Salafists, who adhere to an ideology that seeks to restore Islam to its original meanings and teachings, have played a significant role in recent conflicts in the Middle East. Earlier in August there was speculation [BBC report] that Salafist cleric Mohammed Yursi Ibrahim would be appointed to the cabinet of Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi [BBC profile; JURIST news archive], possibly increasing tensions between Muslims and Coptic Christians in Egypt. In June an Israeli missile strike killed two Salafist militants in the Gaza Strip [BBC report].

In July Olmert was acquitted of the key charges [Reuters report] that, as a cabinet minister and Jerusalem's mayor before becoming prime minister, he received USD $150,000 in bribes from US businessman Moshe Talansky, and that he defrauded Israeli charities by double-billing them for overseas fundraising trips, a charge popularly referred to as the Rishon Tours double-billing affair. The former prime minister has maintained his innocence throughout a series of scandals, including a plea of not guilty to three corruption charges in December 2009 that encompass the Talansky scandal and the Rishon Tours affair [JURIST reports]. Before he resigned, Israeli police raided Olmert's offices as part of the corruption investigation [JURIST reports] launched by the Israeli Ministry of Justice. Despite acquittals, Olmert still faces bribery charges [JURIST report] related to the construction of a luxury apartment complex during his 10-year tenure as mayor of Jerusalem. Olmert was indicted on the bribery charges in the case in January of this year after having been officially named as a suspect [JURIST report] in the investigation in April 2010.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Amnesty International (AI) [advocacy websites] have called for the writers' release [HRW report], calling the charges "politically-motivated" [AI report]. According to the HRW 2012 Annual Report released in January [JURIST report], the Middle Eastern "Arab Spring" revolutions and protests may have inspired Vietnamese citizens to combat oppression in their country, especially restrictions on freedom of speech. However, the Vietnamese government has reacted strongly against pro-democracy bloggers. In November a Vietnamese appeals court reduced the sentence [JURIST report] of pro-democracy blogger and professor Pham Minh Hoang [blog, in Vietnamese], who had been sentenced [JURIST report] to three years in prison after writing anti-government articles on his blog under his pen name. In August 2011 a Vietnamese appeals court upheld the seven-year sentence of prominent rights lawyer and dissident Cu Huy Ha Vu, convicted in April [JURIST reports] of carrying out anti-state propaganda. In January 2010 a Vietnamese court sentenced [JURIST report] writer and democracy activist Pham Thanh Nghien to four years in prison on charges of spreading anti-state propaganda. The same month, a Vietnamese court convicted four democracy activists [JURIST report] of subversion.

Morocco has had a controversial human rights record during its government's transition away from a highly centralized monarchy. Last week Human Rights Watch [advocacy website] urged Morocco to release five prisoners [JURIST report] who were allegedly convicted based on false confessions obtained through torture. In July Moroccan voters overwhelmingly approved a revised version of the constitution [JURIST report], highlighted by fewer powers reserved for their king. The constitutional revisions were a product of a reform process announced last April following peaceful demonstrations [JURIST reports] demanding democratic reforms as part of the wider protests in the Middle East and North Africa [BBC backgrounder; JURIST news archive]. Commentators state that Morocco has continued to move forward in improving human rights but that it still has a duty to ratify [JURIST op-ed] the Rome Statute [text], the founding treaty of the International Criminal Court [official website].

Voting rights are a controversial issue this year with the recent spate of voter identification laws from state legislatures. There are now 32 US states [NCSL backgrounder] that require voters to present some form of ID at the polls, and the issue remains controversial. Last week the Pennsylvania Supreme Court remanded to a lower court a challenge to Pennsylvania's new voter identification law [JURIST report]. Last month a three-judge panel in the US District Court for the District of Columbia unanimously rejected a Texas law [JURIST report] requiring voters to present photo ID to election officials before casting their ballots. In May the ACLU of Minnesota filed a petition [JURIST report] sought to eliminate a proposed ballot initiative that would amend the Minnesota Constitution to require citizens to present photo identification in order to vote.

Every person has the right to seek and enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution, serious human rights violations and other serious harm. Seeking asylum is not, therefore, an unlawful act. Furthermore, the 1951 Convention [relating to the Status of Refugees] provides that asylum-seekers shall not be penalised for their illegal entry or stay, provided they present themselves to the authorities without delay and show good cause for their illegal entry or presence.

Laws and policies governing the treatment of migrants continue to raise international human rights concerns. Last month the UNHCR and the UN Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights [official website] together expressed concern over a recently passed law in Australia [JURIST report] that will reopen offshore detention centers used to process migrants and asylum-seekers who arrive in the country by sea. In July Human Rights Watch [advocacy website] reported that migrants residing in Greece face a rising culture of discrimination and violence [JURIST report]. In June Amnesty International [advocacy website] stated that the Cyprus government's practice of detaining all illegal migrants seeking asylum in the island nation violates international law [JURIST report].

Information about Breyer's case apparently came to light during the investigation of convicted Nazi prison guard John Demjanjuk [JURIST news archive], who was charged with accessory murder under the same legal theory that would be employed in Breyer's. Retired Ohio autoworker Demjanjuk was convicted in German Court [JURIST report] in May 2011 as an accessory to over 28,000 murders and sentenced to five years in prison but was released to a nursing home due to his age and deteriorating health. He was deported to Germany [JURIST report] from the US in May 2009 after the US Supreme Court refused to hear his appeal of a 2005 deportation order [JURST reports] by a US immigration judge. Demjanjuk died [JURIST report] in the nursing home in March awaiting an appeal of his conviction.

In August UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon [official profile] expressed concern [press release] about Iran's human rights conditions and nuclear program during a visit to Tehran. Faezah Hashemi is one of several opposition figures that have been detained and charged in connection with the wave of civil unrest following the disputed re-election of Ahmadinejad. In December Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Court sentenced opposition figure [JURIST report] and former Iranian foreign minister Ebrahim Yazdi to eight years in prison for attempting to act against national security. Yazdi was also banned from civic activities for five years in the closed-door trial reportedly held in early November. In August Tehran prosecutor Abbas Jafari-Dolatabadi said that approximately 100 people imprisoned for their participation in the massive 2009 presidential election protests have been pardoned and released [JURIST report] by Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei [official profile]. In March 2011 Iranian opposition leaders Mir-Hossein Mousavi [BBC profile; JURIST news archive] and Mehdi Karroubi [NYT profile; JURIST news archive] and their wives were arrested and jailed [JURIST report].