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687Aliens — Refugees — Definition — Fear of persecution — Political opinions — Right to asylum on grounds of political persecution — Whether persecution must be attributable to the State — Whether sufficient that persecution emanates from State-like entity — Whether any requirement of organized and stable territorial authority — Disintegration of State authority during civil war — Whether party to civil war capable of committing political persecution within core territory over which its authority extends — Whether continuing external military threat necessarily excluding existence of internal State-like authority capable of committing persecution — The law of the Federal Republic of Germany

587Aliens — Refugees — Definition — Fear of persecution — Political opinions — Right to asylum on grounds of political persecution — Whether persecution attributable to "the State" if committed by State-like entities or third parties, where State unable or unwilling to provide protection — Nature of political persecution required to justify grant of asylum — Definition of refugee contained in Geneva Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, 1951 — Active political opposition to State — State interference with expression of political beliefs — Whether constituting persecution even where State thereby protecting its existence or political identity — Repressive measures taken by State to combat terrorism — Whether capable of constituting political persecutionAliens — Refugees — Definition — Fear of persecution — Internal flight alternative — Whether legitimate ground for denial of asylum — Condition that alternative offers asylum seeker reasonable protection against persecution — Loss of effective territorial control by State — Whether persecution no longer capable of being attributed to the StateTerrorism — Measures to combat terrorism — Circumstances justifying repressive measures interfering with rights of individuals — Commission of atrocities or other very serious crimes — Active support for terrorist activities — Whether constituting bar to asylum claim — The law of the Federal Republic of Germany

We analyze the effects of persecution and labor market discrimination during the communist regime in the former Czechoslovakia using a representative life history sample from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe. We find strong effects of persecution and dispossession on subsequent earnings, with most severe implications of job loss due to persecution on earnings in subsequent jobs and on career degradation. Accumulated long-term effects in the form of initial retirement pensions paid during the communist regime are even greater. These pension penalties disappear by 2006 largely as a result of compensation schemes implemented by democratic governments after 1989. We use unique administrative data on political rehabilitation and prosecution to instrument for the endogenous variables. Finally, we survey transitional justice theory and document reparations programs in other countries.

In a pivotal judgment delivered by the Grand Chamber, the European Court of Human Rights held that the conviction of a former teacher Yüksel Yalcinkaya violated Articles 6,7 and 11 of the Convention. The applicant Yalcinkaya was a teacher who was dismissed with an emergency decree enacted during the state of emergency rule between 2016 and 2018 and was subsequently prosecuted and convicted for his use of the ByLock app and for his membership in a teachers' union and an association which were also closed down with an emergency decree. In Erdogan's ever more repressive Turkey, usage of said app or membership in organizations and unions may lead to arrest. Especially anything that appears remotely related to the oppositional Gulen movement carries the risk of persecution.

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"Translated from the author's manuscript by A.M. and H.W." ; Mode of access: Internet.

Therapeutic jurisprudence is a relatively young school of thought. One of its major attractions to the academic community has been its claim that society could use the law, both at the legislative and adjudicatory level, to promote the psychological well-being of those affected by the law. In this commentary, I want to share a little known decision of the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico regarding police persecution of political minorities. It is my contention that looking at this decision through the lens of therapeutic jurisprudence, one may discover a serious effort by the court to heal very divisive wounds on the Puerto Rican political body-an effort which no other branch or institution was ready, or willing, to undertake.

[…] This article was originally published on the EUROPP – European Politics and Policy Blog. It gives the views of the author and not the position of Greece@LSE, the Hellenic […]

Differences in depressive symptoms and attitudes about political and social changes were examined for individuals with and without family histories of Stalinist persecution in several small villages in Russia and Ukraine. In a sample of 422 villagers, there were 37 family members of survivors of Stalinist purges. In comparison to villagers with no family history of persecution, those who had such history perceived their social life with other villagers and their life in general to be much improved in the late 1990s. They also reported much lower levels of depression than those without a history of persecution. Differences that were discovered could not be accounted for by demographic characteristics of the respondents. The results suggest that individuals with a history of family trauma related to political persecution may perceive their environment as more positive as a result of political changes and may cope with political transitions differently than persons who have no history of family persecution.

The Smith Act was a peacetime anti-sedition law that marked a dramatic shift in the legal definition of free speech protection in America by criminalizing the advocacy of disloyalty to the government by force. It also criminalized the acts of printing, publishing, or distributing anything advocating such sedition and made it illegal to organize or belong to any association that did the same. It was first brought to trial in July 1941, when a federal grand jury in Minneapolis indicted 29 Socialist Workers Party members, 15 of whom also belonged to the militant Teamsters Local 544. 18 of the defendants were convicted of conspiring to overthrow the government. Examining the social, political, and legal history of the first Smith Act case, this book focuses on the tension between the nation's cherished principle of free political expression and the demands of national security.

Frontmatter -- CONTENTS -- ACKNOWLEDGMENTS -- Introduction -- 1. Militancy and Fear: May 1934–June 1940 -- 2. Dissent Becomes a Federal Case: September 1940–June 1941 -- 3. "Socialism on Trial": July 1–November 18, 1941 -- 4. "If That Is Treason, You Can Make the Most of It": November 18–December 8, 1941 -- 5. Battling the "Gag" Act in Wartime: December 1941–December 1943 -- 6. "A Test of Fire": December 1943–November 1948 -- 7. The Ongoing Struggle for Civil Liberties: June 1951–August 1986 -- Coda and Conclusion -- NOTES -- INDEX -- ABOUT THE AUTHOR