The risk of persecution resulted in particular from the activities at road blocks of ill-disciplined militia gangs. ... The means used by those manning road blocks to establish whether a person was loyal to the ruling Zanu-PF party included requiring them to produce a Zanu-PF card or sing the latest Zanu-PF campaign songs. An inability to do these things would be taken as evidence of disloyalty to the party and therefore of support for the opposition. In deploying these militia gangs, the regime "unleashed against its own citizens a vicious campaign of violence, murder, destruction, rape and displacement designed to ensure that there remains of the MDC nothing capable of mounting a challenge to the continued authority of the ruling party" ... The risk of not being able to demonstrate loyalty to the regime exists throughout the country, in both urban and rural areas.

Minority populations suffer from sectarian violence in countries around the world. Last week Amnesty International (AI) [advocacy website] stated that the violence against minority Rohingyas [BBC backgrounder] and other Muslims has increased since a state of emergency was declared [JURIST report] in the western Myanmar [BBC backgrounder; JURIST news archive] state of Rakhine, including human rights violations such as rape, destruction of property and unlawful killings. A week earlier the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) [official website] reported that 10 UN staff and aid workers have been arrested [JURIST report] in the northwestern Rakhine state and three of them are facing unknown criminal charges. Also that week AI criticized the government of Kuwait [BBC backgrounder] for continuing to limit the rights of the Bidun jinsiyya, which is Arabic for "without nationality" and identifies a class of illegal immigrants in Kuwait and United Arab Emirates (UAE) who remain non-citizens, either because their ancestors immigrated without filling out state paperwork before 1920 or they settled as a refugee in the nation after 1920. In June Human Rights Watch (HRW) [advocacy website] issued a report documenting refugee abuse and urging the government of China to provide basic food and shelter needs to thousands of refugees fleeing sectarian violence in neighboring Myanmar.

DOMA is an impermissible federal intrusion into the Commonwealth's regulation of marriage, which this Court has consistently recognized is a power exclusively reserved to the States. Whereas most States recognize a single marital status that is given effect under federal law, DOMA effectively divides marriage in Massachusetts into two different statuses: married for all purposes for different-sex spouses, and married but "federally single" for same-sex spouses. This federal interference in the State regulation of domestic relations is unprecedented in the Nation's history and violates the Tenth Amendment.

DOMA has faced numerous legal challenges recently. Last week an elderly New York woman petitioned [JURIST report] the US Supreme Court to hear her challenge to DOMA. She was successful in suing the US government in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York (SDNY) [official website] which held [JURIST report] that section 3 of DOMA is unconstitutional due to its violation of the principles of federalism. Earlier this month a lesbian couple sued [JURIST report] the government in the US District Court for the District of California [official website] seeking the same immigration rights for gay and lesbian couples as already afforded to heterosexual couples. Two days earlier, members of the US House of Representatives [official website] also filed [JURIST report] an amicus brief [text, PDF] with the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit [official website] arguing against the constitutionality of DOMA.

Government abuses and violent conflict in Sudan have raised international concern recently. The UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Valerie Amos on Friday expressed concern [JURIST report] about deteriorating conditions in Sudan due to continued violent conflict in the country. Amos noted a recent increase in Sudanese refugees crossing into neighboring countries because of the conflict. In June UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay urged Sudan authorities [JURIST report] to take measures to prevent violence against protesters in upcoming demonstrations. Earlier that month AI urged Sudanese authorities to cease violence against protesters and journalists [JURIST report]. The call came after the country's police in Khartoum used tear gas and batons against civilians who protested over austerity cuts.

The Venezuelan government and the IACHR have clashed in the past. In 2011, Chavez criticized the IACHR [JURIST report] for ruling in favor of presidential hopeful Leopoldo Lopez, allowing him to run for office despite a separate court ruling barring him from the election. Chavez said the ruling was politically motivated and that the court was influenced by the US. In June 2010, the IACHR sent a letter to the Venezuelan government expressing concern [JURIST report] over the increasing threat to freedom of expression in the country, citing three recent cases that caused particular concern. In February 2010, the IACHR released a report [JURIST report] providing a detailed analysis on the state of human rights in Venezuela, which ultimately concluded that not all citizens are ensured full enjoyment of their basic human rights. The top Venezuelan human rights official criticized the report [JURIST report] and said that the report makes unfair characterizations and undermines Venezuelan democracy.

Same-sex marriage remains a controversial issue throughout the world. Last week the Liberian Senate [official website] passed a bill prohibiting same-sex marriage [JURIST report] in the country, making it a second-degree felony subject to a fine or a short term of imprisonment. In recent weeks four petitions have been filed with the US Supreme Court [official website] challenging the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) [text; JURIST news archive], which precludes the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriages regardless of their legality in the state in which they are performed. Last week an elderly New York woman petitioned the Court to expedite her DOMA challenge, which was successful in obtaining a ruling from US District Court for the Southern District of New York (SDNY) [official website] that DOMA is unconstitutional [JURIST report]. The week before, a lesbian couple filed a lawsuit in the US District Court for the Central District of California [official website] in a DOMA challenge that seeks to achieve for gay and lesbian couples the same federal immigration rights afforded to heterosexual couples [JURIST report] under the Immigration and Nationality Act [materials]. Also last week 132 members of the US House of Representatives [official website] filed an amicus brief [JURIST report] arguing that statutory classifications based on sexual orientation should be subject to heightened judicial scrutiny, and that DOMA should be overturned as unconstitutional under any level of judicial scrutiny. The brief was filed in the appeal of Karen Golinski v. Office of Personnel Management, the landmark case in which the US District Court for the Northern District of California [official website] also ruled that DOMA is unconstitutional [JURIST report].

JPMorgan Chase has faced numerous lawsuits related to its business practices. In early June the US District Court for the Southern District of New York [official website] granted [JURIST report] the bank permission to pay $44.6 million in order to resolve allegations of fraudulent bidding practices for state and local government investment securities at taxpayers' expense. The settlement followed JPMorgan's agreement last July to pay a total of $228 million to federal and state authorities. It agreed [JURIST report] to pay $51.2 million to the affected municipalities, and its affiliates agreed to pay $177 million to settle parallel charges from other federal and state authorities including 25 states' attorneys general, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Internal Revenue Service, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Reserve Board [official websites]. A month earlier JPMorgan reached [JURIST report] a $153.6 million settlement for fraud charges brought by the SEC for misleading investors during the housing crises. In May the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida [official website] approved [JURIST report] a settlement agreement between JPMorgan and more than one million litigants nationwide who sued over excessive overdraft fees. JPMorgan agreed to pay $110 million to customers in settlement to resolve the litigation.

Cuba-US relations have improved in recent years. Last year US President Barack Obama [official profile] ordered [JURIST report] the Departments of State, Treasury and Homeland Security [official websites] to take steps to ease restrictions on travel and remittances to Cuba. The new regulations were expected to allow greater travel from the US to Cuba for religious and educational purposes, the transfer of up to $2000 per year to non-family members in Cuba so long as they are not senior government or Communist Party leaders, and all US international airports to service charter flights between the two countries. In 2009, Obama ordered the lifting of travel restrictions and restrictions on money transfers [JURIST report] between Cuban-Americans and their families in Cuba in 2009. Obama also ordered that US telecommunications companies be allowed to work within Cuba to facilitate communication between families split between the two countries. The plan was put forward as not only necessary for the interests of the families, but also as way to bolster a democratic movement within Cuba.

The country's judiciary has been in conflict with the executive branch since political leaders have rejected the court's order to investigate into the president's alleged corruption. In mid-July Zardari signed the Contempt of Court Bill 2012, which would shield senior officials from contempt of court proceedings after it was approved by both the lower [JURIST reports] and upper [AFP report] houses of the national parliament. The new law was seen as an attempt to exempt Ashraf from a possible upcoming contempt of court proceeding for failure to reopen the investigation against Zardari. The court had ordered [JURIST report] the new prime minister in late June to investigate the corruption allegations against the president. Ashraf, however, has argued that the president is immune from prosecution under the country's constitution. The court in response claimed that no one is above the law and thus, the investigation against the president should proceed. During the same month, a Pakistani court ordered [JURIST report] the arrest of Makhdoom Shahabuddin [BBC profile], a former health minister from Punjab Province and the nominee for the country's then-vacant prime minister position for allegations that he was involved in irregularities in the amount of the controlled drug Ephedrine circulating within the country during his tenure as health minister. The arrest order was issued the same day the president nominated Shahabuddin to fill the position of former prime minister Gilani.

Former president Arroyo has been a target of anti-corruption efforts by President Benigno Aquino [BBC profile]. Arroyo was arrested [JURIST report] in November on fraud and corruption charges in the hospital before she was able to leave the country to seek medical treatment. In April Arroyo and her husband Jose Miguel pleaded not guilty [JURIST report] to corruption charges before a special anti-graft court in the Philippines. The non-guilty plea came a month after a Philippines court issued an arrest warrant [JURIST report] against Jose on bribery charges. He was accused of accepting bribes to support the $329-million national broadband network deal with ZTE Corporation. Arroyo faced the same charges in December when the country's authorities filed a second criminal complaint [JURIST report] against her alleging that she approved a $329-million national broadband network deal with the Chinese company in return for millions of dollars in kickbacks in 2008.

Earlier this month the court heard arguments [JURIST report] over a claim brought in opposition to the 500 billion euro (USD $632 billion) European Stability Mechanism (ESM) [text, PDF]. In June the court ruled [JURIST report] that the German Bundestag has the right to be heard on the European financial crisis, holding in a case initiated by the Green party that Merkel failed to notify the parliament early enough about plans for the ESM regarding its sister party in Austria. Although that decision did not have any effect on the 500 billion euro ESM, it increased the parliament's rights by requiring the chancellor's government to provide notice to the parliament as early as possible in the future. A previous ruling that gave the parliament similar rights over matter concerning the EU was issued in February. The country's constitutional court held [JURIST report] that the use of a parliamentary subcommittee to fast-track decisions related to eurozone bailouts is unconstitutional, instead requiring the entire Bundestag to overview such decisions. In September the court ruled [JURIST report] that the parliament did not unconstitutionally impair its own ability to adopt and control the nation's budget, nor did it infringe on the budget autonomy of future parliaments.

International Criminal Court (ICC) Chief Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said earlier this month that her office is opening a preliminary examination [JURIST report] of the recent violence in Mali, after the ICC received a letter from Malian government officials requesting an ICC investigation. Malian Justice Minister Malick Coulibaly said earlier this month that he would ask the ICC to open an investigation [JURIST report]. In May Amnesty International reported that Mali is facing its worst human rights crisis [JURIST report] since it gained independence in 1960. HRW released a similar report in April claiming that all sides to the conflict are committing war crimes [JURIST report]. Earlier in April the ICC said they would monitor the situation [JURIST report] in Mali for potential crimes under the ICC's jurisdiction. All of this has come after Malian soldiers took control of the government [JURIST report] and suspended the constitution in March. 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 [JURIST reports]. The turmoil began when Taureg rebels attacked Malian soldiers [Al Jazeera report].

Earlier this week the International Chamber of Commerce International Maritime Bureau (IMB) [official website] reported that the number of global pirate attacks fell sharply [JURIST report] in the first half of 2012, the IMB Piracy Reporting Centre [official website] (PRC) having received reports [materials] of 177 incidents in the first six months of this year, compared to 266 incidents for the same period in 2011. In May the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit [official website] ruled that the legal definition of maritime piracy [JURIST news archive] includes an armed attack to hijack a ship, even if the attempt is unsuccessful. Earlier that week a United Arab Emirates court sentenced 10 Somali pirates [JURIST report] to 25 years in prison. Also that week six accused Somali pirates went on trial [JURIST report] in a Paris court for taking 30 crew members hostage in 2008 on a ship in the Gulf of Aden. The US government in March handed over 15 suspected Somali pirates [JURIST report] it had captured in January to the Republic of Seychelles for prosecution. Italy ordered its first international piracy trial in February against nine Somali pirates, while France began its first international piracy trial [JURIST reports] in November. In October the UN Security Council adopted a resolution encouraging states to criminalize and punish piracy after maritime piracy reached an all-time high [JURIST reports] last year.

The international community has repeatedly called on Senegal to prosecute Habre. Belgium asked the ICJ in March to order Senegal either to prosecute or extradite Habre after a Senegal court rejected a Belgian court's request [JURIST reports] for it to do so in January. A year ago, Senegal reversed its decision [JURIST report] to send Habre back to Chad after UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay suggested that he might be tortured. A year earlier, Amnesty International released a report citing [JURIST report] Senegal's refusal to prosecute or extradite Habre as just one of many examples of the country's "contempt" for rule of law.

Crime statistics have shown a similar trend in the US. Last month the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) [official website] released [JURIST report] the Preliminary Annual Uniform Crime Report [text] documenting that the overall rate of violent crimes has decreased throughout the US. Murder and non-negligent manslaughter declined 1.9 percent, and forcible rape, robbery and aggravated assault each declined 4 percent. While such crimes decreased in metropolitan counties, the same types increased significantly in cities with populations under 10,000. In terms of property crimes, motor vehicle theft dropped 3.3 percent while larceny theft dropped 0.9 percent. The same crimes increased in smaller cities. It was the fifth year in a row that violent crimes decreased. The trend continued from the preliminary semiannual report [text] that the FBI released [JURIST report] in December last year. The report for 2010 showed a decrease of 6.0 percent in violent crime and a decrease of 2.7 percent in property crime compared to 2009 statistics [JURIST reports]. The decrease began after 2006 and 2005 statistics [JURIST reports].