due process & judicial protection – Page 19 – International Justice Resource Center

Ninth Circuit Holds that Prolonged Detention of Immigrants Pursuing Motions to Reopen Must Be Reviewed by Immigration Judge

March 10, 2011 IJRC due process & judicial protection, immigration & asylum, U.S. courts

On March 7, 2011, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled in Diouf v. Napolitano that an immigrant facing long-term detention pending resolution of their motions to reopen immigration proceedings is “entitled to release on bond unless the government establishes that he is a flight risk of a danger to the community.” In so holding, the appellate court

IACHR Takes Dominican Republic to the Inter-American Court in Guayabín Massacre Case

February 20, 2011 IJRC crime & impunity, discrimination, due process & judicial protection, Inter-American System, liberty & security of person, massacres

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights announced last week that it has filed an application with the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in the case of Nadege Dorzema et al. v. Dominican Republic (Case No. 12.688). The case centers around the June 17, 2000 deaths and detention of a group of Haitians and one Dominican citizen at the hands of

Recent ECHR Decisions Highlight Continued Problem of Impunity

February 17, 2011 IJRC crime & impunity, domestic courts, due process & judicial protection, European System, Inter-American System, right to life

Situations of impunity arise when a State fails to adequately investigate and prosecute serious crimes affecting individuals’ human rights. In many countries in the world, a lack of sufficient resources or training, attacks against law enforcement and the judiciary, discriminatory attitudes and/or official corruption contribute to high levels of impunity – such as in Guatemala, where an estimated 98% of

Belarus Urged to Release Journalists and Politicians as First Protester Sentenced to 4 Years

February 17, 2011 IJRC democracy & political rights, domestic courts, due process & judicial protection, thought, expression & association

Political protester Vasily Parenkov has been sentenced to four years’ imprisonment for breaking a window in the Belarus parliament building in the mass protests following the reelection of President Alexander Lukashenko in December. [AFP; The Economist] Critics say that such vandalism crimes should carry a much lighter sentence. Over 40 other opposition leaders and activists have also been charged in

Vietnamese Activist Vi Duc Hoi Sentenced to 8 Years for Online Pro-Democracy Articles

January 27, 2011 IJRC due process & judicial protection, human rights defenders, thought, expression & association

Vietnamese political activist Vi Duc Hoi has been sentenced to eight years’ imprisonment and five years’ house arrest on charges of spreading anti-government propaganda for publishing online articles advocating democratic governance. [AI] Article 88 of the Vietnamese penal code calls for imprisonment of between three and twenty years for various forms of anti-government propaganda, including “[m]aking, storing and/or circulating documents and/or

UK Reviews Anti-Terrorism Measures; Recommends Less Restrictive Version of Control Orders

January 26, 2011 IJRC civil litigation, domestic courts, due process & judicial protection, European System, security & rule of law

The United Kingdom’s Home Office has published its Review of Counter-Terrorism and Security Powers: Review Findings and Recommendations, an analysis of British counter-terrorism measures – including pre-charge detention, control orders, deportation of foreign nations, stop and search, and surveillance – in light of the country’s Human Rights Act and obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights. [UK Human Rights

Former Guantánamo Detainee Sentenced to Life Imprisonment in New York

January 26, 2011 IJRC due process & judicial protection, security & rule of law, U.S. courts

Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani, the first Guantánamo detainee to be tried in U.S. civilian court and who was convicted late last year on one of over 280 charges related to the 1998 bombings of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, has been sentenced to life imprisonment by Judge Kaplan of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New

Lori Berenson's Release on Parole Upheld in Peru

January 26, 2011 IJRC due process & judicial protection, Inter-American System, security & rule of law

Lori Berenson’s release from prison on parole has been upheld by a Peruvian appellate court, following an appeal by the prosecutor, which sought to require her to spend the final five years of her sentence in prison. [Jurist] Berenson’s parole was revoked when authorities failed to confirm Berenson’s address, but her release was ordered again three months later. The prosecutor

2010 in Review: IACHR Merits Reports

November 1, 2010 IJRC crime & impunity, due process & judicial protection, European System, immigration & asylum, Inter-American System, right to life, thought, expression & association, U.S. courts, UN treaty bodies

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights has published two merits reports so far this year, having to do with deportation of non-citizens without consideration for humanitarian factors (against the United States) and impunity in the death of a journalist (against Brazil). In addition to the two merits reports, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights has published thirty-six favorable admissibility decisions,

Jeffrey Landrigan Executed in Contravention of IACHR Recommendations

October 27, 2010 IJRC due process & judicial protection, Inter-American System, right to life, U.S. courts

Jeffrey Timothy Landrigan was executed by lethal injection late last night in Arizona following the U.S. Supreme Court’s order yesterday, allowing the execution to proceed despite the unknown origin of one of the drugs, sodium thiopental, to be used by Arizona. [Arizona Republic] The unnamed British drug manufacturer had not received approval from U.S. regulatory agency the Food and Drug