(April 24, 2026)
Voigt: Man musste in der öffentlichen Debatte zuweilen den Eindruck gewinnen, dass diese Zuschreibungen des Verfassungsschutzes unantastbar sind. Dabei sollte man wegen der Grundkonstellation besonders kritisch hinschauen: Der Verfassungsschutz schafft sich durch seine Einstufungen selbst die Grundlage für seine Beobachtungsaktivitäten.
(April 4, 2026)
On Thursday, expressions of support came almost entirely from LFI and the far-left. For the anti-capitalist NPA, Olivier Besancenot expressed his “solidarity with Rima Hassan” on X, as did Nathalie Arthaud, the spokesperson for the Trotskyist Lutte ouvrière (LO).
Two former LFI members, Alexis Corbière and Clémentine Autain, also spoke out. “A member of the European Parliament placed in police custody for a retweet? Freedom of expression applied selectively is not the Republic,” said the latter. “The disproportionate repression of expressions of support for Palestine is clear, it must stop,” wrote the former.
On Friday, a handful of elected representatives from other parties began to join the chorus of criticism, including the communist MP Elsa Faucillon, who deplored a “relentless campaign revealing the mobilisation of the state apparatus against any solidarity with Palestine” and the Green MP Benjamin Lucas, who denounced “double standards”. Another Green MP, Sandrine Rousseau, expressed her “support” for Rima Hassan.
More surprisingly, the socialist MEP Chloé Ridel, a close ally of the Socialist Party leader Olivier Faure, also commented: “Everything about the police custody imposed on the European Member of Parliament Rima Hassan is disproportionate and violates her parliamentary immunity, whatever our disagreements. Was Louis Sarkozy [editor‘s note, son of former president Nicolas Sarkozy and a political commentator] placed in custody when he said about Palestinians ‘let them all die’?”
(March 31, 2026)
1. The undersigned, scholars of international law in Israeli academic institutions, wish to express our outrage and clear condemnation of Israel’s new death penalty law. It is not only immoral and in violation of the most basic dictates of public conscience, but is also unlawful both in terms of domestic constitutional law and Israel’s obligations under international law.
2. Israel is a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights from 1966. Under the Covenant it is prohibited to reintroduce the death penalty once abolished – a prohibition which includes, according to the Human Rights Committee’s General Comment 36 (2018), a ban on extending the list of crimes to which the death penalty applies or relaxing associated procedural safeguards, even for states that have not formally abolished the death penalty. As long as the death penalty is applicable, legal proceedings relating to its imposition must meet all due process safeguards, including the right to seek commutation of the death sentence. The right to commutation is also guaranteed in the Fourth Geneva Convention from 1949. Furthermore, under the Covenant, States must act towards abolition of the death penalty, and in no case may the death penalty be imposed in a discriminatory manner.
We collectively affirm the importance of equal application of international law to all, including countries that hold themselves out as global leaders. Recent statements from senior U.S. government officials describing the rules governing military engagement as “stupid” and prioritizing “lethality” over “legality” are profoundly alarming and dangerously short-sighted. These claims, particularly in combination with the observable conduct of U.S. forces, are harming the international legal order and the system of international law that we have devoted our lives to promoting.
The war, which is costing U.S. taxpayers between $1-2 billion each day, is imposing significant harm to civilians in the region, has resulted in the loss of hundreds of civilian lives across the Middle East, and is causing serious environmental and economic harms.
We write to express our concern about 1) jus ad bellum, or the decision to go to war, 2) jus in bello, or the conduct of hostilities, 3) rhetoric and threats from senior U.S. officials and their allies, which portend further abuses, and 4) the decimation of civilian harm mitigation structures within the U.S. government as a part of U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s “gloves off” approach to warfare.
(February 25, 2026)
Commissioners are bound by obligations of integrity and discretion during but also beyond the end of their mandate. Article 245 TFEU requires Commissioners to behave with integrity and discretion as regards the acceptance of certain appointments or benefits after their term of office. Article 17(3) TEU further provides that Members of the Commission shall be completely independent in the performance of their duties and shall neither seek nor take instructions from any government or other institution, body, office or entity.
The Code of Conduct for Members of the European Commission explicitly prohibits the use of confidential information obtained during the mandate for any purpose other than the exercise of official duties. There is no evident limitation period that would preclude an institutional inquiry by the Commission itself into whether these obligations were violated. The Commission has both the competence and, we would argue, the duty to investigate under Articles 17 and 245 TFEU, the Code of Conduct, and the Commission’s own institutional mandate to uphold the rule of law.
(February 26, 2026)
As reported by @POLITICOEurope
#playbook Full text of the letter:
Während sich die britischen Medien auf Mandelsons spätere Rolle als Kabinettsminister unter dem damaligen Premierminister Gordon Brown (2008–2010) konzentriert haben, fordern die Professoren eine genaue Untersuchung seiner vierjährigen Amtszeit als EU-Handelskommissar. In dieser Funktion leitete er Verhandlungen, darunter die Doha-Entwicklungsrunde, die Verhandlungen über ein Freihandelsabkommen zwischen der EU und Indien (FTA) und Handelsstreitigkeiten zwischen der EU und der ASEAN.
Aus Dokumenten, die vom US-Justizministerium veröffentlicht wurden, geht hervor, dass Mandelsons Verbindungen zu Epstein von 2002 bis 2011 bestanden, also seine gesamte Amtszeit bei der EU-Kommission umfassten.
Apart from the former Prince Andrew, none of them face claims of sexual wrongdoing. They have been toppled for maintaining friendly relationships with Epstein after he became a convicted sex offender.
Here’s a look at some of those caught up in the scandal:
Mr. Epstein, in turn, provided career advice on her move to Goldman, introduced her to well-known businesspeople and showered her with gifts of spa treatments, high-end travel and Hermès luxury items. In total, Ms. Ruemmler was mentioned in more than 10,000 of the documents released by the Justice Department.
Ms. Ruemmler, in addition to being Goldman’s general counsel since 2021, was a partner and vice chair of its reputational risk committee. She earlier served as White House counsel under President Obama and was a white-collar defense lawyer at Latham & Watkins.
(February 2, 2026)
A warrant signed by a judge who is independent of the executive branch is a constitutional safeguard that separates legitimate law enforcement from arbitrary government power. This bedrock principle applies with equal — if not greater — force when the government is merely enforcing a civil immigration order.
Today the Department of Homeland Security seeks to justify forcible home entries on the basis of administrative warrants — warrants issued by the executive, not the judicial branch.
The explanation from ICE is an example of recent run-ins between immigration officers and health care workers that have contributed to mounting friction at Minneapolis hospitals. Workers at the Hennepin County facility say ICE officers have restrained patients in defiance of hospital rules and stayed at their sides for days. The agents have also lingered around the campus and pressed people for proof of citizenship.
According to his lawyers, Castañeda Mondragón entered the U.S. in 2022 with valid immigration documents. Minnesota incorporation filings show he founded a company called Castaneda Construction the following year with an address listed in St. Paul. He appears to have no criminal record.
His lawyers told a court that Castañeda Mondragón was racially profiled during the crackdown, and that officers determined only after his arrest that he had overstayed his visa.
“He was a brown-skinned, Latino Spanish speaker at a location immigration agents arbitrarily decided to target,” his lawyers wrote in a petition seeking his release from ICE custody.
The commission has long been a way to challenge human rights abuses in the Western Hemisphere, but the U.S. hasn’t ratified the enforcement treaty and does not consider its findings legally binding. Still, an adverse finding is an embarrassment to a nation that has customarily been seen as an advocate for the rule of law.
The family of a Colombian man believed to have been killed in a US strike in the Caribbean has filed what’s believed to be the first complaint against such attacks with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR).
The petition, filed Tuesday by US human rights attorney Dan Kovalik, alleges that Colombian fisherman Alejandro Carranza was killed when the US struck his boat off the coast of Colombia on September 15.
The family of a Colombian fisherman who died in a U.S. military boat strike in September has filed a formal complaint with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights alleging the U.S. government illegally killed him.
Alejandro Carranza was killed in a strike in the Caribbean on Sept. 15, according to the petition, filed on Tuesday.
In written submissions, he highlighted a September 2024 report from the National Police Coordination Centre that came after alleged terrorism incidents. The report concluded that Palestine Action was “a risk to UK businesses and legitimate enterprises nationwide” and engaged as a whole in “non-violent direct action”.
Another report from the centre in December last year said incidents in which violence had been used were “not the norm for PA (Palestine Action) action, and any harm or injuries historically are assessed to be the result of unintentional or misjudged action through trying to evade capture”.
An attorney handling things for the family, said his client was neither a dangerous nor an uncivil person. “What we know about Richard is that he‘s a very pacifist man, very calm. We find it very odd what‘s being said about him,” his family lawyer further told NBC Los Angeles. Los Angeles City Councilmember Curren Price’s office said the man who was shot has lived in the city for decades and is a well-known member of the community. Price’s deputy chief of staff Jose Ugarte awarded the man a certificate of recognition two months ago for his citizen reporting in the community, his office said.“
Mohammad Dahleh, a human rights lawyer, says “the motive for revenge” among the Israeli society was strong after the October 7, 2023 attack, and the country’s prison authority acted with the same motive towards inmates.
He said the Israeli prison system started beating and torturing prisoners right after the attack.
“They also prevented prisoners from sleeping and worshipping,” Dahleh told Al Jazeera from the occupied East Jerusalem, adding that many prisoners were deprived of medical treatment, which led to deaths in jails.
At the International Court of Justice advisory opinion case last year, I argued for the Arab League, based on my academic research, that the Palestinian people had a legal entitlement to be free of the Israeli occupation without preconditions, and simply because of their right to self-rule – not because they were being treated abusively.
In its landmark ruling, the court agreed. This was a conclusion about the right to self-determination, pure and simple, in and of itself. It would, therefore, apply equally to any form of foreign administration, however ostensibly “humanitarian” and time-limited. Replacing an abusive trustee with another form of trusteeship is not self-determination, and would be illegal.
(…)
Berlin, den 19. September 2025
Strafantrag
Sehr geehrter Herr Rommel,
hiermit stellen wir Namens und in Vollmacht von ….
S t r a f a n t r a g
wegen sämtlicher in Betracht kommender Straftatbestände, insbesondere aber wegen Beihilfe zum Völkermord gem. § 6 Abs. 1 VStGB i.V.m. § 2 VStGB, § 27 Abs. 1 StGB, Beihilfe zu Verbrechen gegen die Menschlichkeit gem. § 7 Abs. 1, 3, 5 VStGB i.V.m. § 2 VStGB, § 27 Abs. 1 StGB
sowie Beihilfe zu Kriegsverbrechen gem. § 8 Abs. 1 bis 4, § 9ff. VStGB i.V.m. § 2 VStGB, § 27 Abs. 1 StGB
g e g e n
1. Herrn Olaf Scholz, Bundeskanzler a.D.;
2. Frau Annalena Baerbock, Bundesministerin des Auswärtigen a.D.;
3. Herrn Robert Habeck, Bundesminister für Wirtschaft und Klimaschutz a.D.;
4. Herrn Friedrich Merz, Bundeskanzler;
5. Herrn Dr. Johann Wadephul, Bundesminister des Auswärtigen;
6. Frau Katherina Reiche, Bundesministerin für Wirtschaft und Energie;
7. Herrn Boris Pistorius, Bundesminister der Verteidigung;
8. Dr. Jörg Stratmann, Geschäftsführer der Rolls-Royce Solutions GmbH;
9. Herrn Dr. Alexander Sagel, Vorstandsvorsitzender der RENK Group AG seit 1. Februar 2025;
10. Frau Susanne Wiegand, Vorstandsvorsitzende der RENK Group AG bis 31. Januar 2025;
11. Michael Humbek, Geschäftsführer der Dynamit Nobel Defence GmbH.
Es wird namens unserer Mandanten beantragt,
1. ein Ermittlungsverfahren gegen die Beschuldigten einzuleiten,
2. die Beschuldigten verantwortlich zu vernehmen,
3. öffentliche Anklage gegen die Beschuldigten zu erheben
(September 20, 2025)
Konkret wird den elf Beschuldigten zur Last gelegt, mit der Lieferung von Waffen, Komponenten und Ersatzteilen an Israel die Militärmaschinerie des Apartheidstaates zu unterstützen und das genozidale Vorgehen im Gazastreifen erst möglich zu machen. Auf 110 Seiten mit über 600 Fußnoten werden die Anschuldigungen mit Zahlen, Fakten und Expertenaussagen untermauert. Beschuldigt werden neben den eingangs genannten Politikern zudem die beiden amtierenden Minister Johann Wadephul (Auswärtiges Amt) und Katherina Reiche (Wirtschaft und Energie) sowie die Rüstungsmanager Jörg Stratmann (Rolls-Royce Solutions GmbH), Alexander Sagel, Susanne Wiegand (beide Renk Group AG) und Michael Humbek (Dynamit Nobel Defence GmbH).
President Lee Jae Myung instructed officials to take all-out measures to protect Korean nationals after a U.S. immigration raid at a Hyundai Motor–LG Energy Solution battery plant construction site in Georgia detained 475 people, including more than 300 South Koreans.
Foreign Minister Cho Hyun confirmed the figure during an emergency task force meeting at the Government Complex Seoul on Saturday, saying he felt a “serious sense of responsibility” over the incident.
Cho added that the ministry may dispatch senior officials to the site and that he himself could travel to Washington if necessary.
(today)
Prominent doctor Hussam Abu Safiya and his nephew are being kept in appalling conditions in Israeli detention, his lawyer said after a rare visit.
Gheed Kassem said Abu Safiya and his nephew Hussam Zaher were „exposed to sunlight for only thirty minutes a month, while scabies and boils ravage their bodies, and they remain in the same clothes.“
„As for bathing, it lasts only two minutes, and they have each lost a third of their body weight. They are in dire need of dermatologists and medicines to treat the widespread skin diseases and infections,“ said Kassem.
This has been the darkest year for the International Criminal Court (ICC) since it opened its doors in The Hague in 2002. Never before had the institution faced such strong headwinds. The US imposed sanctions on four judges and the chief prosecutor, the British national Karim Khan, while threats, intrigue, and pressure from Washington mounted on state parties. The objective: to annul and prevent any arrest warrants against Israelis, including those targeting Benjamin Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant, issued on November 21, 2024, and to close the ongoing investigation into crimes committed on Palestinian territory.
(August 2, 2025)
British lawyer Andrew Cayley, who was tasked with leading the ICC’s file on Palestine (ICC-01/18), said the months he spent working on the case in The Hague were the most difficult of his life.
“I went through the worst months of my life in The Hague,” Cayley told Le Monde.
He described receiving direct threats, including being told he was “an enemy of Israel” and warned to “watch his back.” He resigned in March 2024.
Le Monde also cited a July 17, 2024, intelligence memo from Dutch authorities warning that the ICC had become a “prime target for espionage and subversive influence” by states whose officials were at risk of prosecution.
Zo Haderekh also reported on the plans presented by Israel’s defense establishment to expel the population of Gaza in a “humanitarian city”. This concentration camp constitutes a blatantly illegal order, 16 Israeli experts in international law and the laws of war warned Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz and the Israel army chief of staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir in a public letter issued Friday. In the letter, the experts warned that implementation of the plan would constitute a war crime and a crime against humanity. They said that under certain conditions, it could also be considered genocide. “We call on all relevant parties to publicly withdraw from the plan, renounce it and refrain from carrying it out,” they wrote.
On Friday morning, two protesters were arrested in front of Defense Minister home in Kfar Ahim, in southern Israel, during a demonstration against his proposal to establish a “humanitarian city” in Rafah for Gaza’s population.