TAYLOR TRIAL RESUMES — At the Hague Jan. 7, prosecutors began presenting their case against former Liberian President Charles Taylor. A Canadian “blood diamond” expert was called as the first of 144 expected witnesses for the prosecution. Taylor faces 11 charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity for his alleged role trading weapons for diamonds in the brutal 1991-2002 Sierra Leone war. Additionally, the prosecution alleges that the diamond trade through Liberia that earned the Revolutionary United Front — which was responsible for much of the war’s violence — $125 million a year could not have happened without the [...]
BAHRAIN PASSES LAW ON HUMAN TRAFFICKING — Bahrain’s legislature Dec. 31 signed off on a law to combat human trafficking, which has particularly victimized the country’s migrant workers. Bahrain’s king is expected to approve the law. The law provides for the establishment of a new Human Trafficking Victims Assessment commission to provide medical and psychological assistance to trafficked persons and a new Human Trafficking Authority to create strategies to combat the scourge. It also sets up financial penalties of up to $265,000 for those convicted of trafficking. Fines are subject to doubling in cases where the victims are below 15 [...]
BRAZIL REVIEWS PRISON SYSTEM — Brazilian authorities are investigating the country’s prison system in the wake of the weeks-long rape and abuse of a 15-year old girl by male cellmates. Brazilian legislators have announced an investigation into the case and have pledged to build new prisons, upgrade existing facilities and adding space for 5,500 female prisoners. The young girl, identified in the Brazilian press only as “L,” was placed in a holding cell with 20 men aged 20-34 after being arrested on robbery charges. “L” spent a month in the cell, where she was raped, forced to trade sex for [...]
