The evidence collected establishes reasonable grounds to believe that widespread and systematic attacks against the civilian population have been and continue to be committed in Libya, including murder and persecution as crimes against humanity. Additionally and since the end of February, there has been an armed conflict in Libya. In this context, there is also relevant information on the alleged commission of war crimes.

In March, the ICC announced it would launch an investigation [JURIST report] into the recent violence in Libya. The ICC was given jurisdiction over the current situation in Libya by UN Security Council [official website] Resolution 1970 [text]. Also in March, the UN Security Council voted unanimously [press release] to impose sanctions [JURIST report] against Gaddafi, marking the first unanimous referral to the ICC in UN history. Resolution 1970 also received support from Libya's delegation itself, which renounced Gaddafi [Reuters report]. Subsequently, the UN General Assembly [official website] voted to suspend Libya [JURIST report] from the Human Rights Council (UNHRC) [official website] in response to the violent suppression of peaceful protesters by forces loyal to Gaddafi. According to a statement issued by the court, the ICC will not grant immunity [JURIST report] to any person perpetrating crimes against humanity in Libya.

In other countries, controversial laws pertaining to the preventative detention of prisoners deemed a threat to public safety have also come under fire. Last month, rights groups called for reform [JURIST report] of a Kashmir law they allege is being used to detain people despite the absence of sufficient evidence for a trial. Last year, the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit [official website] ruled [opinion, PDF] unanimously that a federal law allowing for the indefinite detention of mentally ill sex offenders was constitutional [JURIST report].

Three days ago—thanks to many dedicated military and civilian leaders; intelligence and law enforcement officers; diplomats and policymakers; investigators, prosecutors and counterterrorism experts—the decade-long manhunt for Osama bin Laden came to a successful end. This historic achievement was a tremendous step forward in attaining justice for the nearly 3,000 innocent Americans who were murdered on September 11, 2001. And I hope it will inspire a renewed commitment to collaboration - across party lines, branches of responsibility, and agencies—so that we can effectively address the most pressing challenges facing the American people.

Last week, Holder announced that the Department of Justice's priorities will include protecting Americans from terrorism [JURIST report] at home and abroad, fighting violent crime, combating financial fraud and protecting the most vulnerable members of society. The speech came on the heels of Holder's failed attempts to try the 9/11 conspirators in civil trials [JURIST report] in New York. Holder announced last month that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed [BBC profile; JURIST news archive] and four other co-conspirators will be tried before a military commission [JURIST report]. Holder referred the cases to the Department of Defense [official website] after Congress imposed a series of restrictions [JURIST report] barring the transfer of Guantanamo detainees to the US. Holder refused to delay the trial any longer for the sake of the victims of the 9/11 attacks and their families, explaining that the restrictions are not likely to be repealed in the immediate future.

German officials previously arrested [JURIST report] Murwanashyaka in 2006 for alleged violations of immigration laws. In 2005, Murwanashyaka claimed [JURIST report] that the FDLR would end its war against the government and transform its fight into a political struggle. Many rebels fled Rwanda and crossed into eastern Congo 15 years ago after their alleged involvement in the 1994 Rwandan genocide [HRW backgrounder], during which an estimated 800,000 people, mostly ethnic Tutsis, died.

Seselj's war crimes trial, which began in 2006, resumed in early 2010, after being delayed [JURIST reports] for nearly a year over fears that witnesses were being intimidated. In February, Seselj went on trial [JURIST report] on charges that he released the names of 11 ICTY witnesses in violation of a confidentiality order. Last May, the ICTY appeals division upheld a 2009 contempt verdict [JURIST reports] against Seselj for revealing the identities of other witnesses that were supposed to remain confidential. Seselj is accused of establishing rogue paramilitary units affiliated with the SRS, which are believed to have massacred and otherwise persecuted Croats and other non-Serbs during the Balkan conflict.

[M]edic volunteers who were tending the wounded inside the temple compound were amongst those killed. These included a nurse who was shot while tending to a wounded man near the nursing station at the front of the temple, and 22-year-old man who was fatally shot in the head and body inside the medical tent after providing first aid to the nurse.

HRW is not the only voice calling for more information. In January, the "red shirt" movement petitioned [JURIST report] the International Criminal Court (ICC) [official website] to launch a preliminary investigation into whether the government committed crimes against humanity during the Bangkok protests. The application for petition cites specific evidence developing a substantial basis to show that international crimes of murder, imprisonment and other severe deprivation of physical liberty, other inhumane acts, and persecution were committed in conjunction with the suppression of red shirt protests. Evidence obtained from multiple active-duty officers of the Royal Thai Army recounts the planning and execution of the military response to the red shirts. The application also includes reports from Thai law enforcement officials knowledgeable of the official investigation conducted by the Thai Department of Special Investigations (DSI) into the killings of protesters.

For instance, Deutsche Bank and MortgageIT failed to audit MortgageIT's early payment defaults; Deutsche Bank and MortgageIT failed to dedicate sufficient staff to quality control; MortgageIT repeatedly failed to address dysfunctions in the quality control system, which were reported to upper management; MortgageIT took the only staff member dedicated to auditing FHA-insured mortgages, and reassigned him to increase production instead; and when an outside auditor provided findings to MortgageIT revealing serious problems, those findings were literally stuffed in a closet and left unread and unopened.

Last month, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) [official website] announced that the former CEO of mortgage company Taylor, Bean & Whitaker (TBW) [corporate website] pleaded guilty [JURIST report] on charges of fraud related to the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) [materials; JURIST news archive]. Paul Allen pleaded guilty to making false statements and conspiring to commit bank and wire fraud for his role in a USD $1.5 billion fraud scheme that contributed to the failure of the mortgage company. Allen admitted that from 2005 through August 2009 he and other co-conspirators engaged in a scheme to defraud financial institutions that had invested in a lending facility called Ocala Funding. In an effort to cover up inadequate assets backing its commercial paper, Allen told a co-conspirator to produce fraudulent reports and knew that these reports were sent to Ocala Funding investors and other third parties. The cover-up led investors in Freddie Mac, Colonial Bank [corporate websites] and Ocala Funding to believe they had an undivided ownership interest in thousands of the same mortgage loans. Allen also admitted to making false statements in a letter to the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, omitting concerns raised by an independent auditor. Five other individuals have pleaded guilty for their roles in related fraud schemes. Allen, who faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison for each count, will be sentenced in June.