The Egyptian government has faced ongoing criticism from international human rights groups for its treatment of prisoners. On Tuesday, AI called for Egyptian authorities to promptly and thoroughly investigate [JURIST report] the death of 19-year-old Ahmed Shaaban who was allegedly tortured in police custody. Sidi Gaber police officers are also currently under investigation for another incident in which a man was dragged out of a cafe and publicly beat to death [HRW report]. According to the US State Department's Human Rights Report for Egypt, in 2009, there were 30 reported instances of torture in police custody [DOS report]. Egyptian authorities investigated some of these, and, in several of the cases, punished the responsible officers and made them pay compensation to the victims. In 2008, it suspended 280 police officers [JURIST report] alleged to have abused their power and committed human rights violations.

The ICC announced last month that it would present two cases against the six individuals most responsible for causing the post-election violence, down from the initial 20 officials [JURIST reports] the ICC prosecutor initially accused. It has not been revealed if Ruto will be among those charged, although he was implicated in the initial report on the violence [text, PDF] compiled by the KNCHR. In September, a businessman challenged the legality of the ICC investigation, claiming it was made illegal by Kenya's recently ratified constitution [JURIST reports]. However, Justice and Constitutional Affairs Minister Mutula Kilonzo [official website], said the government supports the investigation [JURIST report]. The ICC began conducting an investigation in March after the Kenyan parliament rejected [JURIST reports] conducting their own in February. The Kenyan presidential election of 2007 [JURIST report] left at least 1,000 people dead and 500,000 displaced in Kenya after protests erupted from allegations that President Mwai Kibaki [official profile] committed voter fraud.

Suu Kyi's visit to the High Court marked her first visit to Rangoon since the Myanmar Police Force [official website] released [JURIST report] her on Saturday after almost eight years of house arrest. Her release came days after the Myanmar Supreme Court rejected an appeal [JURIST report] challenging the conditions of her house arrest. Though the challenge was originally scheduled to be heard in October, the court waited until after the controversial elections [JURIST report] to issue its ruling. It is anticipated that Suu Kyi will assist in a challenge [AP report] against the election results in which the ruling party maintained its hold on power, but the military government has warned [Telegraph report] against any kind of action by the opposition.

Aziz is currently serving a 15-year sentence [JURIST report], which is the result of a prior conviction in March 2009. However, the death sentence based on this most recent conviction cannot be carried out in the absence of the approval of the Presidency Council.

In July, the US transferred 26 Saddam-era Iraqi officials [JURIST report], including Aziz, from Camp Cropper [JURIST news archive] to the Iraqi-controlled Kadhimiya prison in Baghdad. That month, Aziz was also charged with additional crimes alleged to have occurred during Hussein's regime, with his lawyer contending that the current Iraqi government was attempting to find a reason to execute him. Aziz's family has called for his release on health grounds, based on claims he has had two heart attacks in addition to having suffered a stroke [JURIST report] in January. In August 2009, Aziz was convicted of forcing Kurdish displacement [JURIST report] from northeast Iraq during the late 1980s, and was sentenced to seven years in prison. Prior to his March conviction for the 1992 murders of 42 merchants accused of price-gouging during a period of UN-imposed sanctions, Aziz was acquitted of charges [JURIST report] in connection with the 1999 killing of protesters who rioted in Baghdad and Amarah following the alleged assassination of Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Sadiq al-Sadr.

The country's new parliament, elected last month amid ongoing unrest, held its first assembly last week [VOA report] and discussed the possibility of a coalition government. Last month's parliamentary elections were the first since a new constitution took effect in July after being approved by voters [JURIST reports] in a nationwide referendum. In September, a court in Kyrgyzstan issued the first convictions [JURIST report] in connection with the June 2010 ethnic violence [Guardian backgrounder; JURIST news archive] against Uzbeks in primarily the southern cities of Osh and Jalal'abad. The conflict is believed to have been linked to Bakiyev's overthrow. In August, Human Rights Watch (HRW) [advocacy website] reported [text, JURIST report] that Kyrgyzstan armed forces played a role in instigating and at times taking part in the attacks against ethnic Uzbeks. The group called on the international community to ensure the effective and speedy deployment of an international police force and to support efforts for an international investigation.

Hungary faces a growing budget deficit and is on the verge of a severe economic crisis. The National Assembly is currently debating the 2011 budget and adopted the series of unconventional taxes and budget policies in order to conform to the EU's Excessive Deficit Procedure for Hungary [materials]. The Fiscal Council of Hungary [official website, in Hungarian] forecasts that the "crisis taxes" [No. T/1374] are expected the increase budget revenues [report, in Hungarian] and satisfy the Pay-As-You Go rule. Without the "crisis taxes" Hungary would not be able to meet next year's budget deficit target of less than 3 percent GDP. In 2007, the Constitutional Court ruled in favor [JURIST report] of a proposed referendum on unpopular economic reform proposals advanced by former prime minister Ferenc Gyurcsany [BBC profile]. The high court ruling reversed a prior ruling by the National Election Committee [official website], which barred the referendum on the grounds that it would have affected the budget in violation of Article 28C-5a of the Hungarian Constitution [text].

November's election ended two years of military rule under a transitional government formed by military captain Moussa Dadis Camara [BBC profile], who staged a coup in the wake of the death of former president Lansana Conte [Guardian profile], the nation's ruler for 24 years. In September, two Guinean election officials were convicted of election fraud [JURIST report] and sentenced to a year in jail in connection with irregularities that arose in the June presidential primary election, one incident in a string of controversies responsible for multiple delays of the runoff, which was initially scheduled for July [Reuters report]. In May, the International Criminal Court (ICC) sent a delegation from the Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) [official websites] to Guinea to further investigate the killing [JURIST report] of more than 150 pro-democracy protesters in Conakry [BBC backgrounder] in September 2009. The protesters had rallied against Camara, who announced in October that he intended to push elections forward three months and stand for election, breaking a promise not to run made shortly after he took power. Camara was ultimately forced into exile two months later after being shot in the head in an assassination attempt staged by one of his aides.