Author: JURIST – Paper Chase

[JURIST] Amin Mohamed Durrani, a member of the “Toronto 18”, was released Thursday after pleading guilty in a Canadian court Wednesday to participating in and assisting a terrorist group. Durrani’s plea, which came as a surprise to many, included an apology and a denunciation of terrorism. As part of the plea agreement, Durrani was sentenced to seven-and-a-half years in prison, but was credited with time served since 2006 and was to be released after one additional day. Durrani also received a three-year probationary period, a lifetime ban from owning firearms, and his DNA will be entered into a national registry.
Also this week, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice sentenced two members of the group, Zakaria Amara and Saad Gaya, to life and 12 years in prison, respectively, for their roles in the plot to blow up key buildings in Toronto. Earlier in January, another member, Shareef Abdelhaleem, pleaded not guilty to charges of participating in a terrorist group and intending to cause an explosion. The first member of the group, an unidentified minor, was convicted in September 2008, and like Durrani, was sentenced to time already served.

[JURIST] The North Korean government is holding approximately 200,000 dissidents in six prison camps spread throughout the country, according to a report released Wednesday by the South Korean government’s National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK). According to the report, punishments for dissidents have increased significantly for common offenses such as attempting to escape. The report also said that five of these six prisons are death camps and that prisoners sent to them are never released. This is the first time a state agency has conducted a review of human rights in North Korea.
In October, UN Special Rapporteur for North Korea Vitit Muntarbhorn criticized North Korea for human rights violations. Muntarbhorn said North Korea was responsible for a broad range of egregious human rights violations including torture, public executions, and widespread hunger. North Korea’s deputy UN ambassador Pak Tok-Hun has condemned the report and defended the country’s rights record before the council.