In November, the trial began for a different coup plot for 13 Turkish journalists who were accused of formulating a plan [JURIST report] to overthrow the Islamic government in Turkey. In August, a Turkish court issued arrest warrants [JURIST report] for seven generals and admirals accused of creating anti-government websites in 2009. A number of other senior military officials are in detention for a separate investigation of the Balyoz Security Operation Plan (also known as "Operation Sledgehammer"), a military plot to overthrow the Islamic-rooted government. The "Sledgehammer" plot is similar to the Ergenekon conspiracy. The Ergenekon group is alleged to be involved in bombings, political assassination plots and the death of journalist Hrant Dink. The probe into the Ergenekon conspiracy has been criticized as an attempt by the AKP to silence opposition and further its imposition of Islamic principles [JURIST report] in violation of Turkey's secular constitution. Trials against the Ergenekon group [JURIST report] opened over two years ago with more than 200 suspects in custody.

Tunisian Justice Minister Lazhar Karoui Chebbi [profile, in French] announced [JURIST report] in April that Ben Ali had been charged with 18 offenses. The announcement came after Amnesty International (AI) and Human Rights Watch [advocacy websites] urged Tunisia to investigate [JURIST report] the allegations of brutality against protesters and to end such police violence [JURIST report]. The Tunisian criminal court convicted [JURIST report] in November a nephew of Ben Ali, Imed Trabelsi, for 18 years in prison for writing over USD $399 million in bad checks. He was already in prison when the conviction took place for drug possession, money laundering and embezzlement which he appealed but lost [JURIST report].

Mubarak's trial started in August [JURIST report] and has been making slow progress. The trial was resumed last week by the Egyptian court after a two-month adjournment [JURIST reports] which allowed the court time to rule on a motion made by lawyers representing the victims' families to have the three-judge panel in the case removed. The victims' families argued that were not given enough time to question the Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi [GlobalSecurity profile], head of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) [NYT backgrounder], who testified against Mubarak [JURIST report] in a closed session in September, but left early and refused to be cross-examined by counsel of the victims. In December the court also rejected the prosecution's motion [JURIST report] for a new judge and fined the prosecution for making such request. The motion was based on the allegation that Judge Refaat was showing bias in favor of Mubarak [AFP report].

Hashemi is one of several opposition figures that have been detained and charged in connection with the wave of civil unrest following the disputed re-election of Ahmadinejad. Last week Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Court sentenced opposition figure [JURIST report] and former Iranian foreign minister Ebrahim Yazdi to eight years in prison for attempting to act against national security. Yazdi was also banned from civic activities for five years in the closed-door trial reportedly held in early November. In August Tehran prosecutor Abbas Jafari-Dolatabadi said that approximately 100 people imprisoned for their participation in the massive 2009 presidential election protests have been pardoned and released [JURIST report] by Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei [official profile]. In March Iranian opposition leaders Mir-Hossein Mousavi [BBC profile; JURIST news archive] and Mehdi Karroubi [NYT profile; JURIST news archive] and their wives were arrested and jailed [JURIST report].

The power of the Israel Supreme Court was restricted [JURIST report] in 2008 when a bill was passed granting the Knesset authority to revise laws overturned by the court. The controversial measure, proposed [JURIST report] in 2007 by Israeli Justice Minister Daniel Friedmann provided the first statutory guide on the Supreme Court's annulment power. That power was interpreted to reach all Knesset-passed measures deemed to contravene one of the Basic Laws [text], the bill reduced that scope to allow Supreme Court annulment only of those laws contravening the Basic Law: Human Dignity and Liberty and Basic Law: Freedom of Occupation [text]. The proposal also granted the Knesset authority to revise laws overturned by the Supreme Court, thereby renewing those laws' validity. In those cases, the Knesset could overturn a Supreme Court ruling with an ordinary one-round of voting rather than the 61-vote majority in the 120-member body in three rounds of voting currently required to overturn the Supreme Court.

Hungary's controversial news laws have been the source of much criticism over the past year. In December Hungary's Constitutional Court [official website, in Hungarian] struck down [JURIST report] certain provisions of the country's recently passed media law as an unconstitutional restraint on press freedom. The court also struck down a law regulating religious organizations [JURIST report]. In April Hungarian President Pal Schmitt signed into law the new constitution [JURIST report] amid concern from civil society leaders and opposition politicians that the document contravenes European human rights principles. According to Human Rights Watch [advocacy website], the new constitution "enshrines discrimination" and jeopardizes the rights of people with disabilities, women and LGBT people.