Political competition is nonexistent, much of the opposition has been driven abroad or imprisoned, the internet and media are heavily censored and reports of arbitrary imprisonment and torture are frequent.
That is why I have sought, until now, to fight my imprisonment quietly from within, to make the authorities understand that this is all a terrible mistake, that I've been caught in the middle of a political struggle that is not my own.
The remaining seven were sentenced to life imprisonment.
Redactions marked in the text were made by the US government when Mohamedou Ould Slahi's diary was cleared for public release Listen to live and recorded readings by Brian Eno, Colin Firth and others, as well as a panel discussion with Slahi's lawyer and brother about this remarkable account of imprisonment.
" The judge told Wright he was required by the Criminal Justice Act 2003 to determine whether life imprisonment, the only sentence for murder, should mean life or whether he should fix a minimum term.
The US infamously has the world's highest imprisonment rates – but for once, it would make sense to follow an American lead on penal policies.
Anstey says that despite the toll the imprisonment of his staff has taken on the network, Al Jazeera will not change its editorial approach or retreat from covering the hot spots.
Palestinians generally view them as heroes, regardless of the reason for their imprisonment.
His parents, Jurius and Lois Greste, who took part in the press conference via video link from their home in Australia, said they realised his decision to do so was potentially dangerous, but thought it important to publicise his imprisonment.
If the home secretary could base her argument for denouncing the human rights convention on the strength of the Abu Qatada case — which Theresa May won — you'd expect Chris Grayling to argue even more strongly for pulling out of Strasbourg over the issue of life imprisonment for brutal murderers, an iconic issue on which the justice secretary has decisively lost.
It seems sinister that there was an attempt to dislodge the lawful process in these cases and substitute blanket imprisonment.
