The Oscar-nominated documentary ‘The Gatekeepers’ can be viewed online during one more month, until the 22 Oct. 2013. See the film on UR Play.

Media has recently reported that a number of Chinese officials stand trial, after torturing a man to death during an investigation. Hopefully, the trial will be a landmark for stopping impunity for such horrible interrogation methods and also find an answer to who approved the use of torture. Prosecuting only low-ranked officials is not enough. Also political heavyweights must be accountable for their actions.

The world is also waiting for such trials to one day be held in other countries, which are believed to have tortured captives. Sadly, the list of such countries is long, and also includes countries normally called democracies.

The civil war in Syria has caused millions of people to become refugees. It is unfortunately one in the row of humanitarian disasters, caused to a large extent on purpose by governments. While the Syrian government has big role in this, it is obvious that other countries have also been very involved in destabilizing Syria and fueling the civil war. It is time to demand accountability from all governments involved, also for the human suffering and huge cost they are creating for refugees.

Tension between the USA and Russia has caused Barack Obama to cancel a planned bilateral meeting in Moscow. One reason for this tension is the Magnitsky Act and the subsequent Russian reaction, including the Guantanamo List, which publish names of suspects of government-related crime. It is extremely sad to see that none of these countries seem able to deal with the shortcomings of their own legal systems, which have been highlighted in this affair.