If allowed to take effect, HB 497 will significantly harm Utahans, particularly Utahans of color. According to law enforcement officials in Utah and elsewhere, HB 497 will cause widespread racial profiling and will subject many persons of color—including countless U.S. citizens and non-citizens who have federal permission to remain in the United States—to unlawful interrogations, searches, seizures, and arrests. People of color in the state will be compelled to carry additional paperwork on them at all times in order to prove to law enforcement officials that their presence in the country is approved by the federal government.

Several other state legislatures have also acted recently to implement so-called "Arizona style" immigration laws. Last month, the Indiana House of Representatives [official website] approved legislation [JURIST report] to revoke tax credits from businesses that hire illegal immigrants and require the use of the E-verify System [official website] to check the eligibility status of employees. Also in April, the Georgia General Assembly [official website] approved a bill requiring police to check the immigration status of anyone they have probable cause to believe has committed a criminal offense and requiring businesses to use E-Verify to check the immigration status of potential employees. Similar legislation has also been approved in Alabama, Virginia and Oklahoma [JURIST reports]. Arizona's law is currently enjoined, pending a ruling by the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

In March, the Center for Constitutional Rights [advocacy website] filed a complaint [text, PDF] to compel the release of documents related to the coup [JURIST report]. The complaint names the US Department of Defense and Central Intelligence Agency [official websites] as defendants, alleging the agencies withheld documents regarding if and how the US government and its interests affected the coup. In November, International Criminal Court [official website] chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo [official profile] opened a preliminary investigation [JURIST report] into the coup. In July, a Honduran court dismissed abuse of power charges against Zelaya because his successor granted amnesty [JURIST reports] to Zelaya and those involved in his removal. In June, Amnesty International [advocacy website] accused the Honduran government [JURIST report] of failing to address human rights violations stemming from the coup. AI contends that hundreds of people opposed to the coup were beaten and detained.

Last month, a US district court sentenced a Somali pirate to 25 years in prison [JURIST report] for his role in attacking a Danish ship, as well as the US Navy's USS Ashland. In November, a federal jury in Virginia convicted [JURIST report] five Somali men on charges of piracy for their roles in an April attack on the USS Nichols. In August, piracy charges against six defendants were dismissed [JURIST report] when federal Judge Raymond Jackson ruled that piracy, as defined by the law of nations, does not include violence or aggression committed on the high seas, and rejected the government's argument for an expanded reading of the statute. Piracy remains an issue of international concern, as few countries have been willing to prosecute suspected pirates. The few that have attempted to do so include Germany, Seychelles, the Netherlands, Mauritius, Yemen, Somalia and Spain [JURIST reports].

Demjanjuk's trial, which began in November 2009, has been marked by extensive delay. Last May, the court denied a motion to dismiss the charges [JURIST report] filed by the defense, which argued there was a lack of credible evidence. The court rejected the argument, saying they found the evidence against Demjanjuk to be strong. In October 2009, Demjanjuk was found fit to stand trial after the court rejected appeals relating to his health [JURIST reports], although the court has limited hearings to no more than two 90-minute sessions per day. Demjanjuk fought a lengthy legal battle over his alleged involvement with Nazi death camps during World War II. He was deported to Germany after the US Supreme Court [official website] denied his stay of deportation [JURIST report].

In April, Ocampo revealed that his office had uncovered evidence [JURIST report] that embattled Gaddafi planned to attack civilians to forestall regime-toppling revolution. Ocampo indicated that the plans were made in response to the conflicts in Tunisia and Egypt and included shooting civilians. In March, Ocampo told the press that he is 100 percent certain his office will bring charges [JURIST report] against Gaddafi. Also in March, the ICC launched a probe into allegations of crimes against humanity [JURIST report] by the Libyan government. Ocampo specifically identified Gaddafi, his sons and his political allies as targets of the investigation and warned Libyan officials that complicity in such abuses would result in prosecution. In February, the UN Security Council unanimously voted [JURIST report] to refer Gaddafi to the ICC for prosecution.

Freedom of expression has been one of the first demands of the region's peoples, one of the first concessions from transitional regimes, and one of the first achievements, albeit a very fragile one, of its revolutions. Attempts to manipulate foreign reporters, arbitrary arrests and detention, deportation, denial of access, intimidation and threats—the list of abuses against the media during the Arab Spring is staggering. ... Journalist[s] have been direct[ly] targeted by the authorities or caught in the crossfire of the violence between activists and security forces, reminding us of the risks they take to perform their essential job of reporting the news.

Last month, the US Department of State (DOS) [official website] released its 2010 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices [materials]. The reports cited many of the same leaders and organizations [JURIST report] for violating freedom of the press. RSF's 2010 report [JURIST report] also listed many of the same offenders.

The January arrests of al-Turabi and eight other opposition party members came after the PCP called for a popular uprising in protest of price increases on various goods. The party officials called for a popular revolution [Reuters report] if Khartoum did not reduce prices. Additionally, the opposition party was pressuring the government to remove its financial minister and dismantle parliament. The arrests coincided with President Omar Hassan al-Bashir [case materials; JURIST news archive] apparently losing control of the oil-producing southern region of Sudan as a result of a referendum [JURIST report] passed the week before.