Illinois has two convicted former governors as Rod Blagojevich [personal website; JURIST news archive] was convicted [JURIST report] on 17 of 20 counts including attempting to sell or trade the US Senate seat vacated by President Barack Obama. Blagojevich had also tried to cite Skilling, but a district judge denied a request [JURIST report] to delay the trial. In 2008, Ryan issued his first public apology [JURIST report] for the crimes that resulted in his imprisonment. Ryan was sentenced in 2007 and jailed [JURIST reports] on corruption charges. Ryan's trial began in 2005, and, in 2006, a jury found him guilty [JURIST reports] on multiple counts of corruption and fraud [indictment, PDF] in connection with a bribes-for-licenses scandal that occurred during Ryan's term as Illinois Secretary of State. Ryan made national headlines and won praise in some quarters in January 2003 when, just before leaving office, he commuted the executions [BBC report] of all Illinois inmates then on death row.

In February the UK High Court ruled that The Pirate Bay planned to infringe copyrights [JURIST report] which allowed the plaintiffs to obtain this court order requiring ISPs to block the website. Earlier that month the Swedish Supreme Court [official website, in Swedish] declined to hear an appeal [JURIST report] of the convictions for copyright infringement of Fredrik Neji, Peter Sunde and Carl Lundstroem, the founders of The Pirate Bay. The three founders were initially convicted [JURIST report] in April 2009. Despite the convictions, the website remains operational.

AI has previously called on the UAE government [press release] to release these "prisoners of conscience" in compliance with international law. Last November, the UAE Federal Supreme Court sentenced five of the nine activists to prison [JURIST report] for participating in a campaign seeking political liberties. All five were charged under § 176 of the UAE Penal Code for publicly insulting UAE president Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed [official website] and other government officials, and were arrested in April 2011 after signing an online petition demanding political reforms. HRW has also been critical of the UAE for its recent treatment of political activists, and called for the trial's end [JURIST report] in July 2011 along with other rights groups. Additionally, HRW criticized UAE officials [press release] in April 2011 for their arrest of a political blogger, and also urged international public institutions [press release] in the country to condemn the government's detention of other rights activists.

Last June, a special Afghan court overturned the election results [JURIST report] of about 25 percent of the assembly seats due to poll fraud in the September 2010 parliamentary elections. The ruling came shrouded in controversy, however, as the court was established by President Hamid Karzai [official profile; JURIST news archive] and the decision ordered the IEC, a commission that does not recognize the legitimacy of the special court [AFP report], to disqualify legislators whose elections it deems invalid. The IEC defended itself against allegations of polling fraud [JURIST report] and more than 100 complaints filed by opposition candidate Abdullah Abdullah [WP report] in the wake of Afghanistan's presidential election in 2009. There, Abdullah claimed [JURIST report] that Karzai supporters stuffed ballots, inflated vote counts, and intimidated voters at the polls. Despite the defense, elections in Afghanistan remain marred by these widespread allegations of fraud.

Last week, the International Criminal Court (ICC) [official website] said they are monitoring the situation [JURIST report] for potential crimes under the ICC's jurisdiction. They noted that Mali has ratified the Rome Statute [text], which gives the ICC jurisdiction to prosecute war crimes and crimes against humanity that may have occurred since fighting began in January. The turmoil began when Taureg rebels attacked Malian soldiers [Al Jazeera report]. Many in the international community have expressed concern over the situation, including the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) [JURIST reports]. All of this has come after Malian soldiers took control of the government [JURIST report] and suspended the constitution in March.

Al Khawaja's appeal hearing was delayed last week after four independent human rights experts called for his immediate release [JURIST reports]. Earlier this month, Amnesty International reported that human rights violations continue [JURIST report] in Bahrain despite reported reforms. Al-Khawaja's lawyers and members of the Bahrain opposition appealed his conviction and UN experts' called for his release after international concern arose over his health due to repeated hunger strikes, which at that point had passed 50 days [JURIST reports]. Last May, Special Rapporteur on torture Juan Mendez [official profile] condemned the Bahraini government for failing to adhere to the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners [text] regarding Al-Khawaja's physical and mental integrity. He was allegedly physically mistreated and perhaps tortured [JURIST report] while in custody, displaying visible physical signs of abuse at trial.

Petitioner Roselva Chaidez entered the US from Mexico in 1971 and became a lawful permanent resident in 1977. She was indicted in 2003 on three counts of mail fraud and pleaded guilty on the advice of counsel. The government initiated removal proceedings in 2009, and Chaidez appealed, claiming she would not have pleaded guilty if she had been aware that such a plea could result in deportation. Padilla was decided in March 2010 while Chaidez's motion was pending with the district court.