Violence broke out in the Egyptian court [JURIST report] earlier this week, when the court resumed for a third session. Outside the court, demonstrators tussled with police, with several injuries reported. Presiding Judge Ahmed Rifaat last month decided to end live TV broadcasts [JURIST report] of subsequent proceedings amid protests from the families of victims and praise from several courtroom lawyers who opposed the broadcasts. In July, officials chose a new location for Mubarak's trial for security reasons after reporting [JURIST reports] that the trial would take place in downtown Cairo. Also in July, an Egyptian criminal court postponed the trial [JURIST report] of former interior minister Habib el-Adly, who also faces murder charges in relation to the pro-democracy demonstrations, so it would coincide with Mubarak's trial. In March, a commission of Arab and Egyptian human rights groups accused Mubarak [JURIST report] and the police of murdering protesters during the demonstrations in Egypt. Mubarak could face the death penalty [JURIST report] if convicted of ordering attacks on protesters. Amnesty International (AI) [advocacy website] reported that at least 840 people were killed [JURIST report] and more than 6,000 injured during the Egyptian protests.

The Spanish government continues to actively pursue charges against ETA. Last week, the Spanish National Court sentenced a former Basque separatist to 10 years in prison [JURIST report] for terrorism and trying to resurrect a banned political wing of ETA. In March 2010, the court sentenced a former Basque separatist party leader to two years in prison for promoting terrorism [JURIST report]. Earlier that week, the court accused [JURIST report] the Venezuelan government of aiding ETA in a plot to assassinate members of the Colombian government in Spain. In February 2010, the Interior Ministry of Spain said [JURIST report] that it took into custody the suspected ETA leader, along with two other people who are believed to be senior members of the group. Spanish Judge Fernando Grande-Marlaska ruled [JURIST report] a month earlier that ETA had tried three times to assassinate former Spanish prime minister Jose Maria Aznar in 2001 but had failed. In June 2009, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) upheld [JURIST report] Spain's ban of Basque political groups Batasuna and Herri Batasuna for their alleged ties to ETA.

Investigations into the 5th Stryker Brigade have led to additional charges for lesser crimes against seven other soldiers. In May, US Army prosecutors charged Staff Sgt. David Bram with solicitation to commit premeditated murder [JURIST report], failure to report crimes including murder, planting evidence near the body of an Afghan national, unlawfully engaging in murder scenario conversations with subordinates and aggravated assault with a dangerous weapon in related to the January 2010 murder plot. Staff Sgt. Robert Stevens pleaded guilty [JURIST report] in December to shooting two unarmed Afghan farmers following a plea agreement that will allow him to remain in the military after serving a nine-month sentence and testifying against other soldiers accused of terrifying civilians. A military investigation revealed that soldiers from the brigade had been plotting since 2009 to kill unarmed Afghans and stage them to look like casualties of combat. The probe into 12 soldiers regarding the civilian deaths began in May 2010 [JURIST report].

Idaho's "fetal pain" statute, passed in April, makes it a felony to terminate a pregnancy after 20 weeks based on controversial science indicating a fetus may feel pain after 20 weeks of development. State legislatures across the country have been implementing measures to restrict abortions, and challenges to these laws are appearing in many states. In August, a federal judge blocked several provisions of a new Texas abortion law [JURIST report] that places restrictions on the procedure and requires a doctor to show a sonogram to and play the sounds of the fetal heartbeat for a woman prior to performing an abortion. Earlier in August, the Arizona Court of Appeals [official website] ended a two-year injunction [JURIST report] on portions of a law that restricted abortion practices, suggesting that the lower judge had applied "strict scrutiny" in error rather than an "undue burden" test. Also in August, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) [advocacy website] filed a lawsuit challenging a Kansas law [JURIST report] that prohibits insurance companies from including coverage for abortion in their comprehensive plans.