JURIST - Paper Chase: Sunday, April 22, 2012

[JURIST] Ukraine's ex-Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko was returned to prison on Sunday after being sent to a clinic Friday for medical treatment. Tymoshenko has refused to be treated [JURIST report] by the Ukrainian doctors at her prison for back problems she has been experiencing, as she believes they are under the direction of her political rival President Viktor Yanukovych. One of her defense lawyers, Serhiy Vlasenko, indicated that he believes she was moved back to prison because the original move to the clinic was against her will [RIA Novosti report]. Tymoshenko has been suffering from an unknown ailment, which has made it difficult for her to stand trial. Her daughter reported that the ailment is a slipped disk [BBC report], and the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) [official website] last month urged the Ukrainian government [JURIST report] to ensure that she receives proper medical care outside of the prison. Tymoshenko is currently appealing a conviction [JURIST report] and seven-year prison sentence for abuse of power and corruption.

Earlier this month, a Ukrainian court began proceedings in the tax evasion trial [JURIST report] of Tymoshenko, who has not been able to attend proceedings due to her health problems. She announced in December that she was discontinuing all appeals [JURIST report] in Ukrainian courts so she could focus on obtaining intervention from the ECHR. Tymoshenko was denied release [JURIST report] for health issues earlier that month. The Ukrainian parliament also rejected an amendment [JURIST report] in November that would have acted to free Tymoshenko. Her conviction has drawn criticism [JURIST report] from the ECHR and the European Union [official website], as well as human rights groups internationally. These groups claim her conviction was politically motivated and her hearings lacked transparency normally afforded in judicial hearings.

[JURIST] UN Special Rapporteur on Rights of Indigenous Peoples James Anaya will visit the United States from April 23 to May 4 to launch the UN's first ever investigation into the rights situation [press release] of Native Americans. Anaya will be looking into the rights of Native Americans, Alaska Natives and Native Hawaiians, and meeting with government officials throughout the nation. One main goal of his investigation is to determine how the US's endorsement [press release, PDF] of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples [text, PDF] in December 2010 has affected the rights of these groups of people, and whether improvements may still be needed. Anaya will report his findings and make recommendations to US federal and state government officials during his trip.

The US endorsed [JURIST report] the Declaration on Rights of Indigenous Peoples in 2010, after being one of four member states originally opposed to the treaty when it was adopted by the UN [JURIST report] in 2007. The other countries opposed to it, Canada, New Zealand and Australia [JURIST reports], have all also changed their views and have since endorsed the treaty. This non-binding treaty outlines the human rights issues faced by the more than 370 million indigenous people throughout the world and encourages nations not to discriminate against them. The declaration was debated for more than two decades before it was passed.

[JURIST] The Egyptian Constitutional Court [official website, Arabic] announced Saturday that it cannot rule on an act of parliament that banned certain candidates from the upcoming presidential elections [IFES election guide]. The court said that it is only able to rule on the constitutionality of a law [AFP report] after it has taken effect. The law in question was passed last week [JURIST report] and prevents anyone who held a rank of party leader or higher during the regime of former president Hosni Mubarak [Al Jazeera profile; JURIST news archive] from running for president for ten years. If the law is allowed to stand it could prevent Mubarak's former prime minister Ahmed Shafiq from running. This would leave Amr Mussa, Mubarak's foreign minister until 2001, and Mohammed Mursi, from the Muslim Brotherhood [party website], as the top candidates in the race, which is scheduled to be held next month.

Egypt has been in the process of restructuring its government since protests led to the resignation of Mubarak last year [JURIST report]. Earlier this month, an Egyptian court ordered suspension of a constitutional panel [JURIST report], which consisted of about 100 people, charged with writing the country's new constitution because Egyptian lawyers alleged its members were not chosen constitutionally. Egypt is also in the process of trying Mubarak for assisting in the killing of protesters last year. His trial ended last month and a judge has set the verdict date [JURIST reports] for June 2.