In light of Madhwani's guesthouse and military training camp admissions, his carrying a rifle at the behest of camp superiors, his suspicious movements and implausible narrative and his final capture in the company of at least one known al-Qaida operative, we conclude that a preponderance of the evidence unmistakably showed Madhwani was "part of" al-Qaida when he was captured. In addition to challenging the sufficiency of the evidence, Madhwani offers a laundry list of evidentiary and legal complaints. None establishes a convincing basis for us to reverse the district court's denial of habeas corpus relief.

Habeas corpus rights for Guantanamo detainees have been a struggle for federal courts this past year. In March, an appeals court blocked the release [JURIST report] of Guantanamo detainee Uthman Abdul Rahim Mohammed Uthman by overturning [opinion, PDF] a district court decision that claimed the government had failed to prove prove by a preponderance of the evidence that Uthman had received and executed orders from al Qaeda. In September, Kuwaiti Guantanamo detainee Fawzi Khalid Abdullah Fahad al Odah petitioned [text, PDF; JURIST report] the US Supreme Court [official website] to reverse a federal appeals court decision that denied him habeas corpus relief. The DC appeals court denied [text, PDF; JURIST report] habeas corpus relief to al Odah in July. The court affirmed the district court's ruling [opinion, PDF; JURIST report] that there was sufficient evidence against al Odah for him to be considered "part of" al Qaeda and Taliban forces.

For better or worse, Citizens United held that there is no distinction between an individual and a corporation with respect to political speech. ... Corporations and human beings are entitled to equal political speech rights. ... Thus, if an individual can make direct contributions within [the law's] limits, a corporation cannot be banned from doing the same thing.

Commentators have noted that judge Cacheris' opinion does not address the 2003 Supreme Court decision in Federal Election Commission v. Beaumont [opinion], which specifically upheld a ban on corporate contributions to election campaigns. Although Cacheris does acknowledge that another federal judge ruled on the same question but upheld the law, his opinion is silent on the Eighth Circuit's appellate ruling likewise upholding the ban. Cecheris' ruling does not follow the distinction between expenditures and contributions [AP report] upheld by the Eighth Circuit. Despite strong reactions to the ruling, the net impact is unclear because current election law limit individuals to $2,500 per candidate in each election, while corporate political action committees may contribute up to $5,000.

Violence and human rights abuses have been pressing issues in several Middle Eastern nations where protests have erupted. Last week, the UN expressed concern over Middle Eastern rights violations [JURIST report] after reports were released that in Syria alone 850 people had been killed since the demonstrations began in March. Concern for violence in Yemen surfaced when Saleh requested the Yemeni Parliament end anti-government protests by enacting new emergency laws that gave the government greater power to arrest and detain protesters and to censor the media. In April, two human rights organizations criticized Bahrain [JURIST report] for rampant human rights abuses that related to using the emergency law to trample on human rights and create a state of fear.

Changes in the way Tunisia's security organs operate should not be limited to slogans, but should result in concrete measures. The first steps have been taken to establish accountability for those who attacked the demonstrators in January of this year. I welcome this positive development, but want to stress that in order to look truly forward towards a new Tunisia, it has to come to terms with dark remnants of its past. ... Investigating, prosecuting and trying those responsible for the crimes in question can also help rebuilding trust between the population and the security forces in the country.

Last month, the US Department of State (DOS) [official website] released the 2010 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices [materials] noting the recent uprising in Tunisia had an ambiguous impact on human rights [JURIST report]. In February, the Tunisian Ministry of Foreign Affairs submitted a formal request to extradite former the president [JURIST report] following the filing of additional charges. Also in February, Human Rights Watch (HRW) [advocacy website] called on the Tunisian transitional government to investigate incidents of police violence against protesters and end police brutality [HRW reports; JURIST report], and the UN reported that at least 219 died as a result of the protests, including 72 killed in prison riots.