Oklahoma has also prohibited the use of RU-486 [JURIST report]. Last year the Ohio Senate approved a bill [JURIST report] that would limit the availability of abortions after 20 weeks. Missouri, Indiana, Alabama and Oklahoma [JURIST reports] have each passed legislation which restricts the abortion procedure after 20 weeks of pregnancy. Also last year, a legislative committee in the Ohio House of Representatives advanced [Columbus Dispatch report] the "Heartbeat Bill," [HB 125 text], which would ban abortions after the point at which a fetus's heartbeat becomes detectable in the womb.

Haiti is still in the process of improving its rule of law. In June Haitian President Michel Joseph Martelly gave final approval [JURIST report] for amendments to the country's Constitution that will allow dual-citizens to vote and be appointed to administrative positions. Dual-citizens are still barred from running for key political offices, including offices of President, Prime Minister, Senator, and the lower house of Parliament. The US State Department in February dispatched a team of international law experts to Haiti to assess how to reinforce the Haitian judiciary's power and independence. Earlier that month UN independent expert Michel Forst proclaimed that the rule of law is making significant progress in Haiti [JURIST report]. Forst focused on the establishment of judicial offices and the adoption of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights [text, PDF]. In January a Haitian judge convicted eight police officers [JURIST report] of shooting and killing at least 10 prisoners following the January 2010 earthquake. In December 2011 the UN urged an investigation [JURIST report] into alleged torture and unlawful killings perpetrated by the Haitian National Police (HNP). In September of that year Amnesty International called on Haitian authorities to prosecute Duvalier [JURIST report] for crimes against humanity. In July 2011 a UN rights expert requested that Haiti prosecute Duvalier [JURIST report] and improve its human rights record.

The Prosecutor v. Thomas Lubanga Dyilo [ICC information sheet] is a landmark case for the ICC because Lubanga was the first prisoner taken into custody [JURIST report] and delivered to the international criminal tribunal in The Hague. The prosecution concluded its case [JURIST report] in July 2009 after presenting 22 weeks of testimony. Lubanga's trial began in January 2009 after being delayed for evidentiary reasons and was then halted soon afterward when one of the child witnesses recanted his testimony [JURIST reports] that Lubanga had recruited him for the militia. He was charged with recruiting child soldiers [JURIST report] in 2006. In March 2006, he was taken into ICC custody [JURIST report], becoming the first DRC war crimes defendant to appear before the ICC.

Following Ceber's death in 2008, the Istanbul 14th High Criminal Court in 2010 initially sentenced [JURIST report] several guards to life in prison. Human Rights Watch (HRW) [advocacy website] reported [press release] that it was the first time a Turkish court had convicted a senior prison official for the conduct of guards under his command. Nineteen defendants were convicted for their role in the activists' torture, including a prison doctor who was sentenced to more than three years for falsifying documents about the health of the inmates. Turkish Justice Minister Mehmet Ali Sahin apologized on behalf of the Turkish government [JURIST report] and suspended the 19 defendants following Ceber's death.

Accusations against Iran for engaging in politically motivated arrests are not new. Last month the daughter of Iran's former president, Faezah Hashemi [The Iranian profile], was detained after being sentenced [JURIST reports] to six months for spreading propaganda. 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. Tehran prosecutor Abbas Jafari-Dolatabadi said last year 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].

The DOJ requested [JURIST report] the emergency stay pending appeal [petition, PDF] in September. Forrest issued an injunction against the law in May, and clarified in the following weeks that her injunction should be interpreted broadly [JURIST reports]. Several civil rights groups have praised her decision and have circulated petitions [advocacy website] arguing that the government should not appeal the injunction. Lawyers for the government filed their appeal [JURIST report] with the Second Circuit in August. US President Barack Obama signed the NDAA into law [JURIST report] in December.

The law drew criticism [JURIST report] from a media watchdog last month. Ukraine has also sparked other concerns leading up to their elections. Last week, Europe's human rights overseer urged [JURIST report] open and honest elections in Ukraine. In the same statement, he condemned the ongoing imprisonment of former prime minister and opposition party leader Yulia Tymoshenko [personal website; JURIST news archive] whose final appeal was denied [JURIST report] by Ukraine's highest court last month. During the appeal the government denied allegations that the criminal proceedings against Tymoshenko were a measure initiated by Yanukovych to prevent her from participating in the October elections.

Hamas should ... ensure that members of security services are held criminally liable for abuses against detainees, and it should sanction prosecutors and judges who turn a blind eye to violations, such as by issuing retroactive arrest warrants or accepting evidence that was credibly alleged to have been obtained under torture. Hamas authorities should strengthen oversight and complaints mechanisms intended to keep security services in check, including by allocating more resources to investigating and prosecuting security officers allegedly responsible for abuses.

Accusations of human rights violations in the Palestinian territories [UNICEF backgrounder], not just by Hamas but by the Palestinian Authority (PA) and Israel, continue to be of international concern. In August Amnesty International (AI) [advocacy website] said that Israel should investigate the alleged mistreatment [JURIST report] of two Palestinian prisoners detained in Israel. In May the Independent Commission for Human Rights (ICHR) [advocacy website] accused the PA and Hamas of committing torture [JURIST report]. In January UN Special Rapporteur Richard Falk alleged that Israeli authorities continued to commit illegal acts that threaten the viability of the Palestinian state [JURIST report] in the Palestinian territories, including the killing of four Palestinians by Israel Defense Forces (IDF) [official website]. In September 2010 a UN panel of experts [UN materials] criticized [JURIST report] investigations carried out by Israel and Hamas into the 2008-2009 conflict in the Gaza Strip [JURIST news archives], but praised the PA's report, which it said comported with international standards.

The lower chamber of the Malaysian Parliament [official website, in Malay] in April approved a law [JURIST report] aimed at replacing the ISA. Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak [official profile] originally announced [JURIST report] that the government would repeal the ISA as well as the Banishment Act of 1959 [text] in September 2011 and initiated the repeal [JURIST report] a month later. Malaysia's internal security laws were heavily criticized in the past by various human rights organizations. In June 2010 the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention [official website] recommended [JURIST report] Malaysia repeal or amend its security laws to conform to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights [text]. In 2009 the Abolish ISA Movement [advocacy blog] initiated a demonstration against the law in which 10,000 to 20,000 people participated and resulted in 589 arrests. Of those arrested, 29 were charged [JURIST report] for their involvement in the rallies. The International Federation for Human Rights [advocacy website] had also urged [JURIST report] Malaysia to abolish the ISA in 2008.

Voting rights [JURIST backgrounder] remain a contentious issue in the US, particularly in the run-up to the November presidential election. There are now 32 US states [NCSL backgrounder] that require voters to present some form of ID at the polls, but the issue remains controversial. Most recently, a judge for the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court [official website] issued a preliminary injunction [JURIST report] earlier this week preventing Pennsylvania's voter identification law [HB 943 materials] from taking effect for the upcoming presidential election. Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant [official website] signed [JURIST report] that state's voter ID bill into law in May. The law enacts a constitutional amendment that was approved by 62 percent of Mississippi voters [JURIST report] last year's November election.

The court also heard arguments in Kloeckner v. Solis [transcript] to determine appellate jurisdiction in wrongful termination and discrimination cases for federal employees. At issue is whether a party may appeal a case involving both wrongful termination and discrimination claims to the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit or a district court, when the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) [official website] decides the case without determining the merits of a discrimination claim. The petitioner argued for the district court, stating that district courts have jurisdiction over "all mixed cases" and later noted that appeals of the MSPB appear to require de novo review, which the Federal circuit cannot provide. The Solicitor General's attorney argued that 28 USC § 1295 [text] provides that the Federal Circuit has automatic jurisdiction over all MSPB decisions.