[JURIST] More than 50,000 people gathered in the Mali capital of Bamako on Sunday to protest a law passed recently by the National Assembly [official website, in French] to extend the rights of women. The new law [BBC report] gives women greater inheritance rights and increases the minimum age in marriage to 18 years old, among other things. Muslim leaders have been expressing their objections to the law since it was passed earlier this month. Several smaller protests have occurred throughout the country. The 50,000 protesters included many women [AFP report].

Women's rights issues have lately attracted controversy across the Muslim world. Earlier this month, Human Rights Watch (HRW) [advocacy website] criticized Afghanistan [JURIST report] for an amended personal status law that restricts women's rights. Despite the criticisms, the law was defended [JURIST report] by Muslim leaders in the country. In July, the Chief Justice of the High Court of Justice in Hamas-dominated Gaza announced an order [JURIST report] that required female lawyers to wear traditional religious attire for court appearances. The decision was criticized as undermining women's rights and personal freedoms.

[JURIST] Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) [official website] rapporteur Dick Marty [BBC profile] on Friday called on [press release] European countries to show accountability for their role in assisting the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) [official website] in using secret prisons [JURIST news archive]. The statement follows reports [ABC News report] that the CIA held high value terrorists in a secret prison in Lithuania. Marty called for all European countries to come forward regarding their involvement with the prisons. He also urged the Lithuanian government to conduct an independent investigation into the secret prisons.

The CIA's use of secret prisons has been a source of controversy for several years. Last month, lawyers for Ahmed Ghailani [GlobalSecurity backgrounder; JURIST news archive] requested access [JURIST report] to the secret prison where Ahmed was held. This was in response to the CIA's announcement [JURIST report] in April that it planned to close them. Lithuania is the third European country to be identified as the home of a secret facility. Last year, Poland and Romania [JURIST report] were criticized for providing assistance to the CIA.

[JURIST] A judge in the US District Court for the District of Columbia has granted [opinion, PDF] lawyers for another Guantanamo Bay [JURIST news archive] detainee permission to question Khalid Sheikh Mohammed [BBC profile; JURIST news archive], the self-proclaimed architect of the 9/11 attacks [JURIST report], in a ruling made public Thursday. Attorneys for Abdul Raheem Ghulam Rabbani will be allowed to submit narrow, written questions concerning Rabbani's work for Mohammed. Rabbani has argued he was not a member of al Qaeda [JURIST news archive], but merely a menial servant. Government lawyers sought to limit discovery in this case because of the sensitive national security information involved, but prosecutors will be permitted to review Mohammed's answers and redact statements involving national security.

In December, Mohammed postponed his offer to plead guilty [JURIST report] at a military commission hearing because the judge required a competency hearing. In June 2008, Mohammed and four other suspects were arraigned before a military commission after the Pentagon approved death penalty charges [JURIST reports] in June. In February of that year, CIA Director Michael Hayden publicly acknowledged [JURIST report] that Mohammed had been subjected to waterboarding [JURIST news archive] during interrogation. Mohammed also faces a trial in absentia in France [JURIST report] for his alleged involvement in a suicide bombing of a Tunisian synagogue [BBC report] located in Djerba in April 2002.

[JURIST] The Supreme Court of Honduras [official website, in Spanish] said Saturday that if ousted president Manuel Zelaya [BBC profile; JURIST news archive] returns to the country, he will stand trial for treason and abuse of power. There are also reports that the interim government has confined Venezuelan and Argentinian diplomats to their embassies [Xinhua report] and is threatening their expulsion from Honduras. Also Saturday, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (CIDH), which is part of the Organization of American States (OAS) [official website], released their preliminary findings [press release, in Spanish] from their recent visit [JURIST report] to Honduras. The panel found that the interim government has committed human rights abuses and urged a return to democratic rule.

Last week, the Honduran Office of the Prosecutor of Common Crimes indicted 24 Zelaya supporters [JURIST report] on charges of sedition and damaging public property. As a result of its refusal to reinstate Zelaya, the Honduran government has faced sanctions from the international community. The European Union [official website] and several Latin American countries have withdrawn their ambassadors. The UN General Assembly approved [press release] a resolution on June 30 calling members to not recognize the Honduran government until Zelaya is reinstated. On July 4, the OAS expelled Honduras after the Honduran Supreme Court refused [JURIST report] to reinstate Zelaya, and the Inter-American Development Bank suspended its aid package to the country. Negotiations between Zelaya and Micheletti have been going on intermittently through Costa Rican President Oscar Arias without any results. Zelaya has made several failed attempts to return to office, including attempting to fly into the country accompanied by international leaders. The US has condemned [DOS briefing transcript] Zelaya's removal and supports his return.