JURIST - Paper Chase: Sunday, May 1, 2011

[JURIST] China's government released human rights lawyer Teng Biao Friday after more than 70 days of detention, but this was quickly followed by reports that fellow human rights lawyer Li Fangping disappeared later in the afternoon under suspicious circumstances. Teng's release [CNN report] came after discussions between Chinese officials and US Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy Human Rights, and Labor Michael Posner [official profile]. Just hours after Teng's release, Li reportedly called his wife to say security agents were waiting for him [Guardian report] and he might be gone for some time. Human rights groups immediately called upon China to release Li [AFP report]. The group Chinese Human Rights Defenders (CHRD) [advocacy website] urged [press release] the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances [official website] "to take urgent action on Li Fangping's case, and to again convey its concern to the Chinese government about this escalating problem."

The Chinese government has become increasingly concerned about internal dissent in recent months. In March, Human Rights Watch (HRW) [advocacy website] called on [press release] the US, EU and other governments "to send clear messages [to China] that the arrests and disappearances of dozens of the country's most prominent lawyers, human rights defenders, and internet activists over the past few weeks are unacceptable." Also in March, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention [official website] urged the Chinese government [JURIST report] to release detained human rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng [advocacy website; JURIST news archive] who has been held, allegedly without being charged, since 2009. In 2009, Li challenged a law [JURIST report] requiring all new personal computers sold in China include filtering software blocking access to certain website. In 2008, Teng was detained for two days [JURIST report] months after he co-authored a letter asking the international community to investigate China's human rights conditions although it is not clear that the events were related.

[JURIST] UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay [official profile] urged Uganda's government Sunday to stop using what she called excessive force against protesters, including opposition leader Kizza Beisgye [JURIST news archive]. Pillay criticized [Reuters report] the government's treatment of Bezigye during his arrest last Thursday, during which video shows government forces breaking into his SUV [BBC report], shooting pepper spray directly into his face and forcing him into the back of a pickup truck. Reports indicate Bezigye has left the country for medical treatment due to the arrest and has not fully regained sight in his left eye. Demonstrations intensified following Besigye's arrest, leading to eight deaths and more than 90 injuries. Pillay called on both sides to refrain from using violence. Besigye said Sunday that he will continue to organize [Capital News report] the "Walk to Work" protests [VOA report]—so called because protesters refuse to drive due to high fuel prices—despite the violence. More protests are expected Monday.

Government officials had arrested Besigye three times [JURIST report] in April prior to Thursday's arrest. Besigye is the leader of the Uganda's most prominent opposition party, the Forum for Democratic Change [official website]. He lost to incumbent President Yoweri Museveni [BBC profile] in elections held this past February. The elections were criticized by the opposition as fraudulent [Guardian report]. Besigye also ran for president [BBC report] in 2002 and 2006, and, prior to that, he was Museveni's personal doctor. In October 2010, Uganda's Constitutional Court unanimously dismissed treason charges [JURIST report] against Besigye and 10 co-defendants, ruling that there was insufficient evidence and that the state had violated the defendants' rights. Besigye had been charged [JURIST report] with plotting to forcefully overthrow the Ugandan government between 2001 and 2004 but had always maintained his innocence, calling the charges against him politically motivated.

[JURIST] A judge for the US District Court for the Central District of California [official website] on Friday denied a motion by Toyota [corporate website; JURIST news archive] to dismiss a class action lawsuit [materials] filed over the alleged sudden-acceleration defects. A final ruling is expected within the next two weeks [Bloomberg report]. Last month, Judge James Selna agreed to dismiss economic damage claims from foreign Toyota buyers, citing a lack of standing.

In December, Toyota settled [JURIST report] US federal investigations by agreeing to pay a record $32.4 million in extra fines for product defects and poor handling of a recall. The fines stem from two investigations conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) [official website]. The first, a fine of $16.375 million, concerned nearly five million vehicles with accelerator pedals entrapped by floor mats, which caused at least one fatal accident in California. The second, a fine of $16.050 million, resulted from Toyota's failure to notify the NHTSA of a safety defect in several Toyota models' steering relay rods. Toyota has been under federal scrutiny since December 2009, and has conducted several recalls. Toyota's product recalls have been analyzed by Forum guest columnist Bruce Aronson of Creighton University School of Law in the op-ed Learning from Toyota's Troubles - Where's the Board? [JURIST op-ed].