Kenya, Germany, Seychelles, the Netherlands, Mauritius, Yemen, Somalia and Spain [JURIST reports] have all attempted to prosecute 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 have called for piracy cases to be handled by an international tribunal. Oceans Beyond Piracy [advocacy website] has estimated the total cost of piracy [report, PDF] in 2010 to be in the range of $7-12 billion, including $148 million spent on ransoms and up to $3 billion on re-routing ships. At the end of 2010, approximately 500 individuals were being held hostage by Somali pirates.

The charges come after advocacy groups Amnesty International (AI) and Human Rights Watch (HRW) [advocacy websites] called for the Tunisian transitional government to investigate incidents of police violence against protesters and end police brutality [JURIST reports]. In January, the Tunisian Constitutional Council officially announced that Ben Ali had permanently left the office of the presidency after he declared a state of emergency [JURIST report] amid nationwide protests, banning public gatherings and allowing police to fire on anyone refusing to obey orders, and fled the country. The leader of the lower house of parliament, Foued Mebezza, assumed power as interim president [JURIST report] and will remain in power until elections are held, which Prime Minister Mohammed Ghannouchi [Reuters profile] has promised will be in the next few months.

The BiH war crimes court was established in 2005 to reduce the caseload of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) [official website]. In January, the court sentenced [JURIST report] Sefik Alic, a Muslim commander, to 10 years in prison, overturning his 2008 acquittal. In December, the court convicted four former Bosnian Serb policemen [JURIST report] of killing at least 150 civilians during the Bosnian civil war. In November, suspected war criminal, Dragan Crnogorac, was arrested [JURIST report] on suspicion for having committed genocide in connection with the 1995 Srebrenica massacre [JURIST news archive] during the end of the Bosnian civil war. In August, Spanish officials extradited accused Montenegrin war criminal [JURIST report] Veselin Vlahovic, known as the "monster of Grbavica," to Sarajevo.

Figures for piracy and armed robbery at sea in the past three months are higher than we've ever recorded in the first quarter of any past year. ... We're seeing a dramatic increase in the violence and techniques used by pirates in the seas off Somalia. The overwhelming number of vessels hijacked off Somalia took place east and north east of the Gulf of Aden. The positions of some of the attackers' mother ships are known. It is vital that strong action is taken against these mother ships to prevent further hijackings

Incidents of international maritime piracy continue to climb. Earlier this week, the UN Security Council [official website] unanimously approved a resolution [JURIST report] to consider creating new laws, courts and prisons specialized to address the growing problem of piracy off the coast of Somalia. Last January, the IMB reported [JURIST report] that, to that point, 2009 marked the worst year of piracy since 2003, spiking near Somalian waters then as well. In July 2009, the IMB reported [JURIST report] that pirate attacks around the globe doubled in the first half of 2009. Few countries have been willing to prosecute suspected pirates. The few that have attempted to do so include Germany, Seychelles, the Netherlands, Mauritius, Yemen, Somalia and Spain [JURIST reports].

Republika Srpska is a legal entity within BiH that has a predominantly ethnic-Serb population. According to statistics provided by Dodik, through 2010, ethnic Serbs have been sentenced to a total of 1,067 years of imprisonment by the war crimes court, whereas ethnic Croats were sentenced to 137.5 years and ethnic Bosniacs to 124 years of imprisonment. In addition, the statistics indicate that out of the convictions handed down by the court, 50 have been against ethnic Serbs, 11 against Croats and eight against Bosniacs. In March, the court confirmed the indictment [JURIST report] of a former police officer for his role in the 1995 Srebrenica massacre [JURIST news archive]. In November, Dragan Crnogorac was arrested in BiH [JURIST report] on suspicion of having committed genocide. Crnogorac was also a police officer who is alleged to have shot Bosnian Muslim men and boys.

The Italian Parliament [official website, in Italian] has previously attempted to shield Berlusconi from trial, passing a law [materials, in Italian; JURIST report] last March that granted the premier and other public officials temporary immunity from charges while in office. In January, the Italian Constitutional Court [official website, in Italian] held hearings and subsequently struck down [JURIST reports] portions of the law, finding it in violation of Article 3 of the Italian Constitution [text], which provides that "all citizens have equal social status and are equal before the law." The constitutional review of the law was sought by judges in Milan [JURIST report], where Berlusconi is charged in two cases on corruption and tax fraud. On Monday, Berlusconi attended a hearing [JURIST report] in Milan to defend himself against charges that his media empire, Mediaset [corporate website, in Italian], purchased television rights for US movies through offshore companies and falsely declaring the costs on its taxes. Last month, Berlusconi attended a separate hearing [JURIST report] to defend himself against charges of inflating the price paid to buy television rights for Mediaset to fund political activities. Prior to that hearing, Berlusconi had not attended a case hearing for more than seven years. 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. Last week, Berlusconi failed to attend a trial [JURIST report] on charges against him for abusing the power of his office and allegedly offering cash and jewels in exchange for sex with 17-year-old Moroccan-born Karima El Mahroug, known as Ruby. 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. 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.