Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad [BBC profile; JURIST news archive] has strongly criticized attempts to impose UN sanctions on his country's nuclear program. Last month, the Iranian leader said that actions being taken by the US and its allies in the Security Council are illegal and that his country will not accept any pressure. He also said that any evidence submitted by the US and Britain for new UN sanctions amounted to "lies" similar to the claims made over nuclear weapons in Iraq which served as an impetus to the 2003 war. In December 2006, the UN Security Council imposed sanctions [JURIST report] on Iran for continuing to enrich uranium and broadened them [JURIST report] three months later. The UN had previously ordered Iran to stop expanding [JURIST report] its nuclear program by August 31, 2006. Iran has said it will completely withdraw [JURIST report] from the IAEA if its "nuclear rights" are taken away.

The court's ruling in McDonald cited the holding in District of Columbia v. Heller [opinion, PDF; JURIST report] where the court held that the Second Amendment protects the right to possess a handgun in the home for the purpose of self-defense. The District of Columbia enacted a new series of firearm regulations following the court's ruling in Heller. The regulations were recently upheld [opinion, PDF; JURIST report] by a federal judge who cited Heller, holding that the Second Amendment does not prohibit regulation of firearms where that regulation will "effectuate the goal of promoting public safety."

The exemption request was filed in May after Kaplan ruled that Ghailani must attend the opening of his trial [JURIST report], requiring him to submit to strip searches. Kaplan held that the entire visual search was a necessary safety standard to prevent inmates from hiding weapons and other illegal items in body cavities. 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 were 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.

Videla was charged with an additional 49 counts [JURIST report] of murder, kidnapping and torture in May after the identification of 40 bodies in Buenos Aires last year. Videla has been in prison since 2008 while an investigation is underway for his role in the abduction of children born to political prisoners and forced disappearance victims during Argentina's Dirty War. A court revoked the house arrest conditions he had been granted in 1998 when the investigation began. Despite his age, Videla is now being held in a common cell in Cordoba. During the period Videla was head of the military junta, an estimated 90,000 civilians were killed or disappeared.

Selebi was a close political ally of former South African president Thabo Mbeki [BBC profile], and the South African government extended [BBC report] Selebi's contract for an additional year in June 2008, around the time a court established [JURIST report] Selebi's trial date. Selebi was suspended from his police post and forced to resign as INTERPOL president after the NPA announced the impending charges [JURIST reports]. The NPA has alleged that Selebi ignored Agliotti's drug trafficking and warned Agliotti that he had been identified in a murder investigation.

The Chinese authorities have prevented adequate investigation of the July 2009 protests and their background. Consequently, many details of the events remain disputed or are unknown. According to the eyewitness testimonies obtained by Amnesty International, a violent police crackdown on peaceful Uighur demonstrators preceded the eruption of violence on 5 July. Chinese authorities, however, within hours blamed overseas Uighur groups ... for what they described as "premeditated violence" ... a consistent pattern of allegations emerges from the accounts collected by Amnesty International of acts by the security forces that constitute human rights violations which should be fully investigated. It is imperative that the Chinese authorities allow independent and impartial investigation into the events of July 2009, including full access to scenes of confrontation, eyewitnesses, and detainees, whilst ensuring that those providing information to the investigation are protected from harassment, intimidation or punishment.

The actions of the Chinese government in the aftermath of the riots have also been heavily criticized [JURIST report] by Human Rights Watch (HRW) [advocacy website]. HRW has stated that the trials of the suspected rioters have been marred by infringements on due process and political considerations. Additionally, HRW reported [JURIST report] that more than 40 Uighurs [JURIST news archive] had disappeared while in the custody of Chinese authorities after large-scale sweeps by police. Residents of the region claim that the majority of the deaths were at the hands of Chinese authorities, but Chinese state media has reported that most of the deaths were due to protesters. The Chinese government has admitted that police were responsible for 12 of the deaths [JURIST report]. The Muslim Uighur population is opposed [BBC backgrounder] to China's restrictive bans on religious practice and says that the recent influx of Han Chinese has disenfranchised non-Chinese-speaking Uighurs. Violence broke out July 5, after Uighurs attacked Han Chinese during protests ignited by an attack at a factory in southern China that left two Uighurs dead.

The government of Kyrgyzstan chose to proceed with the elections [JURIST report] despite ongoing ethnic violence [Guardian backgrounder] against the Kyrgyz Uzbek population. Last month, Otunbayeva issued shoot to kill orders [JURIST report] to the nation's military after the reservists were activated and sent to quell the ethnic conflict that has been primarily focused in the southern cities of Osh and Jalal'abad. The cause of the violence is unclear, but UN Human Rights Commissioner Navi Pillay [official website] and witnesses have described it as organized. One suggested motivation for the violence was to cause a delay of the referendum by allies of ousted Kyrgyz president Kurmanbek Bakiyev [BBC profile]. The interim government has accused the former president's son of paying USD $10 million to finance the violence. He was arrested in the UK earlier this month, and the interim government has promised to seek his extradition. Despite the ongoing violence, voter turnout for the referendum was reported to be about 65 percent.

Serious questions remain unanswered about the US response to the attack, its actions and policies, particularly in the context of the blockade of Gaza, internationally condemned as illegal and unjust. Citizens need to know their government will protect their rights under US and international law vis-a-vis a foreign government, including Israel—the biggest recipient of US aid over the last fifty years.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu [official website; BBC profile] indicated earlier this week that he would consider widening the scope of an internal probe [JURIST reports] into the flotilla raid, giving investigators the power to subpoena witnesses. The panel has been asked to investigate the events that took place in the early hours of May 31, when Israeli forces raided six ships attempting to deliver more than 10,000 tons of aid to the Palestinian territory of Gaza. The raid left numerous wounded and resulted in the shooting deaths of nine pro-Palestine activists: eight Turks and one American. Earlier this month, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon [official website] reiterated the importance of an international component [JURIST report] in the investigation into the raid. Ban's original proposal to establish an investigatory panel comprised of representatives from Israel, Turkey, and other unnamed countries, was rejected by Israeli officials [JURIST report]. Israeli officials have insisted that Israel has the ability and the right to resolve matters through an internal investigation and does not require international oversight.

Calls for criminal and civil actions have been mounting against BP as evidence of the oil company's lack of proper compliance with regulations has come out. Two lawsuits were recently filed [JURIST report] against BP alleging violations of the Rackteer Influenced Corrupt Organizations (RICO) [18 USC § 1961 et seq.]. The first lawsuit, a class action filed on behalf of US residents affected by the oil spill, was filed last week and alleges [complaint, PDF] that BP engaged in a scheme to secure profits by deceiving the public. The second suit, filed Monday, alleges [complaint, PDF] that BP has been involved in racketeering and corruption related to the BP claims payment process. Earlier this month, US Attorney General Eric Holder [official website] announced that the Department of Justice (DOJ) [official website] is reviewing whether any criminal or civil laws were violated [JURIST report] by BP resulting in the oil spill. Holder cited several statutes being examined by government lawyers including the Clean Water Act and the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 [materials]. Last month, DC-based consumer advocacy organization Food and Water Watch (FWW) [advocacy website] filed suit [JURIST report] in a US district court against the US Department of Interior (DOI) and the Minerals Management Service (MMS) [official websites] for an injunction to halt drilling at the BP Atlantis Facility [corporate website], another BP Gulf of Mexico site.

Ugandan officials apprehended another highly-sought genocide suspect last October when they arrested [JURIST report] former Hutu intelligence chief Idelphonse Nizeyimana [BBC profile; case materials]. Nizeyimana, who has pleaded not guilty [JURIST report], was charged [indictment, PDF] with four counts of genocide, or, in the alternative, complicity in genocide and crimes against humanity, and is still awaiting trial. Nizeyimana was one of four top accused sought by the ICTR in order to complete its mission. In July 2009, the UN Security Council [official website] extended the terms [JURIST report] for ICTR judges until December 31, 2010, or until they complete their cases. In March 2009, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon pledged his ongoing support [JURIST report] for the ICTR and stressed that the international community must continue to combat genocide. The ICTR was established to try genocide suspects for crimes occurring during the 1994 Rwandan conflict between Hutus and Tutsis in which approximately 800,000 people, primarily Tutsis, died.

Nzirorea was being tried jointly [JURIST report] with Edouard Karemera, former Minister of Interior and Vice-President of the MRND, and Mathieu Ngirumpatse [case materials], former Director General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The accused were charged [indictment, PDF] with conspiracy to commit genocide, direct and public incitement to commit genocide, genocide, complicity in genocide, crimes against humanity and serious violations of Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions and Additional Protocol II [text]. The ICTR continues its work to prosecute those most responsible for the Rwandan genocide, in which nearly 800,000 people, primarily Tutsis, were killed.

A version of the bill [HR 874 materials] was originally introduced [JURIST report] in the House in February 2009. The US Department of the Treasury [official website] in September lifted travel restrictions and restrictions on money transfers [JURIST report] between Cuban-Americans and their families in Cuba. The department also authorized US telecommunications companies to work within Cuba to facilitate communication between families split between the two countries. The Obama administration ordered the restrictions to be lifted [JURIST report] in April 2009. Earlier in 2009, Congress approved legislation that relaxed rules put in place by the Bush administration in 2004 [JURIST report]. In October 2008, the UN General Assembly [official website] adopted [press release] by a vote of 185-3 a resolution [text, PDF] urging the US to lift [JURIST report] its longstanding embargo on Cuba.