Assembly of The Gambia on Monday with protest signs to boycott the bill. FGM is a practice [...]
US DOJ files new obstruction of justice charges against Senator Bob Menendez and his wife
The US Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a new superseding indictment Tuesday against Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ) and his wife Nadine Menendez. The superseding indictment added new obstruction of justice charges against the couple in the ongoing case for bribery, honest services wire fraud, extortion and acting as an unregistered foreign agent of Egypt. The [...]
Explainer: Competing Legislative Agendas Come to a Head in Sri Lanka
The year 2024 is an important one for Sri Lanka. It is a presidential election year, and a resolution adopted by the UN Human Rights Council to gather evidence of international crimes for use in future prosecutions is due for renewal. After the public ousters of the former-elected President Gotabaya Rajapaksa in 2023, Ranil Wickremesinghe [...]
Mengele-Like Logic Underpins Alabama’s Plan to Gas a Man to Death
Barring the unlikely success of last-minute litigation, today, at 6 p.m. CST, Kenneth Eugene Smith is scheduled to become the first person in history to be executed by forced nitrogen gas inhalation. In Smith’s final minutes, personnel at the William C. Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore, Alabama will strap an industrial-grade mask to his face. Secured [...]
Kenya NGOs bring petition against prosecutors for mishandling dams case
Transparency International, the Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC), Katiba Institute and Africa Center for Open Governance (Africog) lodged a petition on Tuesday against prosecutors Geoffrey Obiri and Oliver Mureithi. The organizations accused the two prosecutors of mishandling the Arror and Kimwarer dams case, seeking accountability for their reckless dereliction of duty. In early December, an [...]
DRC presidential candidate suspends campaign events after violent rally
Moïse Katumbi, a prominent political figure and candidate in the upcoming presidential elections in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), suspended two campaign events following a violent incident at an election rally on Wednesday. Katumbi said that police fired live rounds during the event while Kongo Central governer Guy Bandu stated that Katumbi’s guards [...]
Editors’ note: Amid surging violence between Hamas and Israeli forces, JURIST is seeking perspectives from around the world. Neither this nor other commentaries in this series constitute JURIST editorial policy, nor do they necessarily reflect the opinions of the editorial team. The 21st century is marked by globalization and Americanization, with transnational law under US [...]
Sudan's Rapid Support Forces Militia Must Be Stopped: A Brief History of Atrocities
The conflict that erupted in April between the Sudanese National Army and the Rapid Support Forces wreaked havoc on Sudan, and has ultimately taken an appalling toll. Thousands were killed and millions displaced. Buildings were burned and infrastructure lay in ruins, instilling fear of a spiraling descent into a full-scale civil war. Even before the warfare [...]
Social Media Empowers Sudanese in Documenting Violations by RSF Militia
The war that broke out in Sudan on April 15 between the Sudanese National Army and the Rapid Support Forces militia has left hitherto thousands dead and injured, in addition to the destruction of buildings and infrastructure, with many fearing the whole country might be heading into a civil war. As the violations of the [...]
