If there are genuine reasons to suppose that any journalists have committed crimes outside the scope of their journalistic work, then those reasons should be transparent to the journalists themselves, to their defence lawyers and to the rest of us.

Turkey continues to face controversy regarding media freedom. In November, a Turkish Magistrate Court in Ankara reinstated [JURIST report] the nearly three-year ban on YouTube [media website; JURIST news archive] only days after the ban had been lifted. The court ordered access to YouTube blocked after video of former opposition leader Deniz Baykal in a bedroom with a female aide surfaced on the site. In September, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) [official website] ruled [JURIST report] that Turkey failed to protect the life of well-known Turkish-Armenian writer and journalist Hrant Dink [BBC obituary; JURIST news archive] and failed to adequately investigate his murder and infringed on his right of freedom of expression. Dink, editor of the newspaper Agos [media website], was shot and killed [JURIST report] in Istanbul in January 2007. Prior to his death, Dink was tried and then put on retrial [JURIST report] for "insulting Turkishness" by writing about the killing of Armenians during the Ottoman Empire.

With the political stalemate now going into its third month, the human rights situation in Cote d'Ivoire is becoming more precarious. Almost 300 people have been confirmed killed since the beginning of the crisis, and there are continuing reports of abductions, illegal detention and attacks against civilians. More than 35,000 people have been forced to flee their homes and seek refuge elsewhere, including in neighbouring countries. There are reports of thousands of youths being forcibly recruited and armed, presumably in preparation for violent conflict. The propagation of hatred and violence through the media remains a serious concern.

In January, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon [official website] rejected the proposed recount [JURIST report] of November's Ivory Coast presidential runoff election results as a "grave injustice and unfortunate precedent." Also in January, UN officials expressed "grave concerns" [JURIST report] on continued post-election violence in the Ivory Coast, cautioning that genocide could be imminent. In December, UN officials urged all parties to the disputed presidential election in the Ivory Coast to honor the country's commitment to prevent genocide [JURIST report], crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing under the 2005 World Summit Outcome Document [text, PDF]. Also in December, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) [official website] urged Gbagbo to step down, threatening the use of force [JURIST report] if he attempts to maintain power. Gbagbo has refused to cede power to president-elect Ouattara, who won the November 28 runoff election according to international observers.

With the expulsion of Human Rights Watch, the Uzbek government sends a clear message that it isn't willing to tolerate critical scrutiny of its human rights record. ... The Uzbek government's persistent refusal to allow independent rights groups to carry out our work exacerbates the already dire human rights situation in the country, allowing severe abuses to go unreported, and further isolating the country's courageous and beleaguered human rights community.

Uzbekistan has been criticized regularly for its poor human rights record. In April, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon [official website] gave a speech [text], calling on Uzbekistan to deliver on promises as a signatory to various international treaties banning torture and civil rights violations in order to improve its human rights record. The rapidly growing Central Asian nation has long faced accusations from the West of rampant political oppression and a litany of human rights abuses, including the use of torture on its prisoners [HRW report]. The UN Human Rights Committee [official website] in March demanded [JURIST report] that Uzbekistan conduct an independent investigation of May 2005 clashes [BBC backgrounder; JURIST news archive] between protesters, soldiers and police in the city of Andijan that rights groups estimate left as many as 500 people dead [JURIST report]. The committee urged [report, DOC] Uzbekistan to comply with previous recommendations and supply the UN with information on Uzbek policies regarding police use of firearms on civilians. The report was the first to be issued [Reuters report] on Uzbekistan by the Committee since the Andijan clashes, which were sparked when thousands of protesters gathered [JURIST report] after rebels stormed a prison and freed a group of businessmen on trial for alleged Islamic extremism. In October 2009, the European Union (EU) announced that it would lift the last of the sanctions [JURIST report] it imposed on the country in November 2005 for its refusal to investigate the Andijan incident.

Last month, AI reported [text, PDF] that the Iraqi government is operating secret prisons [JURIST report], and suspects held in Iraqi custody have been systematically tortured since before the 2003 US invasion. The Central Criminal Court of Iraq (CCCI) [JURIST news archive], according to the report, regularly convicts defendants based on confessions extracted with the use of torture and ill-treatment. In September, AI published a report [text, PDF] alleging that the Iraqi government is unlawfully detaining and torturing [press release; JURIST report] thousands of detainees. In June, UN Special Representative to Iraq Ad Melkert urged the Iraqi government [JURIST report] to ratify the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment [text]. Melkert stated that Iraq had made several advances in recognizing human rights violations, but the government's policy implementation still faces several obstacles.

It is well settled under California law that official proponents, unlike mere political, ideological, or philosophical supporters of initiatives, may intervene to defend the initiatives they have sponsored if they are challenged in court. Indeed, this Court's precedent and established principles of California constitutional law make clear that allowing official proponents to intervene to vindicate the People's interest in successful initiatives when public officials will not do so is necessary to preserve the People's initiative power, a power that must be jealously defended by the courts.

Earlier this month, California Attorney General Kamala Harris [official website] requested [JURIST report] that the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit lift the stay order prohibiting gay couples from marrying while the appeal is pending. Harris argued that the appeal is unlikely to succeed in light of the aforementioned jurisdictional concerns and the recent US Department of Justice (DOJ) decision to stop defending the constitutionality [JURIST report] of portions of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) [text; JURIST news archive] on the grounds that laws concerning sexual orientation should be subject to a higher standard of review. Harris also questioned the rationality of continuing to enforce the stay, noting that the measure's supporters would not be subjected to harm if the order was lifted, whereas same-sex couples seeking to marry may face violations of their constitutional rights so long as the stay remains effective. A three-judge panel for the Ninth Circuit issued the stay [JURIST report] last August.

The state of emergency comes just days after a group of 22 Bahraini lawmakers, part of an independent pro-government bloc, called Sunday on the King to impose martial law under articles 36 and 123 of the Bahraini Constitution [text, PDF]. Last week, the member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) [official website], which includes Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the UAE, deployed troops to Bahrain [BBC report] for the purpose of guarding oil installations and financial institutions. The Bahraini government's response to the ongoing protests have prompted international concern. In February, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon [official profile] called for an end to violence against protesters [JURIST report] in the country, referencing attempts to quell protests sweeping across the region. Ban said that he is "disturbed by all these violent means of trying to disperse demonstrators, the freedom of expression, freedom of access to information, particularly the journalists."

Earlier this month, the US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit [official website] agreed to expedite its review [JURIST report] of a case challenging the PPACA but did not decide whether it will hear the case en banc. The DOJ filed a brief [JURIST report] with the Fourth Circuit last month urging the court to overturn the district court decision striking down the individual mandate, arguing that the Constitution's Commerce Clause and taxing power gave Congress the ability to pass the mandate. Cuccinelli announced his intention to appeal directly to the Supreme Court [JURIST report] earlier in February, citing the exceptionally far-reaching policy implications of the PPACA. There are currently 28 cases challenging the constitutionality of the PPACA. Federal courts in Washington, DC, Virginia and Michigan have upheld the law, while a federal court in Florida [JURIST reports] has also ruled the the individual mandate in unconstitutional, striking down the law in its entirety.

Once the PHS learned what it wished from each Guatemalan subject's induced exposure, it may have provided penicillin to presumably cure the infection. However, the PHS provided little follow-up to ensure that the subjects were actually cured of their infection. How long the study continued and how long treatment, if any, was provided to those affected is not clear.

Evidence of the PHS program [report] was discovered by Professor Susan Reverby [academic profile]. US President Barack Obama [official website] apologized [BBC report] to Guatemalan President Alvaro Colom for the testing. Reverby's study shows that the PHS infected more than 700 people in Guatemala with syphilis and gonorrhea. The patients were prisoners and people suffering from mental health problems and were unaware they were being tested.

Today's sentences should send a clear message to those who attempt to engage in piracy: Armed attacks on U.S.-flagged vessels carry severe consequences in U.S. courts. Modern-day pirates not only threaten human lives but also disrupt international commerce by extorting hundreds of millions of dollars in ransom payments. It is believed that between 650 to 800 people are held hostage by Somali pirates and that the global cost of piracy is as high as $12 billion annually.

The five men were convicted on charges of piracy [JURIST report] in November, the first such conviction in the US in nearly 200 years. The men were found guilty on charges of piracy, attacking to plunder a maritime vessel and assault with a dangerous weapon for their roles in an April attack on the USS Nicholas, which was deployed to combat piracy in waters off the eastern coast of Africa. Last week, the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia indicted 14 suspects [JURIST report] for overtaking a yacht containing four Americans. The case involves the first US citizen to die in recent wave of international piracy. In January, the UN Secretary-General's special adviser on maritime piracy Jack Lang [official profile] proposed an international piracy court [JURIST report]. Due to the lack of such a court, several nations have been conducting piracy trials. A German court began the trial [JURIST report] of 10 suspected Somali pirates in that country's first piracy trial in 400 years in November. A Yemeni court sentenced [JURIST report] a group of 10 Somali pirates to five years in prison. Prior to these trials, Kenya was conducting the bulwark of piracy trials. However, the high court of Mombasa ruled that Kenya does not have jurisdiction [JURIST report] outside of its national waters, releasing nine suspected Somali pirates. Other nations that have conducted such trials include the Netherlands, Seychelles, Mauritius, Somalia, and Spain [JURIST reports].