Under the current constitution, which took effect in 2002, the presidency is rotated every four years between candidates from the islands of Anjouan, Moheli, and Grand Comore. Sambi, of Anjouan, was elected [BBC report] to the presidency in 2006, defeating two other candidates from the same island. Former president Azali Assoumani [allAfrica profile, in French] of Grand Comore handed over power soon after in the first peaceful transition of power in Comoros since independence from France in 1975. Currently, Freedom House [advocacy website] ranks [report, PDF] Comoros as one of only two electoral democracies in the Arab world, along with Mauritania. Since independence Comoros has faced ongoing political instability, resulting in twenty coups and coup attempts and violent secession bids by the islands of Anjouan and Moheli. The most recent coup saw Assoumani take power in 1999.

In revoking Tang's and Liu's licenses because they withdrew from a show trial in which the judge had made it impossible for them to do their work, the Beijing Bureau of Justice has made a mockery of justice and the rule of law.

Amnesty International [advocacy website] criticized the disbarment hearing [press release] held last month, calling it "absurd" and claiming that "[g]overnment authorities in China continue to harass and disrupt the work of lawyers taking politically sensitive cases." China banned the Falun Gong movement in 1999, and its followers have faced a severe crackdown over the past decade. In addition to representing members of the banned sect, Tang and Liu have represented victims of government home demolition and individuals suffering discrimination for having HIV/AIDS and other diseases.