Abu Ali's original sentence of 30 years imprisonment [JURIST report], imposed in March 2006, was increased to life [Reuters report] following a successful appeal in 2008 brought by the US Department of Justice [official website]. Sentencing proceedings were initially delayed [JURIST report] to allow lawyers in the case time to investigate whether evidence against Abu Ali had been obtained through warrantless domestic surveillance. His conviction came after a federal judge denied Abu Ali's motion to suppress his confession, which he claimed was a byproduct of torture [JURIST reports] at the hands of Saudi Arabian domestic security police. The Saudi Arabian government denied the torture allegations [JURIST report]. Abu Ali, arrested in 2003, pleaded not guilty at trial, which commenced [JURIST reports] in October 2005.

New START is the first nuclear agreement between the two nations in nearly 20 years. In December, the US Senate voted 71-26 to ratify the treaty after the Russian Duma voted overwhelmingly for approval [JURIST reports] earlier in the month. US approval of the treaty came after some members of the legislative body expressed doubt [JURIST report] that the Senate would have the 67 votes required for approval. Obama and Medvedev signed the treaty in April after the US State Department began negotiating the treaty [JURIST reports] with Russia in 2009. Nuclear disarmament between the US and Russia, whose nuclear arsenals comprise 95 percent of the world's nuclear weapons, languished during the Bush administration. The treaty is considered a key part of easing tensions between the two countries, which reached a high point after the 2008 Georgia conflict [BBC backgrounder].

The Indian government has faced both international and domestic criticism for its anti-terror laws. In December 2010, Amnesty International] criticized the guilty verdict for Binayak Sen [JURIST report] on charges of aiding rebels of the Naxalite Maoist rebellion [CFR Backgrounder]. In 2008, AI urged Indian President Smt. Pratibha Devisingh Patil [official website] to reject [JURIST report] the UAPA Amendment of 2008. The bill, which came in response to the Mumbai terror attacks [BBC backgrounder; JURIST news archive]. Proponents of the UAPA have said that there are safeguards in place to make sure that the law is not misused. In 2006, the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) [party website], alleged that the Mumbai train bombings [BBC report] were a fallout from [JURIST report] the country's Prevention of Terrorism Act, set aside by the incumbent United Progressive Alliance (UPA) in 2004.

The proposed referendum was forwarded [press release, in Kazakh] to Kazakhstan's Constitutional Council after the parliament unanimously approved [JURIST report] the proposal on January 14. The parliament's vote overruled Nazarbayev's decision earlier in the month to veto the proposed referendum [Reuters report]. Supporters of the referendum maintain that it is necessary [Interfax report] in order to ensure that Nazarbayev can continue to address issues facing the country. They also indicated that continuity of government is necessary for the country's continued growth. Opponents have argued that Nazarbayev's political party is attempting to eliminate any political competition. The Kazakhstan Parliament initially approved [JURIST report] the referendum last month. In June 2010, Nazarbayev announced that he would not sign a controversial law [JURIST report] that would grant him several presidential powers for life, even if he stepped down from office.

The National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill [official website] released its full final report [text; JURIST report] earlier this month, tracing the deeper root causes of the spill and recommending steps to avoid future incidents. In October, several environmental advocacy groups filed a federal lawsuit [JURIST report] against BP for the ongoing harm to endangered and threatened wildlife caused by the spill. The GCCF, an independent facility, began processing claims in August following the completion of negotiations [JURIST reports] between BP and the US Department of Justice [official website]. Alabama Attorney General Troy King [official website] filed a lawsuit [JURIST report] in August against BP for damages to the state's coast and economy, claiming that the oil giant has failed in its efforts to accept responsibility for the oil spill. In July, a class action lawsuit [JURIST report] was filed against the company in a Louisiana state court alleging that its negligent actions led to the spill and that BP was further negligent in its oversight of the cleanup effort, resulting in volunteers falling ill due to inadequate protective equipment. In June, two lawsuits were filed against BP [JURIST report] alleging violations of the Racketeer Influenced Corrupt Organizations (RICO) [18 USC § 1961 et seq.] statute. The lawsuits allege that BP purposefully defrauded the American public in order to increase company profits. Also in June, US Attorney General Eric Holder [official website] announced that the DOJ is reviewing whether any civil or criminal laws were violated [JURIST report] by BP resulting in the oil spill.

In October, UN High Commissioner for Civil Rights Navi Pillay [official profile] called for the US and Iraq to investigate and prosecute [JURIST report] those responsible for alleged abuses that came to light after WikiLeaks [website] released documents showing extensive human rights abuses in Iraq and accusing US forces of turning prisoners over to Iraqi forces despite knowing those prisoners were likely to face torture. Days earlier, HRW called for the Iraqi and US governments to launch an investigation [JURIST report] and prosecute those responsible for alleged detainee abuse. The group said the WikiLeaks reports detail the US military's failure to prevent abuses, including beatings, burnings and lashings, of Iraqi detainees at the hands of their captors. In September, Amnesty International (AI) [advocacy website] accused the Iraqi government [JURIST report] of illegally detaining over 30,000 people and torturing many of them. Last April, HRW accused Iraqi authorities of torturing detainees [JURIST report] in another secret prison.

The authorities have a clear responsibility to protect civilians, including their right to life, and to freedom of assembly and freedom of expression. People must not be arbitrarily detained, simply for protesting or for expressing their political opinions—however unwelcome those opinions may be to those in power.

As of Thursday, more than 1,000 protesters have been reported as detained [JURIST report] as demonstrations against the 30-year reign of Mubarak continued. Meanwhile, Nobel Peace Prize laureate and Egyptian opposition leader Mohamed ElBaradei [Nobel Prize profile] expressed his willingness to lead a transitional government [BBC report]. Elbaradei, who previously led the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) [official website], returned to Egypt and is reported to have joined the protests. According to some commentators, the unrest in Egypt is modeled after recent civil unrest in Tunisia that culminated with the resignation of President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali [JURIST report] The similarities between recent protests was analyzed by Forum contributing editor L Ali Khan [academic profile], professor of law at Washburn University in the op-ed Constitutional Enforcement in Tunisia, Yemen, and Egypt [JURIST op-ed].

In October, the Supreme Court denied certiorari [JURIST report] in a case brought on behalf of CCR lawyers who sought to learn under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) whether the NSA had recorded their conversations with clients detained at Guantanamo Bay [JURIST news archive]. The petition for certiorari followed a 2009 decision [JURIST report] by the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit [official website] that a FOIA exception allows the NSA and Department of Justice (DOJ) [official website] to withhold information or confirmation of the existence of information obtained by an intelligence program. In 2009, former DOJ attorney John Yoo defended the use of warrantless wiretaps, saying laws preventing them were outdated and contributed to the government's inability to prevent the 9/11 terrorist attacks. In April 2009, the DOJ announced that it had limited [JURIST report] the NSA's electronic surveillance after finding the NSA had committed privacy violations, but maintained that the information being received was still important.

Things are moving fast in Tunisia, but finding out who opened fire on demonstrators and why can't wait. The units and commanders responsible for these apparently unlawful killings should be identified and held accountable.

Last week, Tunisia's Justice Minister Lazhar Karoui Chebbi announced that the country has issued an international arrest warrant [JURIST report] for ousted president Ben Ali. He, his wife and other family members face allegations that they illegally transferred money [AFP report] out of the country, possessed unlicensed weapons [CNN report] and incited armed violence. Earlier this month, UN High Commissioner on Human Rights Navi Pillay [official website] announced that UN experts would be sent to Tunisia [JURIST report] to assess the human rights situation and meet with the country's interim leaders. Also, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon [official website] has urged government leaders in Tunisia to initiate dialogue between all sides in an attempt to restore the rule of law [JURIST report]. The Tunisia Constitutional Council officially announced earlier this month that Ben Ali had permanently left the office of the presidency after he declared a state of emergency [JURIST reports] and left the country.