The notice of appeal is the latest development in the Guantanamo Bay prisoner debate. Earlier in August the DOJ filed a brief with the court asserting that the government should decide [JURIST report] when a Guantanamo prisoner is granted continued regular access to legal counsel absent a detainee's ongoing habeas or other legal challenge. The challenge to the new restrictions was brought by six Guantanamo detainees, two of whose habeas petitions were denied and four dismissed with the possibility of reconsideration. At the time of the hearing lawyers for only six of the 170 detainees at Guantanamo had signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) [memorandum, PDF]. In the 10 years since the first detainees were brought to Guantanamo Bay, only a handful have been tried or convicted, and in the past few months there have been several calls by the UN and various foreign governments for some long-held Guantanamo detainees to be returned to their home countries, including Egypt, Canada and Kuwait [JURIST reports].

Prisoner and human rights have consistently been a concern in Iran. Last month, 10 prisoners were executed [JURIST report] despite pleas from human rights groups. Also in October a UN official released a report indicating that the government of Iran is torturing human rights activists [JURIST report] and threatening the activists' families with rape or death. In a report to the UN General Assembly, UN special rapporteur on human rights in Iran Ahmed Shaheed declared that human rights activists in Iran are being subjected to beatings, mock hangings, sleep deprivation and threats that their family members will be killed or raped. Also in October the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) urged Iran [JURIST report] to halt all executions because the government has failed to provide the accused with fair trials and due process of law.

He was also wary that Mr. Kim had declared that his first, second and third priorities were to strengthen the nation’s military. Moreover, the slow economic growth there, coupled with the military-first policy, was detrimental to its people. It was also concerning that the freedom of expression was restricted and some provisions of its criminal code were not in line with the international standards, Mr. Darusman said. On the issue of abduction of Japanese and other foreign nationals, regrettably, there had been no further developments. He also noted that his report included a set of recommendations, which, among others, urged the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to ensure protection and promotion of human rights. His report also pressed the Government to cooperate with the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to rethink its “military-first” policy and to allocate more resources to improving living standards.

Earlier this month, North Korea threatened military action [JURIST report] against South Korea if South Korean activists carried out their plan to pass leaflets across the border via balloons. North Korea has faced ongoing international criticism for human rights violations. In June, the Committee for Human Rights in North Korea (HRNK) [advocacy website] reported [JURIST report] that North Korea's caste system leads to abuses and human rights violations in the country. Darusman previously criticized North Korea's human rights record [JURIST report] in November 2011, focusing on the treatment of prisoners and echoing a UN General Assembly resolution [text] concerning the country's human rights conditions.