The use of GPS technology by police has been a controversial issue in the US recently. In November, the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit [official website] declined to rehear en banc [JURIST report] a bid by the US Department of Justice to overturn a decision that prevents the government from using GPS technology to track suspects without a warrant. However, courts have struggled with how to apply Fourth Amendment protections to modern technology. In September, a three-judge panel for the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit [official website] ruled [opinion, PDF] that at times the government might need a warrant to obtain cell phone data [JURIST report] to track a person's location. In June, the US Supreme Court unanimously held [opinion, PDF] that, even if there is a reasonable expectation of privacy in work-issued electronic devices, that an employer's search of private text messages does not violate [JURIST report] the Fourth Amendment so long as the search is not excessive and is pursuant to a legitimate work-related purpose.

Latifi is one of at least 16 Kurds facing execution on various national security-related charges including moharebeh. Human Rights Watch has documented numerous cases where Iranian security forces have used physical and psychological coercion including torture to secure confessions in security-related cases, and courts have convicted defendants of moharebeh in trials where prosecutors failed to provide any convincing evidence establishing the defendant's guilt.

The World Coalition Against the Death Penalty in October marked the 8th World Day against the Death Penalty [advocacy websites], specifically urging the US, Iran and China to end the death penalty [JURIST report]. Despite the continued use of the death penalty in some countries, there is a growing movement toward international abolition. Earlier this year AI reported [JURIST report] the number of countries using the death penalty dropped [report, PDF] in 2009. According to the report, more than 700 people were executed last year in 18 countries, with the most executions carried out in Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and the US. More than two-thirds of the world's countries have abolished the death penalty in law or in practice.

During the post-election violence in the Ivory Coast hundreds have been arrested and dozens have been subjected to torture, ill treatment and forced disappearances. Alassane Ouattara defeated incumbent Laurent Gbagbo [BBC profiles] in a November 28 runoff election, but Gbagbo has refused to concede victory, and his supporters have been engaging in a campaign of violence and intimidation [WP report]. Last week, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) [official website] urged [JURIST report] Gbagbo to step down, threatening the use of force if he attempts to maintain power. Also last week, the UN Human Rights Council [official website] adopted a resolution [JURIST report] condemning recent post-election violence while Ouattara's prime minister Guillaume Soro [BBC profile] called on the International Criminal Court (ICC) [official website] to launch an investigation [DPA report] into possible crimes being committed by Gbagbo's supporters.