The trial of civilians before military courts is always a cause of concern. The application of the death penalty without due process and after a trial held in secrecy is illegal and absolutely unacceptable. ... The defendants are entitled to fair trials before civil courts, in accordance with international legal standards and in keeping with Bahrain’s international human rights obligations.

Last month, human rights organizations including Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Doctors Without Borders (DWB) [advocacy websites] criticized Bahrain for rampant human rights abuses [JURIST report] related to anti-government protests. In March, six opposition leaders were arrested [JURIST report] after the government, backed by foreign troops from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) [official website], violently dispersed protesters in the capital of Manana. Days earlier, Bahraini King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa [official website] declared [JURIST report] a three-month state of emergency [decree text, in Arabic] in response to growing unrest in the island nation. The state of emergency came just days after a group of 22 Bahraini lawmakers, part of an independent pro-government bloc, called on the King to impose martial law [JURIST report] under articles 36 and 123 of the Bahraini Constitution [text, PDF].

Last month, Human Rights Watch urged Ouattara to investigate "atrocities" [JURIST report], including murder and rape, committed by opposing political forces during the recent conflict. Also in April, International Criminal Court (ICC) [official website] Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo [official profile] said that he is willing to investigate [JURIST report] alleged war crimes in the Ivory Coast. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) [official website] reported the deaths of at least 800 civilians [JURIST report] in the Ivory Coast town of Duekoue as a result of intercommunal violence that took place. Gbagbo was arrested on April 11.

The seizure, distribution and use of weapons during the events is a particularly disturbing feature of the events. In many instances crowds of attackers seized firearms and ammunition from the military and police in circumstances largely unopposed by troops or officers. Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs) were also surrendered. The KIC notes, with some concern, that some 80 weapons and about 19,000 rounds of ammunition have not been recovered. The authorities of Kyrgyzstan have failed to carry out appropriate criminal and disciplinary investigations into the loss of weapons.

In November, a court in Kyrgyzstan sentenced 19 ethnic Uzbeks for their involvement in the summer attack. Seventeen of the Uzbeks received life sentences and two received 25-year sentences for their participation in a June 13 riot [24.kg report] that blocked a major highway and killed 16 people in the Suzak district. In September, a Kyrgyz court issued the first convictions [JURIST report] in connection with the June 2010 riots, handing down prison terms for eight ethnic Uzbeks in a case stemming from the murder of a Kyrgyz police officer during the violence. Judge Nurgazy Alymkulov of the Nooken District Court [GlobaLex backgrounder] sentenced five to life terms [RFE/RL report] on charges of murder, fomenting ethnic hatred, instigating violence and organizing public unrest. Two others were sentenced to 20 years in prison, and the last was sentenced to nine. Among those given life sentences was prominent Uzbek human rights activist Azimjan Askarov. The convictions were later described as politically motivated [Reuters report]. In July, the Kyrgyz government announced that it had opened more than 1,000 criminal cases [JURIST report] stemming from the violence, and that 106 individuals had been detained, with 97 in custody. Also in July, Kyrgyz President Roza Otunbayeva [Telegraph profile] established the commission [JURIST report] to investigate the ethnic violence against the country's Uzbek population.

As founder and leader of al Qaeda, Bin Laden represents the highest profile terror target captured or killed by the US. US Attorney General Eric Holder [official website] said Wednesday that the killing of Bin Laden by US forces on Sunday was lawful and justified [JURIST report]. Testifying before the US Senate Judiciary Committee [official website], Holder said that the shooting of Bin Laden was "consistent with our values," and that the soldiers who killed him "conducted themselves totally appropriately." In April, Holder announced that the priorities of the Department of Justice (DOJ) [official website] will include protecting Americans from terrorism [JURIST report] at home and abroad, fighting violent crime, combating financial fraud and protecting the most vulnerable members of society.

Kepiro's trial is likely one of the last of an accused Nazi. Earlier this week, the defense began closing arguments in the trial of accused Nazi guard John Demjanjuk [NNDB profile, JURIST news archive]. Demjanjuk's trial, which began in November 2009, has been marked by extensive delay. A verdict is expected this month. In November, Nazi guard Samuel Kunz [Trial Watch profile], 89, passed away [JURIST report] in his home before he could be brought to trial. He was accused of aiding in the killing of hundreds of thousands of Jewish people at the Belzec concentration camp [HRP backgrounder].

Mubarak is also facing charges [JURIST report] over the killings of protesters and could face the death penalty if convicted. He also faces charges [Ahram report] of corruption and embezzlement of public funds. Zakaria Shalash, head judge of the Cairo Court of Appeals, said this month that Mubarak may face execution [Ahram report] and that Adly's testimony could help prove Mubarak was an accomplice to the killings. Mubarak is currently being detained at Sharm el-Sheikh International Hospital after he was hospitalized for heart trouble shortly after his resignation. Last week, public prosecutor Abdel-Maguid Mahmoud ordered [JURIST report] his transfer to a prison hospital in Cairo, but he was deemed unfit for travel [Xinhua report]. Egyptian authorities are also currently questioning [AFP report] Mubarak's sons.

The mandate and related insurance regulations are the heart of a sprawling and complex legislative compromise, and there is no chance the Act—in anything resembling its current form—would have been enacted in their absence. The standard for non-severability is well established. After a court strikes a statute's unconstitutional provisions, the 'remaining provisions' must be invalidated where 'it is evident that the Legislature would not have enacted those provisions ... independently of that which is invalid'.

In April, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) [official website] filed a brief [text, PDF] with the Eleventh Circuit, arguing that the PPACA is constitutional. The DOJ argued [JURIST report] that the interstate health market can be regulated by Congress because it is fundamentally different from other markets due to the pervasive government involvement in health care spending. It also argued that the minimum coverage provision, which is the focus of the litigation, is constitutional because it regulates only economic activity, disputing the lower court's finding that failure to purchase health insurance could not be regulated as interstate commerce. In January, Judge Roger Vinson for the US District Court for the Northern District of Florida [official website] struck down [JURIST report] the mandate as unconstitutional.