Brexit Protocol reaches flashpoint

On 3 May 1921, the Government of Ireland Act 1920 came into force, drawing a border on the island of Ireland for the first time. Legislators at the time could not have predicted the situation that is currently facing Northern Ireland, a century after partition.

The Northern Ireland Protocol, the part of the UK’s Brexit withdrawal agreement that creates a de facto border in the Irish Sea, has prompted resentment and widespread protest. The slogan ‘No Irish Sea Border’ can be seen on walls and lampposts from Londonderry to Larne.

The deal replaced the already-controversial Irish border backstop, designed to guarantee an open border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland regardless of the final terms of the Brexit deal.

Published on 27-05-21. Read on here

Russia attacks fundamental freedoms and rule of law as Navalny’s network targeted

The international community breathed a collective sigh of relief on 23 April when opposition leader Alexei Navalny ended a 24-day hunger strike in prison after finally receiving medical care. Yet ongoing efforts to suspend his political organisation and restrict other fundamental freedoms threaten to cripple Russia’s already deteriorating human rights situation.

On 26 April, the Moscow prosecutor’s office ordered Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK) and its regional network to suspend all activities, pending a court ruling on whether to designate the opposition group as ‘extremist’.

The move, which would give the authorities the power to arrest FBK staff, supporters, and even crowdfunding donors, was yet another nail in the coffin for the ailing Kremlin critic, who was imprisoned in February on a range of charges shortly after returning from Berlin where he received treatment for Novichok poisoning.

Published on 24-05-21. Read on here