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Andrew Novak

@indyj02.bsky.social

820 followers 690 following 210 posts

Instructional Associate Professor of Criminology Law & Society, George Mason University 🐨 clemency/pardons, tribal law, comparative law, punishment, sport history ⚽️🏳️‍🌈

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Andrew Novak @indyj02.bsky.social · Feb 4

My article about the Queen’s 1968 death penalty commutations in Rhodesia - which were ignored by the Smith regime as it carried out its first post-UDI executions, is now live. 😁 www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Contesting the Royal Prerogative of Mercy: The Queen’s Pardons and the 1968 Constitutional Crisis over the Death Penalty in Rhodesia

In 1968, the Queen attempted to use her royal prerogative of mercy to prevent the executions of three condemned men in Rhodesia who were convicted of political murders. Though she was still the Rho...

www.tandfonline.com

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Andrew Novak @indyj02.bsky.social · 2m

I’ve gotten at least 10 peer review requests since August. Are other academics not doing their part? 🧐🧐

Reposted by Andrew Novak

Andrew Cutting @andrewcutting.coe.int · 59m

Very interesting: Since 2013, polls have consistently shown that the British people don't want to leave the European Convention on Human Rights👇

🔗 theconversation.com/do-british-p... via @uk.theconversation.com

#ECHR #OurRightsAndFreedoms

Do British people want to leave the ECHR? What a decade of polls reveals

In the most recent YouGov poll on this issue, 54% of Conservative voters and 72% of Reform voters were in favour of leaving.

theconversation.com

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Raffi Melkonian @rmfifthcircuit.bsky.social · 20h

Pleased to note that we got a great decision yesterday in a case we are helping the Institute for Justice in here in Houston. I’m proud to play a small part in helping IJ fight this thing.

thetexan.news/judicial/app...

Appeals Court Orders Harris County to Return Over $40,000 Seized in Civil Asset Forfeiture Case

The court held that evidence of a crime associated with the money was insufficient.

thetexan.news

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Andrew Novak @indyj02.bsky.social · 19h

I am constantly riddled with anxiety now that you mention it 😔

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Euractiv @euractiv.com · 23h

Greenland’s PM ready to ‘move with EU’ amid US annexation scare

Recent reports suggest that the US administration is eying a stake in a mining company operating in Greenland

dlvr.it

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Reposted by Andrew Novak

Mehdi Hasan @mehdirhasan.bsky.social · 23h

Omar Yaghi, the new Nobel Laureate, was born to a Palestinian refugee family.

NPR @npr.org · 1d

Susumu Kitagawa, Richard Robson and Omar M. Yaghi will share the prize. Their structures can "capture carbon dioxide, store toxic gases or catalyse chemical reactions," the committee said. n.pr/4nOvwQs

Research on metal-organic frameworks gets the chemistry Nobel Prize

Susumu Kitagawa, Richard Robson and Omar M. Yaghi will share the prize. Their structures can "capture carbon dioxide, store toxic gases or catalyse chemical reactions," the committee said.

n.pr

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Mark Kersten @markkersten.bsky.social · 23h

“Far from comprehensive, the list does not include the thousands still buried under the rubble of destroyed buildings, as well as the war’s many indirect victims”

The list of 18,457 children killed in Gaza: a poignant, humanizing, & heart-breaking investigation👇 www.theguardian.com/world/ng-int...

Young lives cut short on an unimaginable scale: the 18,457 children on Gaza’s list of war dead

Every name on a list compiled by health authorities in Gaza of the child victims of Israel’s offensive

www.theguardian.com

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Amanda Katz @katzish.bsky.social · 1d

Horrific reporting from the AP on the Myanmar families watching their kids starve to death from Trump and Musk’s aid cuts apnews.com/article/myan...

Starving children screaming for food as US aid cuts unleash devastation and death across Myanmar

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has repeatedly said “no one has died" because of his government’s decision to gut its foreign aid program.

apnews.com

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Mark Kersten @markkersten.bsky.social · 1d

"A lot of them are malnourished and they are facing executions on the road, some gunshots."

Sudan's civil war has faded from headlines, but monitors say it's the largest humanitarian crisis in the world, writes Margaret Evans: www.cbc.ca/news/world/e... #KeepEyesonSudan #Darfur

Sudan's civil war has faded from headlines, but monitors say it's the largest humanitarian crisis in the world | CBC News

The UN says more than 12 million Sudanese have been displaced since its civil war began in spring 2023, making it the largest humanitarian crisis in the world. Aid agencies, including Medecins Sans Fr...

www.cbc.ca

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KYW Newsradio on 103.9 FM @kywnewsradio.bsky.social · 2d

Overall crime in Philadelphia has been steadily declining. In 2021, the city hit a record number of homicide victims: 562. Now, it is on track to hit its lowest in 20 years.

www.audacy.com/kywnewsradio...

Philadelphia on track to record the lowest number of homicides in 20 years

Overall crime in Philadelphia has been steadily declining. In 2021, the city hit a record number of homicide victims: 562. Now, it is on track to hit the lowest in 20 years.

www.audacy.com

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Al Jazeera English @aljazeera.com · 1d

A complaint lodged with the ICC points to the Italian government's role supplying lethal weapons to Israel amid Gaza war

Italy’s Meloni says ICC complaint accuses her of Gaza genocide complicity

A complaint lodged with the ICC points to the Italian government's role supplying lethal weapons to Israel amid Gaza war

bit.ly

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Al Jazeera English @aljazeera.com · 1d

Dutch humanitarian organisation INSO rejected the allegations and called for the release of its eight staff members.

Burkina Faso’s military gov’t arrests European NGO workers for ‘spying’

Dutch humanitarian organisation INSO rejected the allegations and called for the release of its eight staff members.

bit.ly

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Andrew Novak @indyj02.bsky.social · 1d

The comments on the main country music industry social media accounts seem to be 50/50 on Zach Bryan’s ICE song - not that I’ve been checking 👀🫣

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s. eek smith 👻 @sesmith.lol · 1d

Speaking of housing first, feds cutting supports for unhoused people in CA is a real telling illustration of their priorities.

California braces for ‘devastating’ expected cuts to federal homeless housing funds

Thousands of Californians could return to homelessness as the feds reportedly plan to disinvest from permanent housing.

calmatters.org

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Euractiv @euractiv.com · 1d

EU tests post-Assad waters with debate on Syrian returns

EU countries are set to debate on whether post-Assad Syria is safe enough to allow, or force, the return of Syrian nationals 'posing a security risk' or 'convicted criminals'

dlvr.it

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Al Jazeera English @aljazeera.com · 1d

Saber Ben Chouchane, who was given the death penalty over posts insulting President Kais Saied, is released.

Tunisia pardons man sentenced to death over Facebook posts

Saber Ben Chouchane, who was given the death penalty over posts insulting President Kais Saied, is released.

bit.ly

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Tom Dannenbaum @tomdannenbaum.bsky.social · 2d

I spoke to The New Humanitarian about Gaza and the current moment in international law.

www.thenewhumanitarian.org/interview/20...

“The backlash of the powerful”: Two years of Israel’s war in Gaza and the crisis of international law

We spoke to legal expert Tom Dannenbaum about accountability efforts and how the US’ response is threatening to break the system of international law.

www.thenewhumanitarian.org

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Euractiv @euractiv.com · 2d

Bonaire residents take Netherlands to court over climate

The trial is a first for Europe and follows an advisory opinion issued by the International Court of Justice, which provides a legal interpretation of international climate law

dlvr.it

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The Kyiv Independent @kyivindependent.com · 2d

⚡️ US Supreme Court won't review Russian bank's appeal over MH17 downing.

The move enables the family of Quinn Schansman, an 18-year-old American passenger killed in the crash, to sue Sberbank under the U.S. anti-terrorism law.

US Supreme Court won't review Russian bank's appeal over MH17 downing

The move enables the family of Quinn Schansman, an 18-year-old American passenger killed in the crash, to sue Sberbank under the U.S. anti-terrorism law.

kyivindependent.com

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Eugene McParland 🇺🇦 @eugenemcparland.bsky.social · 3d

russian-linked vessels are continuing to leak oil off Europe’s shores — despite Western sanctions — underscoring the continent’s inability to rein in moscow’s so-called shadow fleet.

www.politico.eu/article/russ...

Russia’s blacklisted tankers keep dumping oil in Europe’s seas

Shadow fleet vessels sailed unimpeded in EU waters after leaving slicks near the continent.

www.politico.eu

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Texas Observer @texasobserver.org · 2d

“We can prove that Robert is innocent, and no reasonable jury would find otherwise if presented with all relevant medical evidence.”

New from @michellepitcher.bsky.social: Despite the evidence, and overwhelming support, Robeson's execution date is set for October 16.

‘I Got a Lot of People Believing in Me’: Robert Roberson Stares Down Death, Again

Set to be the first U.S. person executed based on the controversial “Shaken Baby Syndrome” diagnosis, Roberson told the Observer last week he hopes his story will mean something.

www.texasobserver.org

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Andi Hoxhaj OBE @andihoxhaj.bsky.social · 2d

Tragic that a judge was killed today in a courtroom in Albania. Heartfelt condolences to his family. For those of us following the state of the rule of law, this horrific act felt like it was only a matter of time — a stark reminder we must not look away.

www.theguardian.com/world/2025/o...

Judge killed in courtroom shooting in Albania

Man opens fire in Tirana court, killing judge and injuring two other people, and is arrested after fleeing scene

www.theguardian.com

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The Marshall Project @themarshallproject.org · 2d

The administration is shifting tens of thousands of personnel from other federal agencies to help ICE, raising concerns that other law enforcement priorities are being neglected.

“It’s a good time to be an American-born criminal,” said one expert.

For Trump Administration, Fighting Crime Takes a Backseat to Immigration Arrests

“It’s a good time to be an American-born criminal,” said one expert, as ICE’s dragnet now includes thousands of agents from other federal law enforcement.

www.themarshallproject.org

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Mark Kersten @markkersten.bsky.social · 2d

“The accused was not only giving orders…but was personally involved in the beatings & later was physically present & giving orders for the execution of those detained.”

🚨‼️🚨‼️

The first senior perpetrator of atrocities in Darfur is convicted at the ICC! www.theguardian.com/world/2025/o...

ICC convicts former Sudan militia leader for war crimes in Darfur

Janjaweed commander Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-al-Rahman, known as Ali Kushayb, found guilty over atrocities

www.theguardian.com

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Mother Jones @motherjones.com · 2d

Indigenous nations plan tariff-free trade corridor across US-Canada border

Indigenous Nations Plan Tariff-Free Trade Corridor Across US-Canada border

“We’re not begging for crumbs anymore. We’re demanding what’s rightly ours."

www.motherjones.com

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