August 2022 | 200 comments (200 topical, editorial, 0 hidden)

SIDEBAR - OH(chr) the irony (none / 0)

Politico.eu.com | UN says forced labor takes place in Xinjiang, Tibet, 18 Aug

Forced labor has taken place in the Xinjiang region of China, the U.N.'s top expert on slavery concluded in a new report which has riled Beijing.
It is "reasonable to conclude that forced labour among Uyghur, Kazakh and other ethnic minorities in sectors such as agriculture and manufacturing" took place in the western region, where China has been accused of human rights abuses against the Uyghur Muslim minority, and a "genocide" by the [U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo].
In stinging remarks, U.N. Special Rapporteur on Contemporary Forms of Slavery Tomoya Obokata added that some aspects of China's Xinjiang policy could even amount to "enslavement as a crime against humanity."

archived CIA Report: Xinjiang Problem, 22-28 May 2022 1,660,001 km2 fly-over

Global Times | Non-jury trial for national security case to ensure a fair trial: HK Department of Justice, 17 Aug

The AFP first reported that dozens of suspects including some who were involved in organizing and planning the so-called "35-plus" political strategy in 2020 would see a non-jury trial as the case involves foreign elements. Citing the relevant documents, the AFP also said the reason of departing from the tradition of jury trial is for the personal safety of jurors and their family members, and a risk of perverting the course of justice if the trial is conducted with a jury.
[...]
The Hong Kong Bill of Rights Ordinance, which incorporated many of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights provisions, does not provide for a right to be tried by jury in Hong Kong, so a trial by jury is not a protected right or fundamental right or constitutional right in Hong Kong, Lawrence Ma, barrister and chairman of the Hong Kong Legal Exchange Foundation, told the Global Times on Wednesday.

reference
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Article 8(3), exceptions; Article 9, omissions
National Security Law of the People's Republic of China (2015)
The Law of the People's Republic of China on Safeguarding National Security in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (2021)
The Lawyers & Jurists Foundation, "SOLICITORS VS BARRISTERS"

by Cat on Thu Aug 18th, 2022 at 05:16:29 PM EST
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Re: SIDEBAR - OH(chr) the irony (none / 0)

DW | How has Hong Kong weaponized its judiciary to target dissent?, 24 Aug

Two high-profile national security cases in Hong Kong will proceed without juries, according to the media in the former British colony, with some analysts interpreting this as another signal of failing judicial independence.

plea deals

[HKSAR Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China co-ordinator] Kwong [Chung-Ching] said some defendants might choose to plead guilty to receive shorter jail sentences, but they might also think that arguing in court would not make a difference for the outcome.
"Since they have been remanded for more than a year, it makes more sense to just get out of jail as soon as possible," she said.

English law: bail bonds, recognisance or remand, possibly flight risk and electronic monitoring

"The threshold for granting bail is so hard to achieve now,"she added. It's very problematic to see that we are relieved when someone received bail, because it should be a norm that most defendants should receive bail as long as they don't have a high risk of hindering case development."

reference
How to Germany | German Law and the German Legal System

There is no such thing as a jury trial in Germany and judges take on a more active role in court proceedings. Court procedures [folowing civil or criminal arraignment?] are otherwise similar to a < wipes tears >jury trial in the USA [minus 12 + 5 alternates]. Under German law the accused is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

Quora | Why does the German legal system not allow trial by jury?
"The court and legal system in Germany is very much different from what you know in the US."
Bernhard Schmeilzl, Esq. | WHERE IS MY JURY?

Litigating in a German court of law could not be any more different from what USA litigation lawyers or English barristers are used to. First, under German civil procedure rules, there is no jury, only a professional judge (usually only one, sometimes three or five). That's the ["]guy["] you need to persuade in order to win your case.

< wipes tears >

What else is different?
Well, quite a lot. For starters, there is no pre-trial discovery: actually, there is no discovery at all. There are no depositions and, normally, also no written witness statements. ...

Herzog, "Philosophical and social view of the jury : could it have a renaissance in Germany?" (2001) "lay" participation

II. The Philosophical Foundation : Hegel´s Philosophy of Rights (1821)
[...]
III. Academic and Political Criticism: Impracticability and Inefficiency of Jury Trials

by Cat on Thu Aug 25th, 2022 at 03:36:18 PM EST
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Re: SIDEBAR - OH(chr) the irony (none / 0)

Readovka | "Kommersant": the Federal Penitentiary Service said that Russian pre-trial detention centers are 96% full, 25 Aug Red state, Blue state NORM!

The department said that as of August 1, 2022, 114,172 people were kept in Russian detention centers , despite the fact that they are designed for 118,495 . The Federal Penitentiary Service concluded that the filling limit was not exceeded .
[...]
Aleksey Dobrynin , Managing Partner at Pen & Paper Bar Association, pointed to the overcrowding in prisons in St. Petersburg and the region since last year, and noted that judges continue to impose detention as the main punishment , despite the instruction of the Supreme Court to choose more lenient measures of restraint for light crimes. At the same time, the heads of institutions cannot but accept new prisoners, and the problem is solved by "compacting" the cells, adding new beds.
This problem was felt most strongly in the Rostov region - there are 5 detention centers in the region, designed for a total of 3.6 thousand people, but in May of this year, the head of the local PMC, Igor Omelchenko , reported that the limits in each of them were exceeded by 100-300 prisoners....

by Cat on Fri Aug 26th, 2022 at 03:33:33 AM EST
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Re: SIDEBAR - OH(chr) the irony (none / 0)

APaplainin just us
At $249 per day, prison stays leave ex-inmates deep in debt, 29 Aug "pay-to-stay"

Pay-to-stay laws were put into place in many areas during the [Reagan-Biden] tough-on-crime era of the 1980s and '90s, said Brittany Friedman, an assistant professor of sociology at University of Southern California who is leading a study of the practice.

by Cat on Mon Aug 29th, 2022 at 05:42:07 PM EST
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UPDATE - OH(chr) the irony report (none / 1)

OHCHR Assessment of human rights concerns in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, People's Republic of China, 31 Aug, 48 pp

3. In light of the breadth and gravity of the allegations, and the nature of information received, OHCHR has sought access to XUAR [Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region] to verify claims since 2018.⁷ In parallel, and further to its global mandate under General Assembly resolution 48/141 and within existing resources, OHCHR has continued to monitor the situation and assess the allegations, including by reviewing and critically analysing publicly available official documentation, as well as research material, satellite imagery and other open-source information, examining their origin, credibility, weight and reliability in line with standard OHCHR methodology. Throughout OHCHR's review, particular attention was given to official Government documentation and information, including laws, policies, statistical data, court decisions, and official statements and White Papers made public by the Government, as well as a number of other documents that are in the public domain and which OHCHR has assessed as highly likely to be authentic based on strong indicia of official character.⁸ OHCHR has also closely studied information presented by the Government, including in the context of its reviews before the UN human rights treaty bodies and in response to UN Special Procedures communications, ⁹ and examined material submitted to it by academic and other institutions inside China.¹⁰. ....

Always. read. the footnotes.
a strongly worded letter
Permanent Mission of the People's Republic of China to the United Nations Office at Geneva and Other International Organizations in Switzerland, 31 Aug in re: No.GJ/56/2022

by Cat on Thu Sep 1st, 2022 at 05:54:28 PM EST
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August 2022 | 200 comments (200 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)