These horrific images of torture on video show what rights groups have long documented: that India's Border Security Force is out of control. The Indian government is well aware of killings and torture at the border, but has never prosecuted the troops responsible. This video provides a clear test case of whether the security forces are above the law in India.

In December 2010, HRW and the Banglar Manabadhikar Suraksha Mancha (MASUM) [advocacy website], a Kolkatta-based NGO that posted the video, and Odhikar [advocacy website], an NGO based in Dhaka, published Trigger Happy: Excessive Use of Force by Indian Troops at the Bangladesh Border [text, PDF], a report accusing BSF soldiers of torturing both Indians and Bangladeshis. Although the Indian government soon thereafter ordered an end to the use of lethal force by BSF soldiers except in self-defense, allegations of killings and torture have continued. In April 2010, the Cabinet of India approved [JURIST report] the Prevention of Torture Bill [text, PDF] after lengthy legislative delays in an effort to move the country closer to international human rights standards.

The Armenian genocide is also a contentious issue in US law and politics. In November the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit [official website] decided to revisit a case [JURIST report] to determine whether a California law declaring Armenian genocide in Turkey conflicts with US foreign policy. In August 2010 a panel of the US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit [official website] unanimously dismissed a lawsuit [JURIST report] challenging the exclusion of materials questioning the Armenian genocide from a school curriculum. In March 2010 the Obama administration announced its opposition to a resolution [JURIST report] labeling the World War I-era killings as genocide. The announcement came after the US House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs passed the resolution [JURIST report] by a vote of 23-22. Erdogan condemned the resolution, and the Turkish government recalled its ambassador to the US.

Last March, Garzon filed a petition [JURIST report] with the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) [official website], challenging the 2010 abuse of power charges, for which he was suspended [JURIST report]. His petition follows the September 2010 decision of the Criminal Chamber of the Spanish Supreme Court, which unanimously confirmed [JURIST report] a lower court order that Garzon abused his power and must face trial. Garzon is widely known for using universal jurisdiction [AI backgrounder; JURIST news archive] extensively in the past to bring several high-profile rights cases, including those against Osama bin Laden and former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet. He is also facing two other trials, including one trial that began earlier in January involving charges that he ordered the placement of wiretaps in jailhouses [JURIST report] to record conversations between inmates and their lawyers. The third trial, which has not started, involves bribery charges over money Garzon received for seminars conducted in the US.

It is clear under international law that there is no statute of limitations for such crimes, and the UN Human Rights office has provided technical assistance and legal advice stressing this point. We are extremely disappointed at reports that Mr. Duvalier may not be charged with any human rights crimes, despite numerous complaints by victims to the prosecutor. Impunity for such serious crimes cannot be allowed to prevail and we urge the relevant authorities to ensure that justice is, belatedly, delivered to the many victims of human rights abuses committed under the government of Mr. Duvalier. There can be no true reconciliation and forgiveness without justice.

Haiti has been urged numerous times by different organizations to improve its human rights records and to try Duvalier for his crimes against humanity. In September, AI urged [JURIST report] the Haitin government to prosecute Duvalier after its release of a report [report, PDF] documenting crimes committed during the former president's reign. The findings were the result of an eight-month investigation [JURIST report]. In July, the UN Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights [official website] Kyung-Wha Kang [official website] pressed Haiti [JURIST report] to establish a system of human rights and equality, especially by speeding up the case against Duvalier. He was accused of crimes against humanity and corruption [JURIST reports] in January of last year.

Seselj's war crimes trial began [JURIST report] in 2007 after he was charged [indictment, PDF] with three counts of crimes against humanity and six counts of war crimes and accused of establishing rogue paramilitary units affiliated with the ultra-nationalist Serbian Radical Party (SRS), which are believed to have massacred and otherwise persecuted Croats and other non-Serbs during the Balkan conflict. In July, Seselj alleged that he was being denied "speedy process," as he has been in custody since February 2003, and that the ICTY had denied him the right to defend himself by not fully funding his defense. Seselj made similar claims in 2009 [press release], which were also refuted by the court. His trial was briefly suspended [JURIST report] in 2009 because of concerns witnesses were being intimidated. The trial resumed in 2010 after the delay, and was again ordered to continue in 2011 after Seselj sought to have the charges dismissed [case sheet, PDF]. The trial recently resumed earlier this month, after Seslj's third contempt conviction.

Allegations of widespread corruption in Romania have been ongoing since the nation broke away from the Soviet Union in 1989. Last week, the Constitutional Court of Romania ruled that a law allowing local and parliamentary elections to be held at the same time [JURIST report] was unconstitutional. After the ruling, Romanian President Traian Basescu defended his administration amid protests against the government's education, justice, criminal and economic policies. In March 2010, the EC released a report advising Romania to do more to combat corruption and organized crime [JURIST report] as well as conduct judicial reforms in order to enjoy their full rights as members of the European Union (EU). In January 2007, Romania officially joined the EU [JURIST report] following six years of accession negotiations.