"Jailed for being gay"

CBS News has run this powerful segment about the prosecution of gay military personnel for consensual sex, fraternization, and other UCMJ offenses. 

Among those interviewed: NIMJ president Professor Rachel E. VanLandingham.

Human Rights Watch statement on Pakistan's return to military trials of civilians

"International human rights standards provide no basis for Pakistani authorities to try these cases in military courts, especially as the civilian courts are functioning, Human Rights Watch said. Pakistan’s military court judges are serving officials and are not independent from the government. In the past, no independent monitoring of military trials in Pakistan has been allowed. Defendants have often been denied copies of judgments with the evidence and reasoning in the verdicts in their cases."

From this Human Rights Watch news release

Major-General Dany Fortin & the MPCC

Last week, the Chairperson of Canada's Military Police Complaints Commission (MPCC) announced that there would be a Public Interest Investigation (PII) to examine the Military Police investigation of sexual assault allegations against Major-General (MGen) Dany Fortin.

While that is a useful step in examining the manner in which the Canadian Forces (CF) have handled allegations of sexual misconduct in an increasingly politicized environment, there are many relevant issues and pertinent questions that will not be examined or answered by such a PII. More must be done.

Here is a reflection on some of the broader issues and questions arising in relation to this announcement:

MGen Dany Fortin & the MPCC

Military Justice Review Panel

Great news: the Military Justice Review Panel created by article 146, UCMJ, now has a website. It can be found here.

Memorial Day 2023