The California State Assembly [official website] approved the bill in August 31, only two days after the Senate [official website] first approved it. Despite California's latest initiative, however, immigration laws [JURIST backgrounder] remain a hot button issue in many states. In September lawyers for Arizona Governor Jan Brewer [official website] announced a plan to appeal a preliminary injunction [JURIST report] currently blocking the provision of the controversial Arizona immigration law that criminalizes the harboring and transportation of illegal immigrants. In August, Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach [official website] filed a lawsuit [JURIST report] challenging the Deferred Action policy directive. Earlier that month, the US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit [official website] partially struck down [JURIST report] Alabama and Georgia's immigration laws, but upheld other provisions. Also in August, Utah's Attorney General argued that the state's restrictive immigration law should be upheld [JURIST report] in light of the Supreme Court's decision in Arizona v. United States [opinion, PDF; JURIST report].

A total of 20 medics, including 13 doctors, one dentist, nurses and paramedics, were originally jailed and sentenced in September 2011 for providing treatment to injured protesters after the Salmaniya Medical Complex was stormed by security forces in March. Though originally sentenced to 15 years in prison, a Bahrain court in June of this year overturned or reduced the sentences [JURIST report] for most of the medical professionals. In November King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa [official website] ordered a special commission [JURIST report] to make recommendations after the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI) concluded in a report that Bahraini authorities used excessive force [JURIST report] and tortured detained protesters during the pro-democracy demonstrations earlier that year. In October 2011 a Bahrain court began hearing the appeals [JURIST report] the 20 convicted medical staff members. They were granted the opportunity for retrial in civilian court [JURIST report] earlier that month after their harsh sentences received international criticism. Shortly after their arrest and sentence, the medics urged the UN to investigate claims of abuse and due process violations in relation to their convictions. The medics were originally sentenced [JURIST report] in September 2011.

The charges against Nasheed stem from the questioned legality of his unilateral order to arrest [JURIST report] Chief Justice Abdulla Mohamed on corruption charges in January, when Nasheed was still president. The arrest of the chief justice and the resulting unrest in Maldives sparked weeks of tension and dissension, drawing international attention. In August a Maldives commission of inquiry concluded that Nasheed's resignation [JURIST reports] in February was legal and voluntary. In July the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) claimed that press freedom [JURIST report] in the country has been deteriorating since the resignation. Also in July a Maldives court refused to hear the case [JURIST report] against Nasheed, holding that it did not have jurisdiction to rule in the case. In April the Maldives Police Service referred the case to the Prosecutor General's Office two months after an arrest warrant [JURIST reports] was issued. A group of Maldives lawyers in January asked [JURIST report] the International Criminal Court (ICC) [official website; JURIST backgrounder] to review the legality of the arrest of Chief Justice Abdulla Mohamed. Also that month the Maldives Minister of Foreign Affairs had asked [JURIST report] the UN to help them to resolve the unrest arising out of the arrest of the chief justice.

Pussy Riot band members Samutsevich, Tolokonnikova and Alyokhina are serving two-year prison sentences after they were convicted [JURIST report] in August of hooliganism in connection with "guerrilla performance" of a protest song in February at the altar of downtown Moscow's Christ the Savior Cathedral. Several days prior to the trial, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev [official website, in Russian] called for the release of the Pussy Riot band members, saying that time served has been severe enough and that any more time in prison would be counterproductive. The Russian Presidential Council on Human Rights [official website, in Russian] has questioned the legitimacy [JURIST report] of the court's verdict and sentence. Pussy Riot's defense lawyers moved [JURIST report] earlier in August to have one of the judges recuse herself from the case, saying her decisions are politically motivated. Since the beginning of the trial [JURIST report], the group's lawyers and human rights groups have said the charges were politically motivated by President Vladimir Putin [official website; JURIST news archive] to discredit his opposition.

The potential risks of reparative therapy are great, including depression, anxiety and self-destructive behavior, since therapist alignment with societal prejudices against homosexuality may reinforce self-hatred already experienced by the patient. Many patients who have undergone reparative therapy relate that they were inaccurately told that homosexuals are lonely, unhappy individuals who never achieve acceptance or satisfaction.

SB 1172 was approved by the California State Assembly at the end of August and by the California Senate [JURIST reports] in May. Supporters of the bill asserted that the underlying reason for the legislation is that homosexuality is not a disease and should not be treated as such. Furthermore, therapies and efforts to reverse homosexuality were found to have detrimental effects on minors' physical and mental health, leading to suicides and substance abuse. Conversely, groups such as the National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality [advocacy website] voiced their opposition, arguing that most of the facts relied on in the bill are generalizations and loose assertions. According to some experts, California's efforts to pass the ban on sexual orientation therapy have highlighted a need for better gender identity standards [JURIST op-ed].