The case, Ontario (Public Safety and Security) v. Criminal Lawyers' Association [case information], came to the court on appeal from the Court of Appeals for Ontario [official website], which had found FIPPA to be unconstitutional. The case arises out of the prosecution of two men for the 1983 murder. A retrial was ordered by the Court of Appeals in 1995, the proceedings for which were stayed in 1997 due to what the court described as the deliberate non-disclosure of pertinent information and the negligent breach of duty by government officials during trial. This led to the investigation of the local police by provincial authorities, and the report of the findings which the CLA was attempting to gain access to. The CLA was also attempting to gain access to a 1998 memorandum and letter containing legal advice to local authorities regarding the report. The Supreme Court heard arguments in the case in October 2008 after granting leave to appeal from the Ontario court in 2007.

Her continued detention, and that of more than 2,100 other political prisoners in [Myanmar], contravenes international human rights law and casts a long shadow over planned elections in the country. I urge the military regime to release all political prisoners immediately and unconditionally, and respect the human rights of [Myanmar's] people.

Suu Kyi's detention in her compound in Yangon will prohibit her from competing in this year's elections as a member of her National League for Democracy (NLD) [party website] party. Suu Kyi, who has been in prison or under house arrest for 14 of the past 20 years, will be released in November [JURIST report], according to a government official, likely after the elections have taken place. In April, Suu Kyi filed suit before the Myanmar's Supreme Court to stop the dissolution of her opposition NLD under a controversial election law [JURIST report]. Additionally, the claim seeks to annul the part of the election law that bars political prisoners [JURIST report] from participating in elections and also requests the establishment of a parliament of lawmakers who won in the 1990 elections.

Chen was originally found guilty on corruption charges and sentenced to life in prison in September. Chen's wife was also given a life sentence [CNA report] after the pair were convicted on charges of embezzlement, receiving bribes, forgery, and money laundering. A three-judge panel of the Taipei District Court [official website, in Chinese] also sentenced their son to two-and-a-half years in prison and their daughter-in-law to one year and eight months. Ruling on another indictment against Chen, the district court on last week found him not guilty of embezzling [JURIST report] USD $330,000 from the Foreign Affairs Ministry [official website] to finance his son's studies in the US. The court held that the indictment was without credibility [CNA report], was contradictory, and was not supported by the facts presented. Prosecutor General Huang Shyh-ming said that he may appeal to the High Court. Chen has maintained his innocence against all charges, claiming that current Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou [official website] is using Chen's trial to distance himself from Chen's anti-China views. Chen was also indicted in December for allegedly embezzling USD $20 million from banks [JURIST report] that sought to protect themselves during Chen's financial reform program.

Last month, Kaplan refused to dismiss criminal charges [JURIST report] against Ghailani, despite his lawyer's claims that he had been tortured in prison. Kaplan held that even if Ghailani was mistreated while in CIA custody, there was no connection between that and the current prosecution. In November, Kaplan ruled that Ghailani does not have a right to be represented by his military defense lawyers [JURIST report] in a civilian court. In July 2009 Ghailani's military lawyers requested access [JURIST report] to the CIA "black sites" at which their client was held prior to his transfer to Guantanamo Bay and was allegedly subjected to cruel interrogation methods. Ghailani was the first Guantanamo detainee to be brought to the US for prosecution. Having been held at the Guantanamo facility since 2006, Ghailani was transferred [JURIST report] to the SDNY in June to face 286 separate counts, including involvement in the bombings and conspiring with Osama bin Laden and other members of al Qaeda to kill Americans worldwide. He pleaded not guilty [JURIST report] at his initial appearance.

International pressure to lift the blockade has increased significantly since the May 31 flotilla attack. Turkey, a longtime ally of Israel, has included lifting the blockade as a condition upon which the restoration of normal diplomatic ties rests, along with an apology and an international inquiry. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) [official website] on Monday called for and end [JURIST report] to the Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip, which it labeled a violation of international humanitarian law under Article 33 of the Geneva Conventions [text; ICRC backgrounder]. Israel has so far refused an international inquiry [JURIST report] into the flotilla attack. Earlier this month, the UN Human Rights Council [official website] condemned [JURIST report] Israel's raid on the ships and initiated an independent investigation into possible violations of international law. Also that week, the UN Security Council [official website] called [JURIST report] for a "prompt, impartial, credible and transparent investigation" into the raid. The Turkish ship on which the violence occurred was one of six organized [Guardian backgrounder] by the Free Gaza Movement [advocacy website] to carry protesters and humanitarian supplies to the isolated Palestinian enclave. The Gaza naval blockade began in 2007 after Hamas forcibly expelled [BBC report] their chief rival, Fatah [CFR backgrounder] from Gaza. In 2006, Hamas was elected [JURIST report] as the ruling party of the Palestinian Authority after unbroken rule by Fatah. In January 2008, then-UN High Commissioner on Human Rights Louise Arbour also described the blockade as collective punishment [JURIST report].

Today, the criminal market spans the planet: illicit goods are sourced from one continent, trafficked across another and marketed in a third. Transnational crime has become a threat to peace and development, even to the sovereignty of nations. Criminals use weapons and violence, but also money and bribes to buy elections, politicians and power - even the military.

Earlier this week, the US State Department (DOS) [official website] released its annual report [text, PDF; JURIST report] on human trafficking conditions across the globe. It was the tenth annual report on human trafficking by the DOS, following reports in 2009 [JURIST report], 2008 [materials], 2007 and 2006 [JURIST reports]. In January, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) [official website] ruled that sex trafficking violates conventions [JURIST report] against slavery and forced labor. Last October, the US and the EU announced an international criminal treaty [JURIST report] that will greatly increase cooperation between the two governments in fighting the trafficking of humans and the sale of illegal drugs. In March 2009, UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in North Korea [JURIST news archive] Vitit Muntarbhorn cited the country [JURIST report] for various human rights violations including human trafficking.

The facts alleged in this indictment show that the Pakistani Taliban facilitated Faisal Shahzad's attempted attack on American soil. Our nation averted serious loss of life in this attempted bombing, but it is a reminder that we face an evolving threat that we must continue to fight with every tool available to the government.

Shahzad's arrest has contributed to the controversy over the appropriate venue to try terrorism suspects. In April, Holder said that the government has not ruled out [JURIST report] prosecuting certain high-profile terror suspects in federal court in New York. During a hearing [materials] on oversight of the US Department of Justice (DOJ), Holder told the Senate Judiciary Committee [official website] that the government is still considering civilian trials for several high-level terror suspects, including alleged 9/11 conspirator Khalid Sheikh Mohammad [BBC profile; JURIST news archive]. In March, Defense Secretary Robert Gates [official profile] appointed [JURIST report] retired Navy Vice Adm. Bruce MacDonald [official profile] as the convening authority for military commissions [JURIST news archive], leading to speculation that the Obama administration was planning to try the 9/11 conspirators in a military court. Also in March, Holder defended his decision [JURIST report] to try the suspected terrorists in civilian court. Holder announced [JURIST report] that the alleged conspirators would face civilian criminal trials rather than military tribunals late last year.

In March 2009, New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson (D) [official website] signed a bill which repealed [JURIST report] the use of the death penalty in the state, replacing it with a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole for capital felony convictions. New Mexico was the third state to abolish the death penalty since 1976, joining New Jersey and New York [JURIST reports], which abolished the death penalty in 2007. There are 15 other states which do not use the death penalty. According to the Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC) [advocacy website], Maryland, Utah, Kansas, Colorado, and Montana are considering eliminating or limiting the use of capital punishment. The number of executions that took place in the US in 2009 was down 47 percent from 10 years ago, according to the DPIC annual report [JURIST report] released in December. There were 52 executions in 2009, compared to 98 in 1999. The report also emphasized that the number of death sentences handed down in 2009 - 106 - is the lowest since 1976. Executions resumed in the US in April 2008 after the Supreme Court lifted an effective ban on the death penalty by upholding the constitutionality of lethal injection [JURIST report].

The level of error, incompetence, and inattention which took place before the flight was sadly mirrored in many ways for many years, in how authorities, Governments, and institutions dealt with the aftermath of the murder of so many innocents: in the investigation, the legal proceedings, and in providing information, support and comfort to the families...Overall, the Government of Canada and its agencies in 1985 were not prepared for a terrorist act like the bombing of Air India Flight 182...Communications within and between security, law enforcement and transport agencies were often flawed or non-existent. Agencies relied on different concepts of risk and what constituted a threat to security. A lack of awareness of the threat of Sikh terrorism at the agency level led to inadequate procedures and practices, and employees were often poorly trained. This reflected a culture of complacency...The Government needs to take responsibility to avoid further failures and to prevent a return to a culture of complacency.

The 1985 bombing of Air India Flight 182 over the Atlantic resulted in the deaths of all 329 passengers, most of whom were Canadians. It was the largest single modern terror attack against a Western target before September 11, 2001 and resulted in the longest and most expensive trial in Canadian history. Ripudaman Singh Malik and Ajaib Sing Bagri were tried on charges [indictment, PDF] of conspiracy to commit murder, first-degree murder of the passengers and crew of Air India Flight 182, and attempted murder of the passengers and crew. However, the suspects were acquitted on all charges [JURIST report] in 2005. The Commission's judicial inquiry then began [JURIST reports] in June 2006. The following year, Major temporarily closed proceedings [JURIST report] until certain documents from the RCMP and CSIS were publicly released. In December 2007, the Commission released its first report, The Families Remember [text, PDF], which emphasized the emotional suffering following the bombing.

The incidences of piracy and hijacking of ships in the Gulf of Aden have sharply increased since 2008. Because of the large sums of ransom pirates receive for the release of a hijacked ship and its hostage crew, piracy is extremely lucrative. Meanwhile, piracy is a serious threat to the internationally recognized right of free passage in international waters. The Gulf of Aden is one of the busiest shipping routes in the world, and the threat to the safety of the ships that sail this route has global economic consequences. Also, the food of the World Food Program of the United Nations in Somalia face the constant threat of compromise by pirates. Piracy is a serious matter, which needs to be firmly punished.

The international community is supporting actions taken against piracy. On Tuesday, a spokesperson for the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) [official website] announced that donors will spend more than USD $9.3 million [JURIST report] to fund courts in Kenya and Seychelles that prosecute suspected Somali pirates. Yemen's Ministry of Defense announced last month that a Yemeni court sentenced six Somali pirates to death [JURIST report] and six additional pirates to 10-year jail sentences for the hijacking of a Yemeni oil tanker in April 2009. Earlier that month, UNODC announced that the island nation of Seychelles will create a UN-supported center [JURIST report] to prosecute suspected pirates. This will be the second such court established for the prosecution of pirates, following only Kenya. Last month, the UN Security Council [official website] approved a resolution [JURIST report] calling on member states to criminalize piracy under their domestic laws and urging UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon [official website] to consider an international tribunal for prosecuting piracy. The Security Council resolution came the same week the UN announced that a trust fund established to combat piracy will be funding five projects [UN News Centre report] aimed at piracy committed in the waters around Somalia. Germany will likely be the next European country to try alleged pirates, as 10 Somali men await trial there. In 2009, Somali pirates hijacked 47 ships and took 867 crewmembers hostage, according to a report [text] by the International Maritime Bureau [official website].

The FCC's "third way" approach to broadband regulation was announced last month after the DC Circuit struck down [JURIST reports] a key part of the FCC National Broadband Plan, which allowed the commission to regulate broadband Internet access. The appeal was brought by cable giant Comcast [official website] to review whether the FCC has the authority to enforce the plan's newly-developed "net neutrality" [backgrounder; JURIST news archive] regulations. The concept of net neutrality, supported unanimously by the FCC commissioners, is to allow for the open flow of information over the Internet, regardless of the amount of revenue generated by the information. The FCC sent the plan [JURIST report] to Congress for approval in March, seeking approval to enact regulations to update the communications infrastructure in the US and make broadband service available to millions more Americans. Telecommunications companies Verizon, AT&T [corporate websites], and Comcast argue that net neutrality would inhibit their ability to effectively manage Internet traffic.