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Late at night on September 11, 2012, the American consulate in Benghazi, Libya came under fire from a violent mob. The protesters swarmed and set fire to the embassy, and American and Libyan forces did not regain control until 2:00 A.M., roughly four hours after the attackers first stormed the premises. Four Americans were … Read more
The Kurdish parliament is considering a bill that would criminalize offending and insulting religions in response to the arrest of Hamin Ary, the editor of an Erbil-based Kurdish monthly magazine. Ary was arrested in May for “violating religious sensibilities” after he republished a controversial article entitled “Me and God.” The article, originally published on Facebook … Read more
There are several forces that deserve credit for the recently reported worldwide decline in pirate attacks – including international naval patrols, industry best practices, and the monsoon season – but no single force has done more to repel pirates that the use of privately contracted armed security personnel (PCASP). With no successful pirate attacks on PCASP-protected vessels … Read more
On September 6, Human Rights Watch released a report alleging that the U.S. government, under the Bush Administration, covered up the extent to which it used waterboarding at secret CIA prisons since the September 11, 2001 attacks. In particular, the report focuses on the CIA’s use of the tactic during the capture of Libyan opponents … Read more
The U.S. Government has restricted activities with Iran since the U.S. Embassy was seized in Tehran in 1979. In 2012, the United States continued to ratchet up sanctions against Iran as part of a continued effort to curb the country’s nuclear activities and to further actions taken against Iran since 2006. By placing economic pressure … Read more
Picture a medieval town, 110 acres in size and populated entirely by 10 cattle ranchers. Each rancher lives on a 1 acre parcel of land that together surround a 100 acre open space used for grazing cattle. If the 100 acre open space is shared by all 10 ranchers in common, each herder has a … Read more
A friend at the Extraordinary Chambers of the Courts of Cambodia shared with me this oath read to testifying witnesses. You’ve got to hand it to Cambodians. They take perjury seriously: Introductory Statement May all the guardian angels, forest guardians, and powerful sacred spirits of Preah Ang Dang Kae, Preah Ang Krapum Chouk, Prcah Ang … Read more
In 2007, a submersible named Mir descended over 4 km to the bottom of the Arctic Ocean and planted the Russian flag under the North Pole. The news broke all over the world and prompted fears of potential violent confrontations between arctic countries. Thus far, such fears have not been realized, but with Arctic … Read more
Earlier this summer, a US District Court issued sentences in a international maritime piracy case that involved four US victims. The defendant was not an actual pirate but a ransom negotiator for the piracy financiers. A Somali man who acted as a ransom negotiator for pirates who seized a yacht last year and killed four … Read more
In my previous post, I argued that the two pirate negotiators prosecuted by the United States – Mohammad Saaili Shibin and Ali Mohamed Ali – must have incited or intentionally facilitated piracy while on the high seas in order to have exposed themselves to prosecution by a court whose only basis for taking the case … Read more
The Denver Journal of International Law & Policy is one of the oldest international law journals in the United States and is ranked internationally. It is managed and edited by students at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law.
