Read the 45th issue of ICJ’s monthly newsletter on proposed and actual changes in counter-terrorism laws, policies and practices and their impact on human rights at the national, regional and international levels.
The ICJ has urged the Maoist Party to immediately desist from further intimidation against lawyers acting in the case of Arjun Lama (photo of his wife holding his picture).The ICJ aslo called on the Government to ensure the protection of human rights defenders acting on behalf of victims of both state and non-state actors.
Nepal-intimidation HR defenders stop-press release-2010 (full text in English, PDF)
The ICJ and other Human Rights groups today strongly condemned the conviction, and sentence to three years’ imprisonment, of Mr. Haytham Al-Maleh, a 79 years old prominent Syrian human rights lawyer.
This conviction was ordered on the grounds of “transferring false and exaggerated news that weaken national sentiments”, under Articles 285 and 286 of the Syrian Criminal Code. The charges arise from Mr. Al-Maleh’s interviews with the media in which he criticized, amongst other things, the continued use of the emergency laws in Syria and the ongoing control of the Syrian authorities over the judicial system.
Syria-conviction Al-Maleh-press release-2010 (full text in English, PDF)
The ICJ and other human rights groups submitted an intervention in Schalk & Kopf v. Austria case.
In Schalk & Kopf v. Austria, the European Court of Human Rights held that the denial of a marriage license to a same-sex couple did not run counter to Austria’s obligations under Article 12 of the European Convention, but the Court did hold for the first time that an unmarried same-sex couple without children constituted a family for the purposes of privacy under Article 8. Moreover, three of the judges held that there was a violation of Article 8 in conjunction with Article 14.
Austria-case Schalk Kopf-judgement-2010 (full text in English, PDF)
Austria-written comment-legal submission-2010 (full text in English, PDF)
Irina Fedotova was convicted under a law that criminalizes propaganda of homosexuality among minors. She was holding a sign near a school that declared she was proud of her homosexuality. The ICJ’s submission to the Human Rights Committee analyses limitations on freedom of expression in light of the requirement of non-discrimination under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
Russian Federation-ICJ opinion Oblast law-legal submission-2010 (full text in English, PDF)
Nepal: Balen Government Should Bring Human Rights Reforms
Global experts warn of eroding judicial independence amidst the rise of authoritarianism around the world
Development of the Crimes Against Humanity Convention
ICJ Publications on the Crimes Against Humanity Convention