Prison justice

Damascus Cityscape

‘Disappeared’ Syrian dissidents emerge from Assad’s prisons after regime collapse

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As Syrian rebels led by the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) captured city after city on the road to Damascus, forcing Bashar al-Assad to flee the country, they also opened the doors of the regime’s notorious prisons, into which upwards of 100,000 people disappeared during nearly 14 years of civil war. Many emerged frail and emaciated into the bright December sunlight, greeted by weeping family members who had no idea they were still alive.

Silhouette of cannabis leaf

Brazil’s Supreme Court decriminalizes possession of marijuana for personal use

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The Supreme Court’s ruling has long been sought by activists and legal scholars in a country where the prison population has become the third largest in the world. Critics of current legislation say users caught with even small amounts of drugs are regularly convicted on trafficking charges and locked up in overcrowded jails, where they are forced to join prison gangs.

Silhouette of cannabis leaf

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore set to issue 175,000 pardons for marijuana convictions

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During a news conference, Moore said the executive order will affect “tens of thousands of Marylanders” convicted of misdemeanors. Some may have had more than one conviction pardoned through the process. Advocates praised the move as a way of removing barriers to housing, employment, or educational opportunities based on convictions for conduct that is no longer illegal.

Hand holding living cannabis plant

Germany approves partial legalization of cannabis

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The new law will allow adults to carry up to 25 grams of cannabis for their own consumption and store up to 50 grams at home. Public consumption will be allowed, so long as it is not within sight of children or near sports facilities. It will also be prohibited in pedestrian zones between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m. It is slated to come into effect on April 1.

Independence Arch

Ghana ends capital punishment

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The West African country currently has 170 men and six women on death row, whose sentences will now be replaced by life imprisonment. Until now, execution has been the mandatory sentence for murder in Ghana.

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