On January 8, 2025, after more than 630 days in prison images of Belarusian political prisoner Viktor Babaryko were released. Babaryko is one of Belarus's most famous political prisoners who ran a powerful campaign against the authoritarian president Alexander Lukashenko in the 2020 elections. Following the polls Babaryko was arrested, accused of “laundering funds obtained by criminal means” and sentenced to 14 years of prison without the possibility of an appeal.
On Monday, January 6th, the US Congress certified Donald Trump’s victory in last year's presidential elections, which took place on November 5, 2024. In order to legally determine the winner of the election, this procedure is required, which involves members of the US House of Representatives and the US Senate allocating their state’s votes in the Electoral College and declaring that their state’s election results are “regular in form and authentic”.
The Kenyan government declared gender violence as the country’s biggest security threat this past Thursday, December 19. Since September 2023 there have been 7107 reports of sexual and gender-based violence and now in just the past four months, 100 women in Kenya have been killed, most by men they knew. The country’s gender violence is endemic and following the surge in cases, the government proposes an action plan which includes a special police unit dedicated to femicide and a presidential group to propose methods to combat gender-based violence.
The HTS promised to build a “homeland for all, including all sects and social classes.” Assad’s fall was announced on state television, as the flag of the opposition was hung up to replace the former. The citizens went out into the streets to celebrate, with the rebel soldiers firing at the sky to signal their victory. The residents asked to be taken to the “house of the donkey”, the presidential palace that had cost $1bn of tax money to build. People rejoiced in a newly found freedom and spoke out loud about the future of their country for the first time. Turkey claimed that 7,600 Syrians crossed the border to return home following the fall of Assad.
Protests erupted throughout Georgia after the government suspended EU membership talks until 2028, demanding democratic reforms and closer EU ties. As a country with a population of 3.7 million, its stability and sovereignty are critical in the region. Following the government's decision to halt EU membership negotiations until 2028, Georgia has seen a rise in protests and political unrest in recent weeks. At nationwide rallies in Tbilisi, thousands of Georgians have taken to the streets to demand democratic reforms and renewed commitment to the EU. Georgia's long history of protecting its stability, and sovereignty, and efforts to strengthen its links with the West are highlighted by the government's efforts to handle this crisis.
The murder of UnitedHealthCare’s CEO Brian Thompson in New York City on December 4th has pushed the debate over the United States healthcare system into the center of attention. Minnesota-based UnitedHealthcare, part of UnitedHealthGroup, one of America’s largest companies, provided private health insurance to over 49 million individuals across the US and was holding its annual investor’s conference in New York City when its CEO was shot directly in front of the hotel hosting the conference.
On Friday, November 6, the Romanian Constitutional Court officially annulled the results of the first round of voting in the presidential elections. The decision came as a shock to many as just days prior, the Court had validated the results of the first round and voting for the second round had already started for people domiciled outside of Romania. In the press release, it was said that the annulment was based on Article 146 (f) of the Constitution, for the protection of democracy, “to guard the observance of the procedure for the election of the President of Romania and to confirm the ballot returns.”.
South Korea was plunged into crisis, chaos, and turmoil in the late hours of Tuesday, December 3 as the country’s President, Yoon Suk Seol, made the shockingly brazen decision to declare martial law. This declaration was swiftly reversed, as Yoon backed down and lifted the order just over 6 hours later following an emergency vote by members of the National Assembly. The decree, which went into effect at 11 pm local time (GMT+9), banned all forms of protest, suspended activity by parliament and political parties, and placed media under full government control, although very few - if any - of these steps eventually went into effect.
By Shirin Charlize Adan
This article is written in conjunction with the IE Law Society.
Opportunities to apply legal knowledge within politics, business, and crime
“I don’t...
By Paulette Freixas Rey
This article is written in conjunction with the IE Law Society.
To become a practicing lawyer in Spain, one must complete the...
