Neda Soltan, Aung San Suu Kyi, Natalia Estemirova: Justice Takes a Vacay

Like a lot of Americans, I'll be taking some vacation time in August to kick back and relax. Maybe some sun, some sand, some swimming -- and, um, definitely some beers. Even our own president has shown his belief in beer as balm for times of stress. (Personally, I would have killed to hear Joe Biden pontificate over the brew summit -- talk about a non-sequitur jamfest!)

Anyway, recent actions around the world show that I won't be the only one on the beach wondering whether that's sand or Cool Ranch powder on the Doritos I'm eating. Looks like those fuddy-duddy stalwarts, Justice and Rule of Law, might be going on vacation, too. High profile cases of human rights abuse, repression and violation of justice have been put on hold or just disappeared completely from the global radar, presumably with the idea that dragging these cases through the long, hard slog of the summer months (and beyond) will effectively kill outrage, outcry or protest in general.

Today was the expected release of the verdict in the case of Burmese freedom fighter and Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. Instead of announcing what most believe will be a guilty verdict, which will keep Suu Kyi jailed throughout the upcoming 2010 elections, the courts (effectively an instrument of the ruling military junta) delayed the decision until Aug. 11. Suu Kyi's international counsel, Jared Genser, put it succinctly: "It is in some ways a smart move -- push off the verdict until the middle of August when numerous government and U.N. officials around the world will be on vacation. But it remains to be seen whether this ploy will work or if anticipation will be heightened in the run up to the issuance of the verdict."

On July 15, Chechnya's leading human rights activist, Natalia Estemirova, was abducted from her home and murdered in broad daylight, her body found in the woods with two gunshots to the head. The Kremlin announced -- as it had after the killings of human rights defenders Stanislov Markelov and Anna Politskovaya -- that it would "take all necessary measures" to investigate the murder. Rachel Denber, deputy director of Human Rights Watch, countered, "What we really need is a truly independent, comprehensive and transparent investigation. We need Medvedev go further and say that impunity for these kinds of crimes in Chechnya is rampant." That was over two weeks ago -- and so far, crickets.

At least the summer in Iran doesn't seem to be slowing outrage over injustice. On Thursday, tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets to commemorate the death of Neda Soltan, much to the chagrin of the Iranian government, which has repeatedly tried to put truth and justice out to pasture by asserting that Soltan's death was at the hands of the CIA or perhaps even staged. In an attempt to eschew her martyrdom and ignite the flames of outrage once again, the government has attempted to erase Soltan's death -- and that other of protesters who have died while in government custody -- by banning mourning posters and funeral services. Thankfully, the Iranian public has shown us that a collective desire for freedom and justice can't be brushed aside so easily, even in the dog days of summer.