Week 49: Power transitions and political challenges in Syria and Georgia and continued discussions on ICC arrest warrants

For over 50 years, the al-Assad family has ruled Syria. Inside the country and around the world, Syrians and others have expressed their displeasure. Here in London in 2011. This weekend, rebel forces captured the capital Damascus and thus seem to have put an end to the regime's time in power. Image: Eman Jueid for Aslan Media/Flickr

Of: Patrik Ölvestad

The debate about the EU's and Sweden's attitude to the International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant against Israeli leaders intensify and the country democratic status is questioned. The weekend saw the end of the al-Assad family's rule in Syria, but debaters are still holding their breath both regarding the future in Damascus and further north in Georgia. 

December 9, 2024, Current debate

New law in Georgia: "a serious deterioration of the freedoms and rights of LGBTQI people"

Natia Gvianishvili, senior international advocacy advisor at RFSL, believes that the new Georgian law will lead to a serious deterioration of the freedoms and rights of LGBTQI people. Photo: RFSL

Of: Benjamin Frisk

Around Eastern Europe, the struggle for the rights of LGBTQI people can be said to balance on the thin line between hope and despair. In Georgia, politics is marked by contradictions between the ambition of EU membership and controversial legislation that regulates civil society, the media and now the rights of LGBTQI people.

October 29, 2024, Interview