This decision comes in the wake of years of hearings dating back to the 1996 petition filed by Khan, a former Air Marshal. The petition resurfaced in the Supreme Court in February [CNN report]. The 1990 election was a victory for the right-wing political party [BBC timeline], the Islamic Democratic Alliance (IDA). It resulted in the defeat of a number of different PPP officials, including the highly-revered former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto [BBC obituary; JURIST news archive]. Bhutto was assassinated [JURIST report] in a suicide attack in 2007 at a rally in Rawalpindi while campaigning for her party in the lead-up to the 2008 parliamentary elections.

The connection between mobile phone use and cancerous growth has long been debated in scientific communities. The World Health Organization (WHO) [official website] compiled studies [WHO fact sheet] over several decades that have yet to support the causal link claimed by the Italian court, and Hardell's conclusions have been challenged by many researchers [Cancer Research UK report]. Attempts to find the causal link are greatly hampered, not only by the available evidence and the duration involved with the growth and detection of tumors, but by rapidly changing microwave output levels of phones at various stages of technology, basic difficulties in assessing the exposure level to the radiation itself and claims that microwave output levels cannot be correlated to exposure [JURIST report].

A number of countries around the world have taken actions in the attempt to solve the problem of maritime piracy. Earlier this week an appeals court in Kenya concluded that Kenyan courts have jurisdiction [JURIST report] to try international piracy suspects. In July 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 a United Arab Emirates court sentenced 10 Somali pirates [JURIST report] to 25 years in prison. Also that month six accused Somali pirates went on trial [JURIST report] in a Paris court in connection with the 2008 hijacking of the cruise ship Le Ponant in the Gulf of Aden.The US government in March handed over [JURIST report] 15 suspected Somali pirates it captured in January to the Republic of Seychelles for prosecution. Last October the UN Security Council adopted a resolution encouraging states to criminalize and punish piracy after maritime piracy hit an all time high [JURIST report] in 2010. The UN has also donated $9.3 million to fund piracy courts [JURIST report] in Kenya and the Seychelles, the only two nations with such unique judicial bodies.

We strongly condemn Wednesday’s armed attack in North Darfur on a UN convoy comprised of military, police and civilian staff, including two human rights officers. ... We remind the Government of the Sudan that it is responsible for the protection of mission staff as they fulfill their mandate to protect civilians and monitor human rights violations. The Government must promptly launch a serious investigation with a view to bringing the perpetrators to justice.

Sudan has experienced continued violent conflict. In August the OHCHR called on Sudan [JURIST report] to investigate violent and excessive force by the government against protesters. In July Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch [advocacy websites] also urged Sudan [JURIST report] to end violence and abuse against protesters. In June the UN expressed concern [JURIST report] about deteriorating conditions in Sudan due to continued violent conflict in the country. Earlier that month UN Independent Expert on Human Rights in Sudan, Mashood Adebayo Baderin stated the country still must take further steps [JURIST report] towards implementing its human rights obligations.

Samutsevich was freed [JURIST report] earlier this month. Claiming her situation within the appeal was unique because she did not perform, Samutsevich had previously asked for a delay in the proceedings after firing the lawyer [JURIST report] that had been representing the band as a whole. Several days prior to the trial Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev [official website, in Russian] called for the release of the band members, saying that time served has been severe enough and that any more time in prison would be counterproductive. The Russian Presidential Council on Human Rights [official website, in Russian] has questioned the legitimacy [JURIST report] of the court's verdict and sentence. Pussy Riot's defense lawyers moved [JURIST report] earlier in August to have one of the judges recuse herself from the case, saying her decisions were politically motivated.

The Council plays a watchdog role for human rights issues across the European continent. Last month Council Secretary-General Thorbjorn Jagland [official profile] advocated for free and fair parliamentary elections in Ukraine [JURIST report] as he condemned the imprisonment of former prime minister and opposition party leader Yulia Tymoshenko [personal website; JURIST news archive]. In July the Council joined Amnesty International Moldova [advocacy website, in Romanian] in calling for an assessment of the constitutionality of a new law that allows chemical castration [JURIST report] of anyone found guilty of violent pedophilia. In June Human Rights Watch (HRW) [advocacy website] urged Bulgarian Justice Minister Diana Kovacheva to denounce calls to violence by anti-gay groups [JURIST report] in anticipation of a lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) pride parade in Sofia, on the grounds that Bulgaria, as a member state of the Council, is subject to the recommendation of the Council's Committee of Ministers to member states to combat discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation or gender identity.