Prisoners we interviewed repeatedly reported that police had beaten them in custody in order to try to coerce a confession, and often inflicted serious injuries. Inmates showed researchers their misshapen fingers—in some cases smashed by hammers or iron bats—and scars on their feet and hands. Many have long-term injuries that require ongoing medical attention, ostensibly due to their treatment in custody. ... Under international human rights law, people in detention retain their human rights and fundamental freedoms. As you will be aware, the most fundamental protection for detainees is the absolute prohibition on torture.

Earlier this year, HRW released a similar statement concerning the alleged abuse of prisoners [JURIST report] in a secret Iraqi prison. HRW stated that detainees held at the Muthanna facility, run by Iraqi authorities, were hung upside-down, deprived of air, kicked, whipped, beaten, given electric shocks and sodomized during torture sessions that detainees faced every three to four days. Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki [official website, in Arabic; BBC profile] denied the reports of a secret prison, claiming the facility was publicly known and that the reports of abuse are exaggerated. In June HRW lauded the Turkish government for its landmark conviction of several prison and police officials [JURIST report] for the torture and death of anti-government activist Engin Ceber while in police custody. The conviction marks the first time a Turkish court has convicted a senior prison official for the conduct of guards under his command.

The ICTR continues to try suspects for crimes occurring during the 1994 Rwandan conflict between Hutus and Tutsis in which approximately 800,000 people, primarily Tutsis, died. In August, former Rwandan regional administrator Dominique Ntawukulilyayo was sentenced [JURIST report] by the ICTR to 25 years in prison for his role in the 1994 genocide. In July, Rwandan pastor Jean-Bosco Uwinkindi [Hague Justice profile; case materials] pleaded not guilty [JURIST report] to multiple similar genocide charges before the ICTR. Last October, Ugandan officials apprehended [JURIST report] another highly-sought suspect, former Hutu intelligence chief Idelphonse Nizeyimana [BBC profile; case materials]. Nizeyimana, who pleaded not guilty [JURIST report] to four genocide counts [indictment, PDF], still awaits trial. Nizeyimana was one of four two accused sought by the ICTR in order to complete its mission. In June, UN Security Council [official website] extended the terms [press release] of ICTR trial judges to December 31, 2011, and appellate judges to December 31, 2012.

Electronic devices like laptops, "smart" phones, and external data storage devices hold vast amounts of personal and sensitive information that reveals a vivid pictures of travelers' personal and professional lives, including their intimate thoughts, private communications, expressive choices, and privileged or confidential work product. [The] policies and practices of searching, copying, and detaining these personal devices without suspicion or judicial supervision violates the constitutional rights of American citizens to keep the private and expressive details of their lives, as well as sensitive information obtained or created in the course of their work, free from unwarranted government scrutiny.

In 2008, US Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI) [official website] criticized [JURIST report] the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) [official website] for warrantless searches and seizures of travelers' laptops and other digital devices at the US border, calling the searches an unacceptable invasion of privacy [hearing materials]. The Supreme Court has held that reasonable suspicion is not necessary to conduct routine searches at the border, but searches of laptops and other digital devices are analogous to more invasive practices such as strip searches, said Feingold.

The battle by the NBFA to receive an allocation of resources is over a decade old. In 2008, the NBFA brought a class action lawsuit [JURIST report] against the USDA, alleging on behalf of more than 800 black farmers that the USDA improperly discriminated against them. Many farmers were left out of the 1999 settlement [text, PDF; NALC backgrounder, PDF] after missing a filing deadline, and thousands more argued that the terms of the settlement were inadequate. After earlier accusations of unfair distribution of resources, the USDA created the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights (ASCR) [official website] in 2003 to monitor compliance with civil rights laws and to help ensure equality in the administration of the USDA's many programs.

Garzon has faced turmoil since his 2008 decision. In May, the Spanish General Counsel of the Judiciary (CGPJ) [official website, in Spanish] voted unanimously to suspend [JURIST report] Garzon. Later that month, the judiciary oversight committee of the CGPJ approved a request [JURIST report] by Garzon to work with the International Criminal Court (ICC) [official website]. The ICC asked [press release] Garzon to work for them as a consultant for a period of seven months in order to improve their investigative methods. Thousands gathered [JURIST report] in cities across Spain in April in support of Garzon, chanting slogans and displaying flags of the pre-war Republican government ousted by Franco. Garzon is widely known for using universal jurisdiction [AI backgrounder; JURIST news archive] extensively in the past to bring several high-profile rights cases, including those against Osama bin Laden and former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet.

The international community continues with efforts to fight maritime piracy, both through the funding of UN-backed piracy courts, and through prosecution in multiple jurisdictions. In July, a court in Seychelles convicted and sentenced [JURIST report] a group of Somali pirates to 10 years in prison following the attempted hijacking of Seychelles coastguard ship. In June, the UN announced the opening of a new high-security courtroom [JURIST report] in Kenya that will hear piracy cases. The announcement came after the UN announced $9.3 million in donations [JURIST report] to help fund piracy courts in Kenya and Seychelles. Also in June, a Dutch court concluded Europe's first Somali pirate trial by convicting and sentencing a group of suspects [JURIST reports] to five years in prison. In May, a Yemeni court sentenced six pirates to death [JURIST report] for their roles in an attack on a Yemeni oil tanker in 2009. Charges are also currently pending [JURIST report] against piracy suspects in the US.

Last month, a federal judge ordered the release [JURIST report] of Yemeni Guantanamo Bay detainee Adnan Farhan Abdul Latif [NYT profile] citing a lack of evidence proving that Latif was part of a terrorist organization. In July, the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit [official website] released a redacted opinion [JURIST report] holding that evidence against Algerian Guantanamo Bay detainee Belkacem Bensaya must be reviewed to determine if he was "part of" al Qaeda. Circuit Judge Douglas Ginsburg, writing the opinion for the panel, held that there appeared to be no direct evidence linking Bensaya to al Qaeda, and that the government's authority under the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) [text, PDF] only extends to the detention of individuals who are "functionally part of" a terrorist organization. Bensayah was the only one of the six petitioners from the 2008 Boumediene v. Bush [opinion, PDF; JURIST report] decision who was not granted habeas corpus relief after the Supreme Court remanded the case for further review of evidence.

While the proposed amendment would allow Rajapaksa to make a bid for an unlimited number of terms in office, his second term has not yet begun, though he easily achieved victory [NYT report] in January elections. Rajapaksa is a consistently popular figure within Sri Lanka, primarily for his efforts in defeating the Tamil Tiger [JURIST news archive] rebels within Sri Lanka. That victory was not without cost, however, as numerous questions have been raised about the government's actions during the conflict, including the treatment of prisoners. Earlier this month, the Sri Lankan defense minister defended [JURIST report] the government's actions during the conflict. In July, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called on the Sri Lankan Government to improve conditions around UN offices in Colombo after a UN announcement of the formation of an international panel to investigate human rights abuses during the war resulted in days of pro-government protests [JURIST reports] near UN offices.

Prosecutors in Norway have yet to win a conviction under Norway's anti-terrorism laws [JURIST news archive], which were passed in response to the 9/11 attacks [JURIST news archive] on the US. In 2008, a Norwegian court acquitted three suspects [JURIST report] accused of planning to attack the US and Israeli embassies in Oslo in the first trial under the anti-terrorism law. Norway's anti-terrorism laws have been criticized [JURIST report] by the US in the past for being too lenient.