by Karen Williams Uganda’s government recently announced that it has ended the manhunt for the leader of the rebel Lord’s Resistance Army, Joseph Kony. At its height, the group wreaked havoc in northern Uganda, before dispersing across central Africa in recent years. It continues to attack civilians in the Central African Republic and the Democratic… Read More
No country for women, on death row for self-defence in the UAE
by Ananya Wilson-Bhattacharya Jennifer Dalquez, a domestic migrant worker from the Philippines, claims that she accidentally killed her employer in the UAE whilst trying to resist a sexual attack, but she is still due to be executed for the murder The campaign against the execution of Jennifer Dalquez, a young Filipina domestic worker facing the death penalty… Read More
The decimation of Legal Aid – why should you care?
by Miranda Grell In the first half of the twentieth century when the Legal Aid and Advice Act came into force in Britain, legal aid was considered to be the fourth pillar of the new welfare state, alongside the National Health Service, comprehensive schools and council housing. There was public support for the new form… Read More
Joint Enterprise: A dangerous cocktail of innuendo, hearsay and racism
by Colin Joseph Last week it could finally be reported that the first two defendants in a murder trial at the Old Bailey walked free from court following the recent landmark Supreme Court ruling on joint enterprise. Joint enterprise is not a new law, but it was developed by the courts to allow for more… Read More
Chad’s Torture Factories: ‘Justice – not African justice’
by Karen Williams Chad’s former leader, Hissène Habré, went on trial in Senegal this past July, accused of crimes against humanity, torture and war crimes committed during his rule. The trial comes after more than twenty years of long, hard struggle by survivors of Habré’s torture chambers and by the families of his victims. (The… Read More
Are Britain and America’s Drug Laws Racist?
By Kojo Koram That Justice is a blind goddess, Is a thing to which we black are wise, Her bandage hides two festering sores, That once perhaps were eyes. Langston Hughes,Justice (1923) Last week, at the annual convention of the NAACP, President Obama recognised that the US criminal justice system is in critical need of reform.… Read More
Criminalising forced marriage: The risk of symbolic gestures
by Huma Munshi A young woman sits in front of the bank manager, her distress is palpable with tears streaming down her face; her voice comes out in desperate gasps. “Please don’t call the police; I can’t explain how awful things will get.” “They have broken the law, I have no choice.” He responds. “Please,… Read More
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