Earlier this month, the Malaysian Federal Court [official website] unanimously ruled against indigenous people [JURIST report] challenging a similar hydroelectric dam. The indigenous people argued that they received inadequate compensation for the Sarawak government's seizure of their land to build the dam. The judges stated that if the plaintiffs were not satisfied with the amount of compensation then that is a matter for arbitration, not for the court. In December, the US government pledged to support the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples [JURIST report], a non-binding UN treaty expressing support for the rights of indigenous peoples. The US was the last member to lend its support to the treaty. In August 2010, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon [official website] called on governments to improve the living conditions of indigenous peoples [JURIST report] and support the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Where a law can be viewed as having a rational purpose other than simply obstructing the right to abortion, the court cannot presume that an invalid purpose actually motivated the legislature to adopt the law, let alone that the invalid purpose was the legislature's predominant motive.

Kansas has recently imposed several other abortion restrictions. Last month, the state filed an appeal seeking to overturn a federal judge's ruling [JURIST reports] that blocks a law [HB 2014 materials] preventing Planned Parenthood of Kansas and Mid-Missouri (PPKM) [advocacy website] from receiving federal funding. In July a judge for the US District Court for the District of Kansas [official website] issued a preliminary injunction [JURIST report] to block a regulation [SB 36 materials] requiring clinics within the state to obtain a license to perform abortions. In April, Kansas Governor Sam Brownback (R) [official website] signed two pieces of legislation [JURIST report] restricting abortions in the state. The Abortion Reporting Accuracy and Parental Rights Act [HB 2035, PDF] requires unemancipated minors to obtain notarized parental signatures before an abortion may be performed, and the "fetal pain bill" [HB 2218, PDF] restricts abortions beyond 22 weeks of pregnancy based on the belief that a fetus can feel pain at that stage of gestation.

On Tuesday, the Appeals Chamber for the ICTR heard oral arguments [JURIST report] in the case of Aloys Ntabakuze [HJP profile], a former Rwandan army officer convicted of genocide and related crimes. Ntabakuze appealed his December 2008 conviction, in which the Trial Chamber sentenced him to life imprisonment. Before a panel of five judges, Ntabakuze's lawyer requested an acquittal of the conviction because the prosecution lacked sufficient evidence and failed to provide adequate notice of the charges. Also on Tuesday, the Appeals Chamber heard oral arguments [JURIST report] in the appeal of Dominique Ntawukulilyayo, the former Sub-Prefect of the southern region of Gisagara. The five judges composing the Appeals Chamber will decide whether the Trial Chamber committed a number of errors of law and fact, as alleged by Ntawukulilyayo, who seeks a reversal of his conviction, an acquittal and immediate release or, in the alternative, a reduction of his sentence.

In July, the Ninth Circuit ruled that DADT would remain partially in effect [JURIST report] during the 60 days prior to its scheduled repeal. The court effectively reiterated its order issued the previous week [JURIST report] in which it reinstated DADT but explicitly ordered the military to refrain from investigating, penalizing or discharging any of its members as originally provided for under the policy. Hours earlier, President Barack Obama [official website], Defense Secretary Leon Panetta [official profile] and the Joint Chiefs of Staff certified [JURIST report] DADT's repeal, scheduling the policy to end September 20. Obama signed the bill to repeal DADT [JURIST report] in December. The DADT Repeal Act was approved by the Senate in December after being passed [JURIST reports] by the House of Representatives the week before. Since the enactment of DADT in 1993, approximately 13,000 servicemen and women have been discharged from the armed forces as a result of the policy.

Awlaki, a dual US-Yemeni citizen, had been approved for targeting killing by the Obama administration, an action that was challenged based on Awlaki's US citizenship. In December, a judge for the US District Court for the District of Columbia [official website] dismissed a lawsuit [JURIST reports] challenging the Obama administration's ability to conduct "targeted killings" in al-Awlaki's case. Judge John Bates found that the court lacked jurisdiction over the case, filed by the ACLU and the Center for Constitutional Rights on behalf of Awlaki's father, dismissing it on procedural grounds and noting that important questions remain. Bates heard arguments [JURIST report] in the case in November on the same day Awlaki called for jihadist attacks on US citizens in a video posted on extremist websites. Earlier in November, Yemeni prosecutors charged [JURIST report] Awlaki with incitement to kill foreigners, and he was later sentenced in absentia to 10 years in prison.

Setako was convicted and sentenced [JURIST report] to 25 years in prison in February 2010 by the Trial Chamber of the ICTR. His trial began [JURIST report] in August 2008. Setako was arrested in the Netherlands in February 2004 and later transferred to a UN detention facility. He subsequently pleaded not guilty. In July 2010, Munyakazi was also sentenced to 25 years in prison [JURIST report] by the Trial Chamber of the ICTR. Rwandan authorities had sought to have Munyakazi transferred to Rwanda for trial, but that request and the subsequent appeal were both denied [JURIST report] based on concerns that the judiciary in Rwanda may not be fully independent and immune from outside pressure. The ICTR has transferred some cases to the Rwandan courts, including the case [JURIST reports] of former Rwandan pastor Jean-Bosco Uwinkindi [case materials], as part of a strategy intended to finish the court's trial work by 2011. Rwandan Prosecutor General Martin Ngoga told the UN Security Council last year that the decisions by the ICTR not to transfer pending cases to Rwandan jurisdiction, including genocide suspect Jean-Baptiste Gatete [case materials], undermine judicial reforms [JURIST report] and hinder national reconciliation. JURIST Guest Columnist and former Managing Editor Ingrid Burke, who has personal experience at the ICTR, argues that some cases ought to be referred to Rwandan courts [JURIST op-ed], suggesting that doing so "is in the best interest of both the Rwandan judiciary's stability and the benefit of international criminal law in the future."

This law forces a doctor, while performing an ultrasound, to describe the embryo or fetus and put pictures in front of the woman's face even if the woman says she doesn't want to see them. Imagine the pain this causes a woman who is forced to end a wanted pregnancy because of a catastrophic health emergency—or the additional trauma this unnecessary requirement will cause victims of rape or incest. No doctor should be forced to put a patient through that unnecessary trauma.

The bill became law in July when the North Carolina Senate and House of Representatives voted to override a veto [JURIST reports]
by Governor Beverly Perdue [official website]. North Carolina is one of several state legislatures to have acted recently to limit abortion rights. Both Texas and Florida [JURIST reports] have recently passed bills requiring ultrasounds before abortions. In June, the Center for Reproductive Rights (CRR) [advocacy website] filed a lawsuit challenging the Texas law [JURIST report]. In March, South Dakota passed a law requiring a three-day waiting period [JURIST report] before an abortion—the longest waiting period requirement in the country. That law is also facing a court challenge [JURIST report]. Multiple states have acted to ban abortions after 20 weeks, when some studies suggest a fetus can begin feeling pain, including Missouri, Indiana, Alabama, Ohio, Oklahoma, Kansas and Idaho [JURIST reports].

Bahraini King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa [official profile] announced last month that he will dismiss charges against some of the protesters [JURIST report] detained for their participation in pro-democracy demonstrations in the country. In June, Khalifa announced that an independent commission will investigate human rights violations [JURIST report] related to the country's pro-democracy protests. Earlier that month, the OHCHR announced that Bahrain agreed to permit a UN commission [JURIST report] to investigate human rights violations related to protests. The National Safety Courts were instituted in mid-March under Khalifa's three-month state of emergency [JURIST report] and have been internationally criticized, most recently [JURIST report] by Human Rights Watch (HRW) [advocacy website]. The court sentenced nine citizens [JURIST report] to 20 years in prison for kidnapping a police officer in May. In April, the court handed the death sentence to four protesters, a rarity in Bahrain, and upheld the sentences [JURIST reports] for two of the men who were accused of murdering police officers. All of the charges levied in the National Safety Court have been disputed by Bahraini citizens and international rights organizations.

Canada has a strong legal framework and there is absolutely no ambiguity in our criminal code when it comes to committing or allowing torture. There is grave evidence that former President Bush sanctioned and authorized acts of torture, not only in violation of Canadian laws, but also of international treaties that Canada has ratified. It is therefore clear that our government has both the jurisdiction and the obligation to prosecute Bush should he set foot again on Canadian territory.

Several human rights groups have urged investigations into alleged detainee abuses authorized by the Bush administration. This summer, Human Rights Watch (HRW) [advocacy website] urged the Obama administration to begin a criminal investigation [JURIST report] into alleged detainee abuses authorized by Bush following the 9/11 terrorist attacks [JURIST news archive]. Other calls to investigate the criminal culpability of Bush and officials in his administration have been rejected consistently by US officials [JURIST report]. In November, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) [advocacy website] urged US Attorney General Eric Holder to investigate Bush for violation of the federal statute prohibiting torture. Former defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld [JURIST news archive] also faced possible criminal charges, when, in 2007, a war crimes complaint was filed against him [JURIST report] in Germany for his involvement in detainee treatment. The case was later dismissed [JURIST report]. In June 2010, the ACLU called on the Obama administration to stop shielding Bush administration officials [JURIST report] from civil suit and criminal prosecution in relation to the treatment of detainees in US custody.

The Lithuanian authorities should not hide behind the blanket claim of "state secrecy" to prevent allegations of disappearance and torture from being properly investigated. No one has been held accountable for helping the USA to construct these secret sites or for any violations that may have occurred in them. ... The Lithuanian authorities must reopen their investigation into these operations, including the activities of US officials, and hold accountable those responsible for complicity in all abuses that have taken place.

In January, human rights groups pressed for Lithuania's investigation to be reopened, calling the decision to stop the investigation premature [JURIST report]. In 2009, the Lithuanian Parliament National Security Committee reported that the CIA had established secret prisons for al Qaeda suspects in the Baltic country. Lawmakers demanded the investigation [JURIST report] after ABC News reported that former CIA officials said that Lithuania provided the CIA with facilities for a secret prison for high-value al Qaeda suspects in order to improve relations with the US. The parliamentary committee concluded that the Lithuanian State Security Department provided the CIA with two secret facilities, but it is unclear whether either facility was used to interrogate detainees. Lithuanian Foreign Minister Vygaudas Usackas resigned [JURIST report] last January in the midst of a dispute with President Dalia Grybauskaite [official profile] over whether the prisons were in the country. Grybauskaite has publicly said that she believes there were prisoners held in Lithuania, but Usackas has denied this.

Human rights groups have closely scrutinized Kazakhstan's adherence to its international human rights obligations. In April, Nazarbayev discharged six justices [JURIST report] of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Kazakhstan [official website] for corruption. Kazakhstan submitted to a Universal Periodic Review (UPR) by the UN Human Rights Council [official websites] in February 2010. Kazakhstan accepted 121 of the recommendations [Kazakhstan UPR materials] to reduce human rights violation, particularly with respect to freedom of the press. In August 2009, the Supreme Court affirmed the conviction [JURIST report] of publisher Ramazan Esergepov, who was sentenced to three years in jail for revealing state secrets in his newspaper. A representative of Freedom of the Media at the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) [official websites] said that revealing public corruption [press release] is "the main duty of the journalists acting in the public interest," and that "[c]riminal sanctions for 'breach of secrecy' should only apply to the officials whose job descriptions stipulate the duty to protect sensitive information, but not to citizens."