Last week, AI reported that at least 840 people were killed [JURIST report], and more than 6,000 were injured, during the Egyptian protests. Earlier this month, an Egyptian criminal court convicted [JURIST report] the country's former tourism minister, Zoheir Garranah, for corruption and sentenced him to five years in prison. In April, Egyptian prosecutors charged [JURIST report] former prime minister Ahmed Nazif, former finance minister Yousef Boutros and former interior minister Habib el Adly with corruption. In March, a commission of Arab and Egyptian human rights groups accused the former president [JURIST report] and the country's police of murdering protesters during the demonstrations. The joint commission submitted their report to Egypt's top prosecutor for further investigation. The Supreme Military Council of Egypt, which assumed power after Mubarak's resignation, instructed Egypt's top prosecutor to investigate the death of protesters [RIA Novosti report] during the three weeks of demonstrations in the country.

Ensuring the right level of protection of intellectual property rights in the single market is essential for Europe's economy. Progress depends on new ideas and new knowledge. There will be no investment in innovation if rights are not protected. On the other hand, consumers and users need to have access to cultural content, for example online music, for new business models and cultural diversity to both thrive. Our aim today is to get the balance between these two objectives right for [intellectual property rights] across the board. To make Europe's framework for intellectual property an enabler for companies and citizens and fit for the online world and the global competition for ideas.

Online piracy has assumed increasing importance in the eyes of legislators across Europe. In March 2010, a study conducted by the Marsouin Unit [official website, in French] at the University of Rennes [official website] found that in France some forms of online piracy are on the rise [JURIST report] in spite of the recently passed anti-piracy law [legislative materials, in French; JURIST news archive]. Some European countries, including the UK, have considered legislation [BBC report] that reflects the law enacted in France.

The December verdict drew harsh international criticism [JURIST report], including from US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton [official profile], who said [press release] that the ruling "raises serious questions about selective prosecution." The Russian Ministry for Foreign Affairs [official website, in Russian] dismissed critics, saying [press release, in Russian] that "[a]ttempts to exert pressure on the court are unacceptable." Last May, former Russian prime minister Mikhail Kasyanov [BBC profile] testified [JURIST report] that Vladimir Putin ordered Khodorkovsky's arrest for political reasons, indicating that Khodorkovsky had funded the Communist Party [party website, in Russian] without first getting approval to do so from the president. In March 2010, Khodorkovsky criticized Russia's justice system [JURIST report] as an "assembly line" that inevitably finds the government's political enemies to be guilty.

BOA is among more than two dozen US, Canadian and European lenders named as defendants in the class action lawsuit, which consolidated claims across the country in 2009. In their amended complaint [text, PDF], the plaintiffs claimed that BOA's practices were deceptive in that they did not reasonably notify customers that they had the option of opting out of the overdraft scheme and declining transactions. The complaint also alleged that BOA's excessive fees disproportionately effect low-income customers. BOA has been the target of several lawsuits. In January, plaintiffs filed a lawsuit [JURIST report] against Countrywide Financial Corporation [AP backgrounder], a BOA subsidiary, in New York State Supreme Court [official website] alleging widespread fraud that resulted in substantial financial losses.

These Somali pirates admitted that they hijacked a US ship planning to make a big ransom off the four American hostages. Tragically, their co-conspirators gunned down the hostages in cold blood and these pirates now face spending the rest of their lives in prison, We hope the string of convictions in this and other cases help send a message to others that piracy against American vessels will not be tolerated.

Earlier this month, Spain's National Court sentenced [JURIST report] two Somali pirates to 439 years in prison each for their involvement in the 2009 hijacking of a Spanish fishing boat off the coast of Somalia. 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].

5:00 PM ~ Two more Somali pirates pleaded guilty [press release] Tuesday.

5/25/11 ~ And two more pleaded guilty [press release] Wednesday, bringing the total to nine.

Earlier this year, Microsoft filed a complaint [JURIST report] with the EC over alleged anticompetitive practices by Google [corporate website], which is under investigation [JURIST report] by the EC for allegations of manipulation of search results to highlight Google's own products and services. In October 2007, Microsoft said it would take the necessary steps [JURIST report] to comply with the 2004 EC antitrust ruling. The software company agreed to allow open source software developers to access and use interoperability information, reduce the royalties for a worldwide license, and make agreements between third party developers and Microsoft enforceable before the High Court in London.

The constitutionality of the individual mandate is a source of controversy and has spawned multiple lawsuits. Last week, the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit [official website] asked the parties to respond to whether the court had standing [JURIST report] to hear a challenge before the effective date of the law. Earlier this month, the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) [advocacy website] sought to have its challenge reinstated in the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit [official website] after it was dismissed by the lower court. Last February, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) asked federal judge Roger Vinson to clarify that states must continue to enact the health care reform law as the government appeals from Vinson's January ruling finding the law unconstitutional [JURIST reports].

[[JURIST] The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) [official website; JURIST news archive] used a new procedure Monday to begin hearing evidence against alleged genocide financier Felicien Kabuga [JURIST news archive] who has yet to be arrested. The special deposition hearing allows for evidence to be heard before the court and preserved in the accused's absence pursuant to the new Rule 71 bis of the ICTR Rules of Procedure and Evidence [text, PDF]. Rule 71 bis states that "if within a reasonable time, a warrant of arrest has not been executed, the Prosecutor may submit a request to the President that evidence relating to the indictment be preserved for a further trial by special deposition recorded in a proceeding conducted by a single Judge." The prosecutor wants to preserve in the absence of Kabuga for fear that it may be lost due to death, the passage of time or the unavailability of witnesses in the future. Rule 71 bis was adopted [AFP report] by the judges in a plenary session in 2009, and the proceeding is unprecedented in the ICTR. It is believed that Kabuga is in Kenya, and the ICTR has previously called [JURIST report] for him to be turned over, but he nonetheless remains in hiding. Kabuga is accused of providing militia with tens of thousands of machetes used in the 1994 Rwandan genocide [HRW backgrounder; JURIST news archive].

The ICTR continues to prosecute individuals for their roles in the Rwandan genocide. In March the ICTR handed out its strongest punishment to date [JURIST report], life in prison, against Jean-Baptiste Gatete, the former Mayor of Murambi Commune in Byumba prefecture. Gatete's case was one of several Rwandan genocide cases not transferred to Rwandan authorities [JURIST report]. In January the trial of former military official Idelphonse Nizeyimana [BBC profile], nicknamed the "Butcher of Butare" [RNW report], began before the ICTR [JURIST report]. Nizeyimana is accused of being among the Rwanda Armed Forces officers who played key roles in the Rwandan genocide. In December a French court charged [JURIST report] Democratic Liberation Forces of Rwanda [GlobalSecurity backgrounder] leader Callixte Mbarushimana with war crimes and crimes against humanity for his role in the Rwandan genocide after the ICTR refused to file charges against him due to insufficient evidence. In September, the trial of Gregoire Ndahimana, former governor of Kivumu, Rwanda, began before the ICTR [JURIST report] for his alleged role in the bulldozing of a parish which resulted in the deaths of 2,000 individuals hiding inside.