Last week, the Ukrainian parliament [official website] rejected four amendments to the country's Criminal Code [materials] that sought to decriminalize Article 365, which stipulates jail time for abuse of office [JURIST report]. Tymoshenko's trial resumed at the end of September after a two-week recess [JURIST reports]. In August, former Ukrainian president Viktor Yushchenko [BBC backgrounder; JURIST news archive] testified against [JURIST report] Tymoshenko, his former prime minister. That same month, the Kiev Appeals Court refused Tymoshenko's appeal of her detention for contempt charges [JURIST reports]. Also in August, Kireyev rejected a request [JURIST report] from Tymoshenko to release her from prison. In July, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) [official website, in Ukrainian] announced that they are launching a criminal investigation [JURIST report] into United Energy Systems of Ukraine (UESU), an energy company at one time headed by Tymoshenko. Tymoshenko's government was dissolved in March 2010 after she narrowly lost the presidential election to Yanukovych. Tymoshenko had alleged that widespread voter fraud allowed Yanukovych to win the election.

Chen was found guilty on corruption charges and sentenced to life in prison in September 2009, but the sentence was reduced to 20 years [JURIST reports] in June 2010 after the high court determined he had not embezzled as much money as previously thought. Chen was also indicted [JURIST report] in 2009 on additional corruption charges relating to funds he received while traveling abroad as president. Chen was initially detained in November 2008, and was formally indicted [JURIST report] a month later. In January 2009, he unsuccessfully appealed [JURIST report] his pretrial detention, after staging three hunger strikes in protest. Chen maintains that current Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou [official website, in Chinese] is using Chen's trial to distance himself from Chen's anti-China views. Chen served as president of Taiwan from 2000-2008.

The result has been a devastatingly remorseless toll of human lives. The number of people killed since the violence started in March has now exceeded 3,000, including at least 187 children. More than 100 people have been reported killed in the last 10 days alone. In addition, thousands have been arrested, detained, forcibly disappeared and tortured. Family members inside and outside the country have been targeted for harassment, intimidation, threats and beatings. As more members of the military refuse to attack civilians and change sides, the crisis is already showing worrying signs of descending into an armed struggle.

Last month, the UNHRC voted 33-4 to adopt a resolution [JURIST report] ordering an investigation [press release] into crimes against humanity in Syria and urging the Syrian government once again to halt its violent crackdown against peaceful protesters. An emergency meeting was held in response to a plea [JURIST report] from Pillay to refer Syria to the ICC for an investigation into the violent suppression of anti-government protests. Many steps have been taken to try and halt the violence in Syria. In August, the Los Angeles Times reported that an unknown Western country is funding an investigation [JURIST report] into Syria's recent human rights abuses. In July, two UN rights officials expressed concern over reports of violence [JURIST report] used by Syrian authorities against the country's own people. In June, the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) published a preliminary report [JURIST report] describing human rights violations in Syria and calling for an investigation into government-authorized abuses related to pro-democracy protests that began earlier this year. In April, Pillay urged Syria to immediately halt the killings [JURIST report] and violence against civilian protesters in response to the fatal shootings of peaceful anti-government protesters.

The state of Alabama responded [JURIST report] to the DOJ's motion earlier this week, arguing that the law is not preempted by federal law and that it is necessary to address the problem of illegal immigrants "taking jobs away from United States citizens and authorized aliens who desperately want to work in these hard economic times." The DOJ, joined by several rights groups, appeared before the district court in August to make arguments against the law's enactment, at which point Chief Justice Sharon Lovelace Blackburn issued a temporary injunction [JURIST reports] to forestall enactment of the challenged provisions. From the time that the legislation was signed into law in June, 16 countries filed briefs [JURIST reports] in the Alabama district court against the controversial law, arguing that it provides unfair treatment to citizens of those countries currently residing in Alabama and sanctions discriminatory treatment based on ethnicity.

Schutter urged governments to reform their legal systems [JURIST report] to fight hunger and promote the right to food in May 2010. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon [official website] has historically called for an increased effort to uphold the "fundamental human right" to food [JURIST report] for people around the world who suffer from chronic hunger. The right to adequate food is recognized in Articles 24(2)(c) and 27(3) of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, Article 12(2) of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, and Articles 25(f) and 28(1) of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities [texts]. Article 25 of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights [text], adopted by the UN in 1948, states that "[e]veryone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food."

On Tuesday, US Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell indicated that Myanmar's civilian-led government was planning dramatic changes including releasing hundreds of political prisoners [JURIST report] and consequential dialogue with Suu Kyi. Myanmar has sought to improve its international reputation following a transfer of power from a military regime to a civil system in March after holding its first elections in 20 years. Last month, Myanmar's government formed the Myanmar National Human Rights Commission (MNHRC) [JURIST report] to promote and safeguard the country's constitutional rights. In August, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar Tomas Ojea Quintana urged the government of Myanmar to investigate human rights abuses [JURIST report] and improve its rights record. In May, Myanmar began releasing as many as 15,000 prisoners [JURIST report] as part of an amnesty program after a visit from a special envoy from the UN secretary-general, but rights groups claim the government has not gone far enough.

Al-Bashir announced on Wednesday that Sudan will adopt an Islamic constitution [JURIST report]. Al-Bashir remains an extremely controversial figure in international politics for his actions during the Darfur conflict. In June, AI urged Malaysia to withdraw an invitation for al-Bashir to participate in an event there and to arrest him if he travels to the country [JURIST report]. Also in June, ICC Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo issued a statement claiming that al-Bashir has continued to commit crimes against humanity [JURIST report] in Darfur. 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].

There is overwhelming evidence that Bush and other senior administration officials authorized and implemented a regime of torture and ill-treatment of hundreds of detainees in US custody, including at least two Canadian citizens. Under the Convention against Torture, Canada is obligated to prosecute individuals suspected of committing torture found in its territory if other countries have failed to do so. The Obama administration has failed to investigate allegations of involvement in torture by Bush or other senior administration officials, and none are expected.

Calls for the investigation or arrest of former president Bush have largely been rejected. In February, the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) and the European Center for Human Rights (ECCHR) [advocacy websites] urged the signatory states of the UN Convention Against Torture (CAT) [text] to pursue criminal charges against the former president [JURIST report]. The call came as the rights groups announced that two criminal complaints [text, PDF] were to be filed in Switzerland against Bush before he canceled his trip to the country. Calls to investigate the criminal culpability of Bush and officials in his administration have been consistently rejected by US officials [JURIST report]. In November, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) [advocacy website] urged US Attorney General Eric Holder to investigate Bush for violation of the federal statute prohibiting torture [18 USC § 2340A]. Also citing his memoir, the ACLU argued that the use of waterboarding has historically been prosecuted as a crime in the US. The letter also argued that failure to investigate Bush would harm the US's ability to advocate for human rights in other countries. Bush's secretary of defense Donald Rumsfeld [JURIST news archive] has also faced possible criminal charges in Europe, when, in 2007, a war crimes complaint was filed against him [JURIST report] in Germany for his involvement in detainee treatment. The case was later dismissed [JURIST report].

Rajaratnam was convicted of 14 counts of insider trading [JURIST report] in May in the largest hedge fund insider trading case in US history. Several other defendants have pleaded guilty in connection with the case. Danielle Chiesi pleaded guilty [JURIST report] in January. Former IBM senior vice president Robert Moffat was sentenced to six months in prison in September and ordered him to pay a $50,000 fine for his role in the scheme after pleading guilty [JURIST reports] in March 2010. Former Intel Capital executive Rajiv Goel pleaded guilty [JURIST report] to insider trading charges in February 2010. Rajaratnam, Chiesi, Goel and Moffat were arrested in October 2009 and charged [complaint, PDF] along with two other individuals and two business entities with insider trading. The complaint alleged that the individuals provided Galleon Group and another hedge fund with material nonpublic information about several corporations upon which the funds traded, generating $25 million in illicit gain. Rajaratnam and Chiesi originally pleaded not guilty [JURIST report] in December 2009 after being indicted for insider trading.