Abortion rights has been an ongoing issue in the US, even after the Supreme Court's 1973 ruling in Roe v. Wade [opinion text] declaring that women had a constitutional right to obtain abortions. Earlier this month, the Guttmacher Institute [official website] released a report [JURIST report] showing that the number of states enacting laws hostile to abortions has increased over the past decade. This increase in abortion restrictions has led to many civil rights suits. Rights groups challenged an Arizona law [JURIST report] earlier this month which prohibits abortions after 20 weeks unless there is a medical emergency. Last month, Oklahoma's attorney general appealed a ruling [JURIST report] by a federal district court invalidating the state's law requiring women to obtain an ultrasound within an hour of their abortion procedure and have a doctor explain it to them.

Spain has been prosecuting ETA members for more than a decade. Last year, a Spanish court sentenced [JURIST report] a former military leader for the group to 105 years in prison for ordering the murder of a Socialist political leader and his bodyguard. Two months earlier, a group of ETA prisoners released a statement [JURIST report] calling for the ETA to stop violence and commit to a truce. In 2010, the Spanish government also accused the Venezuelan government [JURIST report] of aiding ETA members in a plot to kill Colombian government officials in Spain. A Spanish judge also found earlier that year that a member of ETA had attempted three times [JURIST report] to kill Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar in 2001.

Kuwait has been accused of censorship and stifling protests from citizens in addition to the Bidun. A Kuwait court sentenced a man to ten years of imprisonment for posting insulting and defaming comments [JURIST report] about the Prophet Muhammad and the Sunni Muslim rulers of Saudi Arabia and Bahrain on Twitter. Similarly last July, HRW urged Kuwait to immediately release [JURIST report] two men being detained for posting messages on the Internet criticizing Middle East rulers. HRW reported that in June authorities detained and investigated Nasser Abul for threatening state security using Twitter and Lawrence al-Rashidi for posting a YouTube video criticizing Kuwait leader. His Tweets support the protestors demonstrations against Bahrain King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa.

Syria has been plagued with violence over the past year and a half, and human rights groups have blamed both the government and anti-government groups for the resulting deaths. Despite al-Assad agreeing to implement the peace plan, reports of violence continue. The attack on Tremesh happened on the same day video of unexploded cluster munitions found in the Hama region [JURIST report] was reported by Human Rights Watch (HRW) [advocacy website]. Last week, HRW reported that Syrian authorities have been maintaining secret detention facilities [JURIST report] to hold and torture prisoners. Another group reported that forces use sexual assault as a weapon [JURIST report] in the conflict. The UN was urged to extend the UNSMIS mission [JURIST report] due to the continuous reports of violence in the nation.