We have found that "it is clear that it would not be equitable or in the public's interest to allow the state ... to violate the requirements of federal law, especially when there are no adequate remedies available. ... In such circumstances, the interest of preserving the Supremacy Clause is paramount."

Last year, the DOJ sued [JURIST report] the state of Arizona and Governor Jan Brewer [official website] arguing that both the Constitution and federal law "do not permit the development of a patchwork of state and local immigration policies throughout the country." The agency also claimed that the federal government has preeminent authority to regulate immigration matters and that the enforcement of the Arizona law is counterproductive to the national immigration policy. The Arizona law, which criminalizes illegal immigration and requires police officers to question an individual's immigration status if the officer has a "reasonable suspicion" to believe an individual is in the country illegally, was signed into law [JURIST report] in April of last year. The law faces several additional legal challenges including a class-action law suit [JURIST report] filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) [official website] on behalf of a number of advocacy groups and several private individuals. A challenge brought by several Tucson police officers claiming the law could not be properly implemented without racially profiling was dismissed [JURIST reports] late last year.

Last week, Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Doctors Without Borders (MSF) [advocacy websites] criticized Bahrain for rampant human rights abuses [JURIST report] related to anti-government protests. In March, the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) [official website] expressed concern over violence against protesters [JURIST report] in Bahrain and other countries embroiled in protests. The OHCHR released an additional report [text] stating that UN human rights experts question the Bahraini government's commitment to human rights. Also last month, six opposition leaders were arrested [JURIST report] after the government, backed by foreign troops from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) [official website] violently dispersed protesters in the capital of Manama. Days earlier, Bahraini King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa [official website] declared a three-month state of emergency [JURIST report] in response to the growing unrest in the the island nation.

The recent appearances are a rarity for Berlusconi who has been a defendant in close to 50 trials but has consistently stayed away from court. He stated that we would attend as many trials in the four active court cases against him as he can. Last week, Berlusconi failed to attend a trial on charges against him for abusing the power of his office and allegedly offering cash and jewels in exchange for sex with a minor. The minor, Moroccan-born 17-year-old Karima El Mahroug, known as Ruby, also failed to attend the hearing. In addition to the payments, Berlusconi also allegedly called police to secure Ruby's release while she was detained on an unrelated suspicion of theft. The trial was adjourned [JURIST report] after only 10 minutes of opening. In February, an Italian judge ordered Berlusconi to stand trial [JURIST report] on the charges of paying for sex with a minor and abuse of power. Both Ruby and Berlusconi maintain that the two never had sex, and Berlusconi has denied any wrongdoing and has called the charges groundless. In January, the Italian Constitutional Court [official website, in Italian] held hearings and subsequently struck down [JURIST reports] portions of a law [materials, in Italian] backed by Berlusconi that would have granted the premier and other public officials temporary immunity from charges while in office.

Attacks on civilians have been the center of several investigations into human rights abuses in Libya. Earlier this month, the UN announced that investigators would enter Libya [JURIST report] to begin looking into alleged human rights abuses by both rebels and the armed forces. Last month, International Criminal Court (ICC) Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo [official websites] announced that Libyan officials could face war crimes charges [JURIST report] for attacks on civilians. Additionally, the ICC launched a probe to investigate allegations [JURIST report] of crimes against humanity by the Libyan government. Moreno-Ocampo specifically identified Gaddafi, his sons and his political allies as targets of the investigation and warned Libyan officials that complicity in such abuses would result in prosecution. The UN General Assembly has voted to suspend Libya [JURIST report] from the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) [official website] in response to the violent suppression of peaceful protesters by forces loyal to Gaddafi. The ICC has also said that it will not grant immunity [JURIST report] to any person perpetrating crimes against humanity in Libya.

Monday's indictment by the Spanish Supreme Court is the second for Garzon. Last month, he filed a petition [JURIST report] with the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) [official website], challenging a case brought against him in Spain that alleges abuse of power in investigating crimes committed under the Franco dictatorship [BBC backgrounder]. In that case, Garzon faces charges of politically motivated corruption [JURIST report] and violation of the 1977 Amnesty Law, which affords amnesty for Franco-era crimes. The charges are based on Garzon's 2008 order [JURIST report] for certain government agencies, the Episcopal Conference, the University of Granada and the mayors of four cities to produce the names of people buried in mass graves, as well as the circumstances and dates of their burial. His petition follows the September 2010 decision of the Criminal Chamber of the Spanish Supreme Court, which unanimously confirmed [JURIST report] a lower court order that Garzon abused his power and must face trial. 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 worsening situation with piracy off the coast of Somalia requires the international community to adopt qualitatively new measures to combat it. Today we've taken a big step ahead in fighting piracy. The resolution adopted upon our initiative contains a wide array of qualitatively new measures aimed at establishing the necessary conditions for more effectively counteracting the pirates.

Kenya, Germany, Seychelles, the Netherlands, Mauritius, Yemen, Somalia and Spain [JURIST reports] have all attempted to prosecute suspected Somali pirates. The US has also been active in prosecuting suspected Somali pirates. In the past few months, US courts have sentenced Somali pirates to 25 years, life and 34 years [JURIST reports] in prison. However, in August a federal judge dismissed piracy charges against 6 Somalis [JURIST report] because the government "failed to establish that any unauthorized acts of violence or aggression committed on the high seas constitutes piracy" under 18 USC § 1651 [text]. Somali officials have criticized [BBC report] the US for exercising jurisdiction over suspected Somali pirates and called for piracy cases to be handled by an international tribunal.

Last week, a Human Rights Watch (HRW) report urged Ouattara to conduct an investigation [JURIST report] into alleged atrocities carried out by his forces in its attempts to secure the presidency. According to the report, the pro-Ouattara forces, known as the Republican Forces of Cote d'Ivoire, killed more than 100 civilians, raped at least 20 supporters of Gbagbo and burned at least 10 villages in March. Earlier this month, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) [official website] reported the deaths of at least 800 civilians [JURIST report] in the Ivory Coast town of Duekoue as a result of intercommunal violence. Earlier, the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) [official website] urged all parties in the Ivory Coast to show restraint and called for an independent investigation into post-election violence [JURIST reports]. In January, UN officials expressed "grave concerns" [JURIST report] regarding the post-election violence, cautioning that genocide could be imminent.

In October, the French Constitutional Council ruled that the ban conforms with the Constitution [JURIST report]. The bill was approved by the National Assembly in July and by the Senate [JURIST reports] in September. Legislation banning the use of Islamic burqas has been a point of contention recently in many European countries. In October, Dutch politician Geert Wilders [personal website, in Dutch] said that the Netherlands will ban the burqa [JURIST report] as part of the government's plan to form a minority coalition. In August, Austria's conservative Freedom Party [official website, in German] called for a special vote [JURIST report] on whether to ban face veils and the construction of minarets, two of the most visible symbols of the Islamic faith. In July, Spain's lower house of parliament rejected a proposal [JURIST report] to ban the burqa and other full face veils by a vote of 183 to 162 with 2 abstaining.