Orlov has been critical of the Russian government. In February 2010, he was arrested along with as many as 100 anti-Kremlin demonstrators [JURIST report] as they protested against the perceived government curtailing of the right to peaceful assembly. The 300-strong group chanted slogans calling for Prime Minister Vladimir Putin [official website, in Russian; JURIST news archive] to step aside. Kadryov filed the libel charges [JURIST report] against Orlov in October 2009 after Orlov had already lost a civil suit brought by Kadyrov resulting in USD $2,300 in fines and an order to remove his accusation from Memorial's website. The charges came less than a week after Orlov won the prestigious Sakharov Award from the European Union [official websites] for his work with Memorial.

The Rwanda National Police Force [official website] issued an international arrest warrant [JURIST report] in January for four former Rwandan government officials, including Nyamwasa, now living in the US and South Africa, all of whom were former allies of Rwandan President Paul Kagame [official profile]. Rwanda's Military High Court [official website] found all four men guilty in absentia [AFP report] of disturbing public order, threatening state security and other offenses, handing down sentences ranging from 20 to 24 years in prison. The men have denied the allegations [Africa Global Village report], calling the charges politically motivated. Most observers do not believe the US or South Africa will act on the warrants [BBC report]. The military court summoned the men [All Africa report] in November to stand trial on the charges. The former officials published a paper [text] in August criticizing Kagame's government for corruption and human rights violations. In July, the South African foreign ministry blamed foreign agents [BBC report] for a shooting that left Nyamwasa injured. Rwanda's government claims Nyamwasa and Karegeya were behind a grenade attack [Monitor report] in Rwanda's capital city of Kigali last February. Nyamwasa is wanted in France and Spain [Business Day report] for his role in the genocide.

In January, France's Constitutional Council [official website, in French] ruled [opinion, text, in French] that the country's same-sex marriage ban [French Civil Code text] does not violate the constitution [text]. Same-sex marriage is recognized in several countries, including Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Iceland and Norway [JURIST reports], while several other countries, including the UK, France and Germany, recognize civil unions between same-sex partners. Same-sex marriage has also been recognized nationwide in Canada and South Africa, and in jurisdictions in Mexico and the US [JURIST reports].

Earlier this month, a Philippine court froze USD $23 million worth of assets [JURIST report] owned by the Ampatuan family, who are accused of ordering the 2009 slayings, while investigators determine how the Ampatuans accumulated accumulated the assets. In March, a Quezon City court dismissed rebellion charges [JURIST report] against 24 people, including Ampatuan Sr. Days earlier, a court issued arrest warrants [JURIST report] for 189 suspects. The PDOJ had already charged 197 people with murder [JURIST report] in connection with the November 2009 killings. In December 2009, the PDOJ began the trial [JURIST report] of more than 600 people charged with rebellion for allegedly interfering with government operations following the killings. Several of Amapuan Sr.'s sons, including Andal Ampatuan Jr., the mayor of the southern Philippine town of Datu Unsay, have also been charged. Amapuan Jr. has pleaded not guilty [JURIST report] to 41 counts of murder. The Ampatuans and several of their followers are alleged to have intercepted Mangudadatu's convoy en route to declare his candidacy for governor at a regional election office, ultimately forcing his convoy to a remote hilltop where the Ampatuans' group killed and buried them.

Nokia and Apple have been embroiled in litigation marked by trading accusations of patent infringement. Nokia announced in March that it filed another complaint [press release; JURIST report] against Apple with the ITC in addition to a lawsuit filed in Delaware. In December, the litigation spread to Germany, the UK and the Netherlands where Nokia filed 13 patent infringement complaints [JURIST report] against Apple. Last May, Nokia filed a complaint [JURIST report] in the US District Court in the Western District for Wisconsin [official website] alleging that Apple iPad and iPhone 3G products infringe additional Nokia patents. Apple counter-sued last December, claiming Nokia had stolen 13 patents from the company.

According to Vasilyeva, Danilkin, a judge for the Khamovnichesky District Court [official website, in Russian], was pressured and coached by officials from the Moscow City Court. "When something happened, when something went wrong, he had a duty to provide information to the Moscow City Court and, accordingly, received certain instructions on how to behave," she said. At the end of the trial, Danilkin wrote a verdict, but Vasilyeva said it probably "did not satisfy the higher ups" and he was therefore given a different verdict, which he was ordered to issue. Danilkin responded to Vasilyeva's comments calling them slander [RFE/RL report]. In December, Danilkin sentenced [JURIST report] Khodorkovsky and his business partner, Platon Lebedev [defense website profile; JURIST news archive], to six additional years in prison, extending their imprisonment to a total of 14 years. Their defense counsel staunchly criticized the ruling, claiming [press release] that the court blocked significant amounts of testimony and evidence submitted by the defense and systematically quashed objections to their omission. The verdict drew vehement 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 Supreme Court has addressed freedom of speech in schools most recently in Morse v. Frederick [Duke Law case backgrounder; JURIST report]. In June 2007, the Court held [opinion; JURIST report] that public schools do not violate the First Amendment rights of students by punishing them for speech during a school-sanctioned activity that may be reasonably interpreted to promote the use of illegal substances. A high school student was suspended after he displayed a banner with the message "Bong hits 4 Jesus" during a televised parade on a school day. The Court reversed the Ninth Circuit's decision [opinion, PDF] and held that the "First Amendment does not require schools to tolerate at school events student expression that contributes" to the danger of illegal drug use. The Supreme Court has not ruled on a case related to student speech created outside of the classroom.

The Act imposes strict liability, criminal penalties, and a mandatory penalty of the non-renewal of a medical license on any physician who fails to comply with any one of myriad requirements for providing government-mandated information to a patient in advance of an abortion. The Act imposes numerous requirements that are contrary to standard medical practice and/or violate standards of medical ethics. For example, the Act will compel physicians to deliver to their patients government-mandated speech including visual and auditory depictions of the fetus that falls outside the accepted standards and practices for medical informed consent. Moreover, given its harsh penalties and vague requirements, the Act will force physicians to deliver this government-mandated speech even where a patient declines to receive it, or else risk losing his or her license.

Last month, Texas Governor Rick Perry [official website] signed [JURIST report] into law bill [HB 15 text; materials] requiring doctors to conduct a vaginal ultrasound and display the images at least 24 hours prior to an abortion, and stripping them of their medical licenses should they fail to do so. The law also requires doctors to provide "a simultaneous verbal explanation of the results of the live, real-time sonogram images, including a medical description of the dimensions of the embryo or fetus, the presence of cardiac activity, and the presence of arms, legs, external members, and internal organs." The Texas law is one of a number of state laws passed recently attempting to restrict abortion rights. Earlier this month, the Iowa House passed [JURIST report] what would be the most restrictive law yet, effectively banning abortions after 18 weeks of pregnancy. Multiple states have acted to ban abortions after 20 weeks, when some studies suggest a fetus can begin feeling pain, including Missouri, Indiana, Alabama, Ohio, Oklahoma, Kansas and Idaho [JURIST reports].

Constitutional reforms are an issue for Turkey's accession to the European Union (EU) [official website] since its constitution was written under military rule and limits freedom of expression and religion. A council for the EU in May 2009 said that Turkey should do more [press release, PDF; JURIST report] in terms of judicial reform, protection of citizens' rights and various other efforts in order to further their request to be granted accession to the EU [criteria materials]. Secular judges in Turkey warned [JURIST report] the AKP that proposed constitutional amendments were going too far in promoting an Islamic agenda. Earlier in 2009, a report [text, PDF, in Turkish] by advocacy group Tesev [advocacy website, in Turkish] argued that Turkish property rights still fell short [JURIST report] of those required to join the EU. European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso [official profile] addressed the Turkish parliament in 2008 to applaud the government's efforts to reform a controversial provision of the Turkish penal code [JURIST reports] but stressed that further efforts would be necessary.

Last week, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, the Chief Prosecutor of the ICC said that al-Bashir has continued to commit crimes against humanity [statement, PDF; JURIST report] in Darfur [JURIST news archive]. Several countries have been reported for failing to arrest al-Bashir while he has been present inside their borders. In May, the ICC urged Djibouti to arrest al-Bashir [JURIST report]. In October, the ICC requested that Kenya arrest al-Bashir [JURIST report] while he visited that year for a second time. Previously, al-Bashir had visited Kenya for the signing of the country's new constitution [JURIST report]. Following his visit, the ICC reported Kenya [decision, PDF; JURIST report] to the UN Security Council and the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute for the violation in not arresting al-Bashir. Also following his August visit, former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan urged Kenya to reaffirm its cooperation with the ICC by arresting al-Bashir [JURIST report]. In July, the ICC called for al-Bashir's arrest during his visit to Chad [JURIST report], marking the first visit to an ICC member state since the warrants were issued. The ICC also reported Chad [decision, PDF] to the Security Council and Assembly of States Parties.

The judge denied the reconsideration despite the new evidence saying it does not change the reasoning for dismissal that the "special needs of foreign affairs must stay" the court's action. The claim was originally brought [JURIST report] under the Alien Tort Claims Act [text], which provides that district courts have original jurisdiction to hear claims for torts "committed in violation of the law of nations or a treaty of the United States." The defendants moved to dismiss the suit based on § 7 of the Military Commissions Act of 2006 [text, PDF], which removes the ability of federal courts to hear challenges to the treatment of aliens who have been "properly detained" as enemy combatants. In 2008, officials from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service [official website] said notes found in the clothes of two detainees indicated that they were seeking martyrdom. Military investigations of the suicides began [JURIST report] immediately after the men were found in their cells, and the military quickly rejected calls for independent civilian investigations. The military similarly rejected requests by the governments of Yemen and Saudi Arabia [JURIST reports] to reform the investigation process.