June 1st
This week the Justice Beat focuses on events too strange to be true, outlawing the alt-right and millennial employment.
Did that really happen?
1. In scenes straight out a (farfetched) movie, Russian journalist Arkady Babchenko appeared, alive, at a press conference about his own death, reports the Atlantic. Adding to the Cold War atmosphere in Eastern Europe, Babchenko and Ukrainian authorities faked his death as part of an elaborate security operation which has left many commentators scratching their heads.
2. In another strange, if slightly less dramatic, case, a dog owner appeared in court this week as both the defendant and the victim, reports the Telegraph. Ms Zureiqi was left with cuts and bruises after being dragged through a park by her Staffordshire bull terrier. Despite her injuries, however, she was fined £770 and ordered to keep her dog muzzled and on a leash.
Outlawing the Alt-right
3. After broadcasting an hour-long video over Facebook that risked collapsing a trial, the founder of the English Defence League, Tommy Robinson, has been jailed for contempt of court, reports the Independent. Initially, the media was prevented from reporting Robinson’s arrest because of the original trial, but the Indy and Leeds Live successfully arguing that the damage had already been done on social media.
4. The Guardian reports on a flurry of cases being brought against alt-right groups in the States. As part of a wider legal strategy to break down hate groups, the mother of Heather Hayer, who died last summer while protesting neo-Nazis, is seeking to persuade a judge that the organisers of the far-right rally should be held accountable.
Millennial employment
5. Millennials: the most sought after employees forcing out older workers, or a group hard-done-by and unrepresented? In America, a case is being brought on behalf of older job seekers who have allegedly missed out on employment opportunities because of targeted Facebook advertising aimed at younger workers, reports Bloomberg. The Communications Workers of America Union claims that Facebook encourages advertisers to exclude non-millennial job-seekers by providing age filters and reporting data by age category.
6. Back in the UK, young workers are being ‘tied for years to a faceless behemoth’, according to Jolyon Maugham QC. Naive graduates sign up for training schemes at corporations such as Capita, only to be charged tens of thousands of pounds with no guarantee of future employment, he writes in the Guardian. His organisation, The Good Law Project, is crowdfunding a legal response.
This week on CrowdJustice, a trans student fights against expulsion from the University of Bristol, a campaign group in Northumberland fights against a new opencast coal mine, Jolyon Maugham QC takes on indentured grad schemes, and supporters of Farah Damji fight back against her conviction.