"We are heartened by this very important first step towards establishing a review mechanism. However, it is imperative to have assurances that the mandate of this new committee will extend to all prisoners who have been unfairly detained, not only political prisoners....The commission should have a strong mandate in order to bring an end to arbitrary detentions and ensure human rights for prisoners and detainees in Myanmar."

Forming a committee to review political prisoner cases is the latest in a series of reform efforts under Myanmar President Thein Sein [BBC profile]. In January, Sein abolished Order No. 2/88 [JURIST report], which banned gathering and delivering speeches in public by a group of five or more people. Earlier that month, Myanmar repealed [JURIST report] a 1996 law enacted under which dissidents could be sentenced for up to 20 years for delivering speeches that threatened peace and stability. In December Myanmar announced [BBC report] that it would permit privately owned newspapers for the first time in 50 years beginning in April. In conjunction with a visit by US President Barack Obama [JURIST news archive] in November Myanmar announced that it would be releasing a number of political prisoners [JURIST report]. In September Myanmar announced amnesty for 514 prisoners [JURIST report], identified by activists to include several political detainees and foreigners.

Many of the exiles at Camp Liberty are members of the People's Mojahedin Organisation of Iran (MEK) [advocacy website; Global Security backgrounder], an opposition movement that advocates the overthrow of the Islamic Republic of Iran in favor of a democratic, secular government. Although the group was previously an ally of Iraq, they are no longer considered welcome in Iraq under the Shi'ite-led government which came to power in the elections [JURIST report] following the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003. Camp residents were previously situated in Camp Ashraf in eastern Iraq, but were relocated to Camp Liberty [AP report], a former US military base, in 2012. MEK protested the move, claiming Camp Liberty to be "an intolerable prison," where they are not permitted to leave and they live without reliable electricity, air conditioning, or water supplies. The MEK has long criticized Ban's Special Representative for Iraq, Martin Kobler [press release], accusing him [Reuters report] of playing down problems with the group's facilities at Camp Liberty. The UN has dismissed this criticism.

The attack occurred on December 13, 2001, when five men raided the parliament building in New Delhi. Nine people died in the attacks, including eight policemen. Guru was sentenced to death on December 18, 2002, and the Supreme Court of India [official webiste] upheld the death sentence [judgment; JURIST report] in April 2005. Guru was found guilty of providing material support to the attackers [BBC report], for helping plan the attack and for being a member of the terrorist organization Jaish-e-Mohammed [NCTC backgrounder].

Innocence of Muslims has generated a great deal of political, religious and legal controversy. Two weeks ago an Egyptian court upheld the death sentences [JURIST report] of seven Coptic Christians and an American preacher on charges stemming from the film. In September an actress who claims she was duped into appearing in the film filed suit [JURIST report] in the US District Court for the Northern District of California [official website] requesting that the film be removed from YouTube. Earlier in September UN Special Rapporteur Maina Kiai [official website] condemned the violence [JURIST report] that erupted after the film's release. Kiai stated that protests and rallies must be peaceful to be protected by international human rights law and urged the Middle East states to prosecute those responsible for the violence. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay [official profile] urged religious and political leaders [JURIST report] to encourage an end to the violence that followed the release of the film.