I am really worried that human rights lawyers are being identified with their clients or their clients’ causes as a result of discharging their functions. The Government has an obligation to ensure that lawyers can perform all of their professional functions without intimidation, hindrance, harassment or improper interference and that they do not suffer prosecution for any action taken while carrying out their duties.

Iran has faced ongoing criticism for its human rights record from the UN and other groups. In March UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran Ahmed Shaheed told the UN Human Rights Council that he is concerned about the human rights violations [JURIST report] occurring in the country. Corroborating Shaheed's concerns, Amnesty International released a report in February that Iran executed twice as many people [JURIST report] in 2011 as it did in the previous year. The report, entitled "'We Are Ordered to Crush You': Expanding Repression of Dissent in Iran," chronicles widespread international human rights violations that Iran's government has allegedly perpetrated over the past year. The AI report claims that the most common targets of Iran's crackdown on human rights are lawyers, rights activists, filmmakers, journalists and political leaders.

The Russian parliament last month introduced a similar bill that would outlaw spread of "homosexual propaganda" to minors. It would impose a fine of 500,000 rubles ($16,500 USD) on anyone who promotes the homosexual lifestyle, including media outlets that lawmakers have accused of making homosexual lifestyles "normal behavior." In 2008, Moscow police arrested several gay activists [JURIST report] who were celebrating the anniversary of passage of a 1993 law that ended prosecution for homosexuality in the country. They were arrested pursuant to a local ban on gay pride parades, which had been upheld by a Russian court [JURIST reports] the previous year.

Last May the US Supreme Court [official website] denied certiorari [JURIST report] in Black v. United States [docket; cert. petition, PDF] in which Black was seeking to have his remaining conviction overturned. Black was originally convicted on two counts of fraud and a third count of obstruction of justice after a jury acquitted him and his co-defendants of 15 other fraud counts. He appealed to the Supreme Court, which remanded [JURIST report] the case to the Seventh Circuit.

Austria has been a leader in pushing for fundamental rights and accepting international standards. In August an Austrian court rejected a request [JURIST report] to send a suspected Serbian war criminal back to Serbia for fear that he would not receive a fair trial under the country's evidentiary laws. In 2010 Austria allowed the UN to establish an anti-corruption agency [JURIST report] in the country to help enforce the UN Convention against Corruption [text, PDF]. Despite these recent actions toward accepting international standards, however, Austria was among those least satisfied [JURIST report] with its EU membership as recently as 2008.

McKenna's official position is that it is in the best interest of Washington and its residents for the US Supreme Court to invalidate only the Act's individual mandate and to allow the remainder of the Act—including its women's health care components—to stay in effect. Yet, McKenna has submitted pleadings and arguments on behalf of the State asking the US Supreme Court to do precisely the opposite—to invalidate the women's health care protections and every other provision of the Act. The total invalidation of the ACA would place women's lives at risk, jeopardize their right to contraception, and force Washington women to pay tens of millions of dollars for contraception and preventive care that they may receive for free under the ACA. Other women would be denied health care under "lifetime caps" that are prohibited by the ACA.

In March the US Supreme Court heard oral arguments [JURIST report] in United States Department of Health and Human Services v. Florida [materials], the suit challenging the PPACA. In January 26 states submitted a brief [JURIST report] to the Supreme Court challenging the constitutionality of the expansion of Medicaid for the poor and disabled in the PPACA. Also in January the federal government filed a brief [JURIST report] before the US Supreme Court arguing that the minimum coverage provision of the PPACA, which requires almost every US citizen to obtain health insurance by 2014 or face a tax penalty, is constitutional. The court granted certiorari to rule on health care reform law [JURIST report] in three separate cases last November, reserving five-and-half-hours for oral argument on the issue.

Strife in Bahrain has resulted in multiple injuries and deaths recently. Earlier this week, advocacy group Human Rights Watch (HRW) urged Bahrain to immediately release the leaders [JURIST report] of last year's anti-government protests, including hunger striker Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja. HRW states that the 14 individuals have been jailed for more than a year with no evidence of any wrongdoing produced against them. In April HRW issued a report [JURIST report] alleging Bahrain's police officers regularly abuse minor detainees before transporting them to police stations. Also in April Amnesty International (AI) issued its own report [JURIST report] alleging human rights violations continue in Bahrain despite reforms.

In February Taylor's lawyers asked that the SCSL reopen the case [JURIST report] in light of new evidence, but the request was denied. The SCSL heard closing arguments [JURIST report] in March 2011. Taylor has denied the charges [JURIST report] against him, which include murder, rape, sexual slavery and acts of terrorism stemming from from a "campaign to terrorize the civilian population" of Sierra Leone [JURIST news archive]. Taylor's defense lawyers opened their case [JURIST report] in July 2009 and have claimed that he could not have commanded rebel forces in Sierra Leone while acting as the president of Liberia. His trial continued after the court denied his motion for acquittal [JURIST report] in May 2009.