The first major character test for Turkmenistan’s new leadership has produced inconclusive results. While prominent environmentalist Andrey Zatoka is back at home with family and friends after a six-week judicial ordeal, Turkmen authorities sentenced him to a three-year suspended sentence for illegal arms possession in what human rights activists term a politically motivated trial. “This case is a litmus test that will determine how the new leadership will deal with political dissent and civil society,” says Erika Daily, Director of the Open Society Institute’s Turkmenistan Project. “In terms of how Zatoka was treated, this leadership proved itself no better than [...]
HONG KONG — As the ousted dictator Saddam Hussein swung miserably from the gallows there were no shortage of political leaders — past and present, East and West — who were willing to express their dismay or a touch of glee. The political point scoring has abated since the December hanging. However, among the least noted to comment on the execution was a former Khmer Rouge leader, Nuon Chea, who defended the former Iraqi president and claimed “Saddam Hussein had a spirit of national love.” His comments were not surprising. Like Saddam Hussein, Nuon Chea expects to face trial on [...]
The U.S. military is working on an array of non-lethal weaponry for use in both Iraq and Afghanistan in hopes of curtailing civilian casualties, according to military officials. Some non-lethal devices for crowd control and thwarting suspected suicide bombers are already in use in Iraq, albeit in a limited capacity, though most have yet to make a debut on the battlefield or at checkpoints. That could soon change. Last month, the Pentagon unveiled what appears to be the flagship of its non-lethal deterrent arsenal, a system that uses focused “millimeter waves” of energy to create an intolerable heat sensation on [...]
