The violence and unrest in the eastern part of the DRC has been a focus of the international community. In an emergency meeting on Saturday, the UN Security Council [official website] condemned [JURIST report] a series of guerrilla attacks by M23 rebel group in the DRC. The condemnation followed a recent attack by the group in the eastern region of the DRC as they tried to advance to Goma. Last week, a UN rights body released a report [JURIST report] that confirmed the arbitrary executions of at least 264 civilians. Last month Ugandan officials denied [JURIST report] UN Security Council allegations that Uganda had helped assisting M23 rebels with troops and supplies in the DRC. Similarly in August, the International Criminal Court (ICC) [official website] received requests [JURIST report] to investigate Rwandan President Paul Kagame [official profile] for allegedly backing armed rebels in the DRC. In the same month, the UN Security Council reiterated their condemnation [JURIST report] of M23, demanding foreign entities cease aid to the rebel group.

This is not the first case dealing with alleged al Qaeda operatives with strong US connections. In October the US District Court for the Western District of Washington sentenced Ahmed Ressam [JURIST report], an al Qaeda trained terrorist convicted of plotting to bomb Los Angeles International Airport on New Year's Eve 1999. Also in October an Iraqi court sentenced an American citizen to life in prison for funding terrorist activities in Iraq and aiding al Qaeda [JURIST report]. In June Wesam El-Hanafi pleaded guilty [JURIST report] before the US District Court for the Southern District of New York of providing material support to al Qaeda. In 2008 Jaber Elbaneh, a Yemeni-American, was charged for alleged participation in acts of international terrorism including involvement with al Qaeda [JURIST report].

EULEX has been investigating war crimes [JURIST report] since December 2008. An influential figure in the ruling Democratic Party of Kosovo [official website, in Albanian], Limaj was excluded from a cabinet position following international pressure not to include corrupt officials but was elected into the Kosovo parliament. Limaj is an ex-member of the KLA and is viewed as a liberator by many ethnic Albanians. In 2005, Limaj was acquitted of similar charges by a war crimes tribunal in The Hague because of insufficient evidence. An EU judge in September 2011 placed Limaj under house arrest after EULEX charged 10 former members of the KLA [JURIST reports], including Limaj, with war crimes for their actions during the 1998-1999 war in Kosovo.

There have been several controversial trials since the end of the Egyptian revolution. At the end of September Egyptian Defence Minister General Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi ordered a reduced sentence [JURIST report] for a group of military officers who took part in opposition protests in April 2011. There were 22 officers, known as the April 8 Officers, arrested for their participation in protests in support of the revolution and against the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) [Al Jazeera archive] and against retired Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi Soliman. Also in September, an Egyptian court upheld the death sentences for 14 Islamists while another court sentenced [JURIST reports] former prime minister Ahmed Nazif to three years for corruption. In August the former secretary for Mubarak's political party, Safwat El-Sherif, was referred to a criminal court [JURIST report] on corruption charges. He was accused of having abused his office by obtaining real estate at discounted prices and illegally obtaining $49.2 million.

Last week Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi [BBC profile; JURIST news archive] announced that peace talks were progressing toward a ceasefire in the recent escalation of violence in Gaza and Southern Israel, and reports Tuesday indicated that an agreement is close at hand. The ceasefire discussions between Morsi, the Quatari emir, Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan [official profile, in Turkish] and former Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal came a day after Pillay urged [JURIST report] a cessation of the continued indiscriminate attacks and targeting of civilians. In Israel, rocket fire from Gaza has resulted in three deaths as well as many counts of civilian injury and damage to civilian property. In August Amnesty International [advocacy website] called on Israel [JURIST report] to investigate its treatment of Palestinian detainees, alleging that two had been mistreated. In June the UN also urged Israel to end its blockade [JURIST report] of the Gaza Strip, alleging that it was violating international law.

Blasphemy laws [JURIST news archive] in Pakistan carry penalties [JURIST report] ranging from a fine to capital punishment. In August, Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari said that the country's blasphemy laws would not be misused to persecute religious beliefs. Zardari's comments came after the young girl's arrest. Police said after the girl's arrest that she may have Down syndrome. Blasphemy laws are currently in effect in several countries around the world. In July the US Department of State released [JURIST report] its annual International Religious Freedom Report, documenting threats to religious freedom throughout the world. The report documents current international threats to religious freedom—particularly laws that punish religious traditions and blasphemy laws that are often used to punish religious tolerance.

In September, Croatian prosecutors announced that they charged Sanader [JURIST report] with embezzlement relating to a real estate deal that took place during his time in office. Sanader was accused of using government funds to purchase a building in the capital city of Zagreb at an inflated price and stealing the surplus. Sanader and three associates, including former Farming Minister Petar Cobankovic, allegedly embezzled the funds in excess of the state-owned building's market value, with Sanader himself pocketing approximately €2.3 million (USD $2.8 million). Croatia is close to achieving membership in the EU, and Kosor hopes Sanader's trial will help ease pressure from Brussels for Croatia to sort out corruption and speed investigations. Sanader's trial is the first criminal proceeding prompted by EU pressure for Croatia to crack down on corruption. The trial was postponed [JURIST report] in October 2011 for health reasons. Sanader pleaded not guilty [JURIST report] last November.

In August, Executive Director of Greenpeace International Kumi Naidoo called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to refrain from implementing [JURIST report] the new law. Greenpeace International is not alone in its views of Russia's new "foreign agents" law. In July the US State Department [official website] claimed [Reuters report] it had "deep concern" about the new bill, but was likewise reminded by Moscow that such an issue involves domestic rather than international policy. Russia's Federal Council [official website], the upper house of parliament, approved the bill [JURIST report] in July much to the dismay of Putin's critics, who consider the bill an effort to curb free speech [RFE/RL report] and the right to assemble. Additionally, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay [official profile] has stated [Reuters report] that Putin's recent regime is regressing into a more restrictive, Soviet-style type of government where freedoms are not recognized. The legislation was approved [JURIST report] by the State Duma [official website, in Russian], the lower house of parliament, only a few days prior. Three UN experts urged Russia to reject the bill [JURIST report] prior to its passage.

Last month the Hanseatic Higher Regional Court of Hamburg issued sentences [JURIST report] for 10 Somalis who were involved in the hijacking the German freighter MS Taipan off the coast of Somalia two years ago. Also in October an appeals court in Kenya concluded that Kenyan courts have jurisdiction [JURIST report] to try international piracy suspects. In July the International Chamber of Commerce International Maritime Bureau (IMB) [official website] reported that the number of global pirate attacks fell sharply [JURIST report] in the first half of 2012, the IMB Piracy Reporting Centre [official website] having received reports [materials] of 177 incidents in the first six months of this year, compared to 266 incidents for the same period in 2011. In May a United Arab Emirates court sentenced 10 Somali pirates [JURIST report] to 25 years in prison. Also that month six accused Somali pirates went on trial [JURIST report] in a Paris court in connection with the 2008 hijacking of the cruise ship Le Ponant in the Gulf of Aden.The US government in March handed over [JURIST report] 15 suspected Somali pirates it captured in January to the Republic of Seychelles for prosecution. Last year the UN Security Council adopted a resolution encouraging states to criminalize and punish piracy after maritime piracy hit an all time high [JURIST report] in 2010. The UN has also donated $9.3 million to fund piracy courts [JURIST report] in Kenya and the Seychelles, the only two nations with such unique judicial bodies.