The First Circuit's decision was the first appeals decision on the law, but there have been other challenges in different circuits. Last week, Republican members of the House filed a memorandum in a district court in the Second Circuit asking it to refrain from ruling [JURIST report] in a case challenging the act's constitutionality until the Second Circuit Court of Appeals [official website] makes a ruling in a pending case. US Senators also filed an amicus brief [JURIST report] in the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit [official website] asking that the appeals court uphold the DOMA as constitutional. The US District Court for the Southern District of New York [official website] also ruled [JURIST report] that the DOMA is unconstitutional earlier this month. These rulings all came after the Department of Justice [official website] announced [JURIST report] last year that it would no longer defend the law as constitutional.

Morsi is taking power during a transitional time in Egypt's government, and he is under a lot of international pressure to ensure that Egypt stays on track toward democracy. Yesterday, Amnesty International [advocacy website] urged [JURIST report] Morsi to end the pattern of human rights abuses carried out by former president Hosni Mubarak. Earlier this month, a former candidate in the presidential election, along with nongovernmental groups, filed a lawsuit challenging Egypt's interim constitution after a provision was added stating that power would be transferred to the new president [JURIST reports] by the end of the month, but that the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces would maintain broad authority until a permanent constitution is created. The SCC also created controversy earlier this month by dissolving Egypt's parliament after ruling that over a third of its members were elected illegally. The day before dissolving the country's parliament, the SCC broadened the powers of its military [JURIST report], restoring its power to arrest citizens for non-military offenses.

Holder responded [press release] to the vote stating, "Today's vote is the regrettable culmination of what became a misguided—and politically motivated—investigation during an election year," and stated he would continue to focus on the government's job of protecting the American people. Republican Representative Darrell Issa [official website] initiated the contempt action as the leader of the House investigation. Last week, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee [official website] voted [press release] to find Holder in contempt for failing to provide the information needed in their investigation. The DOJ prepared a report [PDF] for the House committee last July which discussed the effect of the admittedly failed operation in Mexico. The House has been investigating Operation Fast and Furious [investigation website] since April 2011.

Early this month, a court in Kazakhstan sentenced [JURIST report] 13 out of 37 defendants to between three and seven years of imprisonment for their participation in the unrest last December. Kazakhstan has been criticized for its failure to comply with international human rights standards. In April, 47 individuals were sentenced [JURIST report] to 15 years imprisonment for their involvement in terrorist attacks and financing extremist activities. However, the trial and information pertaining to it were not entirely accessible to the public, and the lack of transparency has raised concerns of possible human rights violations. In October, Kazakhstan's President Nursultan Nazarbayev [official website, in Kazakh; BBC profile] signed [JURIST report] into law a bill dissolving religious organizations and requiring re-registration. This new bill and its endorsement by the president drew a number of criticisms that the law unnecessarily limits the freedom of religion. The president's signing came after the country's parliament approved [JURIST report] the bill few weeks earlier.