Serbia has undertaken an ongoing effort to apprehend those responsible for the atrocities that occurred in the region over the last two decades. Last month, the Belgrade Appeals Court overturned the war crimes conviction of former Bosnian officer Ilija Jurisic and ordered a retrial, ruling that the trial court had convicted him on insufficient evidence. In September, the War Crimes Chamber sentenced [press release, PDF; JURIST report] former paramilitary officer Zeljko Djukic [JURIST news archive] to 20 years in prison for his involvement in the deaths of 14 civilians in March 1999 during the 1998-1999 Kosovo war [BBC backgrounder; JURIST news archive]. In August, Croatian authorities extradited Sretko Kalinic to Serbia for his alleged connection with the 2003 assassination [JURIST reports] of former Serbian prime minister Zoran Djindjic [BBC obituary; memorial website, in Serbian]. In July, an extradition hearing [JURIST report] for former Bosnian president Ejup Ganic began in London to determine whether the former leader should be forced to face trial in Serbia for alleged war crimes. The continuing attempt to find all individuals responsible for the atrocities has created a new political tension [JURIST comment] in the region that most believe will not soon go away.

The Chinese government has recently focused attention on ridding corruption [JURIST news archive] in official channels. In April, Zhou appealed [JURIST report] to the nation's judges to be impartial when issuing rulings. Speaking in front of a national meeting of high court presidents in the Shaanxi Province [official website], Zhou stressed the importance of fair and honest justice in order to build a country ruled by law. Also in April, the Intermediate People's Court in Chongqing sentenced [JURIST report] a former deputy police chief and high-ranking judicial official to death for accepting bribes, protecting criminal gangs, rape and being unable to justify his large amount of personal assets. In March, the Hebei Province People's High Court upheld a life sentence for former Supreme People's Court (SPC) vice president Huang Songyou, who had been convicted [JURIST reports] of bribery and embezzlement. Earlier that month, Wang called for increased efforts to fight corruption [JURIST report] in the country's court system. In January, the SPC announced new anti-corruption rules [JURIST report] in an effort to increase public confidence in the rule of law.

Madagascar has faced ongoing political unrest [Reuters timeline] for almost two years, and Rajoelina's regime has not been recognized by the international community. In August, a Madagascar court sentenced [JURIST report] Ravalomanana to life in prison with hard labor for ordering the killing of opposition protesters in February 2009. Ravalomanana, who has been living in South Africa since his overthrow in March of last year, was sentenced in absentia [BBC report] on charges of murder and accessory to murder in connection with the deaths of at least 30 people by his presidential guard. Ravalomanana has been convicted [JURIST report] three times since he left power, and his lawyer claimed that the trials have been politically motivated to keep him from returning to Madagascar and running for reelection. Earlier in August, the country's political parties gave proposed names [AFP report] for the country's next prime minister to Rajoelina and scheduled last week's constitutional referendum, parliamentary elections in March and a first round of presidential polls next May.

Suu Kyi's visit to the high court last week marked her first visit to Rangoon since the Myanmar Police Force [official website] released [JURIST report] her 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.

The fact that Samuel Kunz lived in Germany unprosecuted for so many decades is the result of a flawed prosecution policy which ignored virtually any Holocaust perpetrator who was not an officer. It was only the recent, long-awaited change in this policy which led to Kunz's indictment and the opportunity to hold him accountable for his crimes. We urge the German authorities to expedite all such cases, given the advanced age of the suspects, so that a measure of justice can still be achieved.

Kunz was charged [JURIST report] in July by prosecutors of the German city of Dortmund. He maintained that he never personally murdered anyone [JTA report]. Kunz was also called as a witness in the case of fellow accused Nazi war criminal John Demjanjuk [NNDB profile, JURIST news archive]. The Ukrainian-born Demjanjuk faces 27,900 accessory accounts stemming from his alleged involvement as a guard at Sobibor concentration camp [Death Camps backgrounder].

Earlier this month, the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia [official website] began the first US piracy trial [JURIST report] in more than 100 years. In May, the Netherlands District Court of Rotterdam [official website, in Dutch] initiated the first modern European trial [JURIST report] of Somali pirates. The international community has been supporting actions taken against maritime piracy, but the UN has recently had to call for nations to assist Kenya in conducting piracy trials [JURIST report]. In April, the UN Security Council approved a resolution [JURIST report] calling on member states to criminalize piracy under their domestic laws as well as an announcement from the UN that a trust fund established to combat piracy will be funding five projects [UN News Centre report] in an effort to help Somalia and its neighbors reduce acts of piracy committed in nearby bodies of water. Piracy remains an issue of international concern, as few countries have been willing to prosecute suspected pirates. The few that have attempted to do so include Kenya, Mauritius, Yemen, Somalia and Spain [JURIST reports].

In the absence of charges or a proper trial we now need to see ... Mr Hague and the US authorities agreeing a specific timetable for Shaker's release. Dealing with what the government calls "legacy issues" in the "war on terror" must mean ensuring justice for Shaker. William Hague should make it a priority that he is returned to his family in Britain. At Amnesty we've always said that where the authorities suspect a person of terrorism they should be charged and given a fair hearing, but Guantanamo Bay has been an utter travesty of justice.

Aamer is one of 16 Guantanamo Bay detainees for whom the UK government recently announced a settlement [JURIST report] agreement for allegations of torture. Those allegations prompted the UK to launch an investigation into torture allegations in May, as well as issue a ruling that state intelligence agencies cannot use secret evidence [JURIST reports] in their defense against abuse. Aamer has been described as an activist within the Guantanamo detention center, negotiating with US military officials [Guardian report] over camp conditions and organizing hunger strikes when conditions did not improve. US President Barack Obama [official website] issued an executive order [JURIST report] in 2009 directing that the Guantanamo Bay military prison be closed "as soon as practicable, and no later than 1 year from the date of this order." Although progress is being made, there are currently 174 men still detained at the facility, the majority of whom have been there for more than eight years without facing charges.

Last week, appellate judges of the ICC ruled [judgment, PDF] that the trial chamber must review [JURIST report] Bemba's continued detention in The Hague. This decision overturned the trial chamber's July ruling [text, PDF]. Pursuant to Article 60 of the Rome Statute [text, PDF], chambers are obligated to review an accused person's detention once every 120 days. Last month, the ICC affirmed [judgment, PDF] a trial chamber ruling and dismissed [JURIST report] Bemba's appeal challenging the admissibility of his case before the court. The court also concluded that its jurisdiction over the case did not violate a Rome Statute provision that prohibits the ICC from hearing cases after a country has decided not to prosecute the person concerned. The ICC held that the order issued by the CAR did not constitute a decision not to prosecute. In April, Bemba's lawyers argued before the court that charges against him should be dropped [JURIST report] because he had been denied due process and the charges were illegal. In addition, defense lawyers claimed that Bemba lacked the financial resources [JURIST report] necessary to ensure a fair trial. Bemba was arrested [JURIST report] in Belgium in May 2008 after the ICC issued a sealed warrant for his arrest.

During 2010, the FBI devoted additional resources to combat hate crime in those cities most at risk for bias-motivated violence. Working in collaboration with state and local law enforcement agencies, as well as our non-governmental partners, we are confident we can mitigate the risks and impact hate crimes have on individuals and communities.

In June, Canadian police reported a 35 percent increase in hate crimes [JURIST report] from 2007 to 2008. Conversely, Russian racial hate crimes decreased slightly in 2009 [JURIST report] because of increased police efforts, according to a report from the SOVA Center [advocacy website] in January. In December, the US Department of Justice [official websites] announced plans to increase its efforts to prosecute hate crimes [JURIST report].