The issue of CIA extraordinary rendition has been a sensitive one, particularly in Europe. In February a Milan appeals court sentenced [JURIST report] Niccolo Pollari, the former Italian spy chief, to 10 years in prison for his role in the kidnapping of a terror suspect as part of the CIA extraordinary rendition program. In the same month the Open Society Justice Initiative (OSJI) [advocacy website] reported [JURIST report] at least 54 countries participated in the CIA overseas detention and rendition of at least 136 people. In December the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) [official website] ruled [JURIST report] that the government of Macedonia [official website] is responsible for the torture and degrading maltreatment of a man the ECHR found to be an innocent victim of CIA extraordinary rendition in 2003. In September the Italian Court of Cassation [official website, in Italian] upheld the convictions [JURIST report] of 23 former CIA officers for the 2003 kidnapping and rendition of Egyptian terror suspect Osama Moustafa Hassan Nasr. In April Emmerson expressed regret over a US court decision denying Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) [National Security Archive] requests by a member of the UK parliament and the UK All-Party Parliamentary Group on Extraordinary Rendition [official website], made as part of an investigation into extrajudicial capture [JURIST report] by the US of foreign terrorism suspects for detention and interrogation.

Klaus' presidency has encountered controversy in the past, particularly over matters concerning treaty ratification. The Czech Republic was the last EU member state to ratify the Treaty of Lisbon [BBC backgrounder] in 2009, which sought to amend the treaties forming the constitutional basis of the European Union. In November 2009, Klaus signed the treaty [JURIST report] after the country's Constitutional Court ruled that the treaty did not conflict with the country's constitution. Klaus maintained his position that the court's decision was political and that the treaty interfered with Czech sovereignty. The treaty had passed both the lower and upper houses of the Czech Parliament in February and May 2009, but Klaus sought an opt-out clause [JURIST reports] that would shield the country from property claims by ethnic Germans who were expelled from Czechoslovakia after World War II.

Yemen is the fifth country in the world for the highest number of executions, and has been repeatedly accused of human rights violations. In February Amnesty International (AI) [advocacy website] called on Yemeni forces [JURIST report] to observe peace and restraint during scheduled protest marches, but the security forces fired on protesters despite AI's plea. Also in February HRW said Yemen authorities failed to investigate top officials [JURIST report] in the shooting deaths of 45 anti-government demonstrators killed in the country's "Friday of Dignity Massacre" in March 2011. In December AI reported a series of gross human rights abuses committed by Yemen's government forces and al Qaeda affiliates during the 2011-2012 conflict over control of the country's southern region of Abyan. Amid fervent protests in April 2011, former president Ali Abdullah Saleh agreed to step down from power [JURIST report], ending his 32-year reign as the nation's leader, in exchange for immunity from prosecution. Earlier that month AI released a report urging the international community [JURIST report] to pressure Yemeni authorities to investigate the deaths of protesters.

Last month, the Moscow court ordered [JURIST report] Magnitsky's trial to begin in March. Magnitsky, who died in prison in 2009, was a lawyer for the Hermitage Capital Fund [corporate website] and was arrested in 2008 by Russian Interior Ministry [official website, in English] officials on suspicion of tax evasion after he accused the ministry of embezzling USD $230 million from the state. State prosecutors accuse Magnitsky and a former client of evading $16.8 million in taxes. In January a Moscow court postponed [JURIST report] the preliminary hearing for Magnitsky. Magnitsky's defense lawyer was appointed by the court after his family and lawyers refused to attend the trial, claiming the charges against Magnitsky were politically motivated

UAE authorities began arresting al-Islah members last March, when security forces arrested Ahmed al-Zaabi, a former judge, and Ahmed Ghaith al-Suwaidi together at a Dubai gas station. They detained the chairman of al-Islah, Sheikh Sultan Bin Kayed al-Qasimi, on April 20. In late April AI and HRW called on the UAE to stop the recent crackdown on political activists [JURIST report] by ending arrests and releasing those already in custody, expressing concern that the UAE is threatening to revoke prisoners' citizenship as a way of punishing them for expressing public dissent, an action that the advocacy groups contend violates the Universal Declaration of Human Rights [text]. In July prominent human rights lawyer and al-Islah member Mohammed al-Roken, along with his son and son-in-law, were all detained [JURIST report] just a few days after the arrest of another prominent human rights lawyer, Mohammed Mansoori. A month later Al-Roken and Mansoori began a hunger strike [JURIST report] to protest their detentions. Both lawyers are reportedly among the 94 defendants now on trial.