The 5.5 percent decrease was down from the 6.2 percent decrease reported in the 2010 six-month report from January to June [JURIST report], but is still the fourth year in a row that there has been a decrease in violent crime. Also in the FBI's six-month report released last December, murders dropped by 7.1 percent, robberies dropped by 10.7 percent, aggravated assaults dropped by 3.9 percent and forcible rapes dropped 6.2 percent. Last year, the FBI also reported a decrease in the number of hate crimes [JURIST report] and also cited additions to the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr., Hate Crime Prevention Act [text; JURIST news archive] as positive improvements that will aid FBI investigation of hate crimes.

the situation of ethnic minority groups in the border areas presents serious limitations to the Government's intention to transition to democracy. Violence continues in many of these areas. Systematic militarization contributes to human rights abuses. These abuses include land confiscation, forced labor, internal displacement, extrajudicial killings and sexual violence. They are widespread, they continue today, and they remain essentially unaddressed by the authorities.

Myanmar is struggling to transition to democracy with problems such as detaining political prisoners. Last week, Myanmar began releasing close to 15,000 prisoners, but many human rights groups claim the government is still holding many more political prisoners. Quintana urged Myanmar's military government to release 2,202 political prisoners [JURIST report] last December. Quintana called for the release of the "prisoners of conscience," many of whom, he says, suffer from health problems as a result of the harsh detention conditions. Quintana claims the release is necessary to promote democracy. In March, Myanmar underwent a transfer of power [BBC report] from a military regime to a civil system after holding its first elections in 20 years. However, critics argue that the new regime is merely a sham since it is made up of military generals and with the military party winning 80 percent of the vote.

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. Last 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 2010, 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.

There have been numerous reports of violence and torture against protesters by security forces during and after the revolution. In April, the government charged [JURIST report] former president Ben Ali with 18 offenses ranging from murder and conspiracy to trafficking and drug use. The charges stem mostly from allegations that Ben Ali authorized the use of force against protesters during the Tunisian revolution, resulting in the deaths of more than 200 protesters. The charges come after advocacy groups Amnesty International (AI) and Human Rights Watch (HRW) [advocacy websites] called for the Tunisian transitional government to investigate incidents of police violence against protesters and end police brutality [JURIST reports].

The Supreme Court heard oral arguments [JURIST report] in this case in January. At oral arguments, counsel for the government argued that the "state-secrets privilege will be used to bar a claim at most only when the party that is relying on secret information is trying to use the Federal court to alter the legal status quo." Counsel for General Dynamics argued that the government is unable to prove that the contractor defaulted on the contract, meaning that the government terminated the contract for convenience and the company should keep the money paid for the partially performed services. The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit [official website] held [opinion, PDF] that the Navy was justified in canceling the contract because the companies were not fulfilling their contractual obligations.

The court heard oral arguments [day call, PDF] last November in this case, previously known as Schwarzenegger v. Plata [oral arguments transcript, PDF], over the order to release prisoners by the three-judge panel. The panel approved [order, PDF; JURIST report] a revised prison reduction plan [text, PDF] in January 2010, but action on the plan has been delayed, pending this Supreme Court appeal. Counsel for the state of California argued that the "extraordinary and unprecedented order ... requiring the release of between 36,000 and 45,000 inmates ... is extraordinarily premature." Counsel for the prisoners argued that the court must allow the lower court to provide a remedy for 20 years of overcrowding that has violated inmates' constitutional rights.

Also Monday, the court denied certiorari in Khadr v. Obama [docket], in which Guantanamo [JURIST news archive] detainees sought 30 days notice of transfer to countries where they fear torture. Justices Stephen Breyer and Sonia Sotomayor would have granted certiorari, but four votes are required for the court to take a case. Justice Elena Kagan recused herself without explanation. The case originally included Canadian detainee Omar Khadr [JURIST news archive], but he has since pleaded guilty to terrorism charges [JURIST report].

In March, an Amsterdam court rejected Wilders' claims of improper venue, ruling that the Amsterdam court has the authority to judge the case, given that the alleged statements were committed within its jurisdiction. In February, the court granted Wilders the right to set out the objections [BBC report] he had made during the initial trial, which was postponed following the dismissal of the original panel of judges [JURIST report] amidst allegations of bias. Prior to their dismissal, the original panel members heard the prosecution's case, which culminated in a request that Wilders be acquitted on all charges [JURIST report]. The prosecutors based their request on determinations that the politician's statements were directed at Islam and not Muslims themselves and additionally, that the evidence failed to establish that he intended to incite violence. The presentment of the prosecution's case followed an order from a panel of Dutch judges to resume the trial after initially rejecting claims of judicial bias [JURIST report]. The trial had previously been suspended [JURIST report] after a lawyer representing Wilders accused one of the judges of making a statement which cast him in an unfavorable light to the jury.

The US is also putting alleged pirates on trial in attempt to control a wave of international maritime piracy. Last week, a Somali man pleaded guilty [JURIST report] to charges of piracy and hostage taking in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia [official website] for overtaking a yacht containing four American citizens. The Americans, taken as hostages, were later killed by the pirates, the first US citizens to die due to the recent wave of piracy. 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].