Racial discrimination, xenophobia and other related intolerance are problems affecting not only Spain but also other countries around the globe. In July Ruteere called on the international community [JURIST report] to be wary of signs of racism that could lead to escalated conflicts and human rights violations. In April the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) [official website] published [JURIST report] an opinion that Danish authorities failed to examine possible racist motivations behind an attack on an Iraqi refugee family in Denmark in 2004. Iraqi-born Mahali Dawas, his wife and eight children were attacked in June 2004 in their home in Denmark by up to 35 Danish young people who beat Dawas and his son, damaged the home and shouted racist phrases at the family. In the same month, Statistics Canada [official website] reported that both the number and rate of police-reported hate crimes declined [JURIST report] in 2010 by 18 percent from the previous year. Significantly, the reported crimes stemming from race or ethnicity decreased by 20 percent while those motivated by religion decreased by 17 percent. More than half of all reported hate crimes, however, were found to be motivated by race. During the same week, a group of minorities in France filed a lawsuit alleging police searches are conducted on the basis of racial profiling [JURIST report], according to a statement made by their lawyers and the Open Society Justice Initiative (OSJI) [advocacy website]. The suit alleged that French police unfairly single out minority race individuals for searches and identification checks. Earlier this month, a three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit [official website] supported a ban on affirmative action [JURIST report] by upholding a 1996 amendment to the California Constitution that bars preferential treatment for "any individual or group on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin in the operation of public employment, public education, or public contracting."

Iran's human rights record has been under international scrutiny. In October Shaheed stated in a report to the UN General Assembly that the Iranian government is torturing human rights activists [JURIST report] and threatening the activists' families with rape or death. In the same month the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) [official website] urged the country to halt all executions [JURIST report] because the government had failed to provide the accused with fair trials and due process of law. In June three UN Special Rapporteurs condemned [JURIST report] Iran for executing four members of the Ahwazi Arab minority without providing them fair trials. The three UN Special Rapporteurs further stated that there is no transparency to Iranian court proceedings and that the death penalty should be reserved for only the most serious of crimes. In November 2011 the UN Human Rights Committee [official website] expressed concern [JURIST report] about the protection of individuals' rights in Iran, including the frequency of the use of the death penalty. In January 2011, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran claimed that Iran is on an "execution binge" [JURIST report], killing one prisoner every eight hours.

The Philippines has struggled in terms of addressing human rights issues from the Marcos regime to as recently as the 2009 Maguindanao Massacre [CSM backgrounder; JURIST news archive] and the resulting political controversies. Earlier this month a 150-day ban on guns [JURIST report] was instituted to prevent election violence. In December the Philippine Congress officially criminalized [JURIST report] enforced disappearances, which were commonly used during the Marcos era. In November Amnesty International [advocacy website] called on the Philippines to do more to protect witnesses [JURIST report] in the Maguindanao Massacre trial. Also in November the Philippines Supreme Court [official website] denied the media [JURIST report] the right to broadcast the Maguindanao massacre trial.

Egypt has been plagued by protests and violence since the beginning of the Egyptian Revolution two years ago. Last week, an Egyptian rights group reported [JURIST report] that police abuse and torture continue to be ongoing issues and that police conduct has not improved since the abuses faced under the old regime. In December, Egypt's Supreme Constitutional Court indefinitely halted operations [JURIST report] amid pressure from protestors aiming to block judges from meeting to rule on the validity of the country's new constitution. Supporters of Morsi flooded the court and blocked the judges from entering to hear a case that would permit them to dissolve the constituent assembly that drafted the new constitution. Protests have increased since Morsi signed Egypt's new constitution [JURIST report] into law in December. Only 32.9 percent of Egypt's total of 52 million voters actually participated in the referendum, leading many to debate its results.

The Illinois House approved the bill [JURIST report] in early January after it was approved by the Senate last December. California Governor Jerry Brown signed [JURIST report] a similar bill in October, which directed California's Department of Motor Vehicles to issue driver's licenses to people who do not have a social security number but can prove they are authorized to be in the US under federal law. In contrast, Arizona Governor Jan Brewer [official website] issued an executive order [JURIST report] in August that instructs state agencies not to provide driver's licenses and other public benefits to undocumented immigrants who have gained the right to work under the new federal program known as Deferred Action [DHS memorandum; JURIST report]. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) [advocacy website] has filed a lawsuit challenging the order [JURIST report].

Earlier this week Iran drew additional ire from the US when an Iranian court sentenced an American-Iranian pastor to eight years in prison [JURIST report] for threatening national security through his leadership in Christian house churches. Earlier this month Iranian lawyer and prominent human rights activist Nasrin Sotoudeh [JURIST news archive] was temporarily released after spending over two years in prison [JURIST report] in Tehran for her September 2010 conviction for propaganda and harming national security. Iranian authorities pursued Sotoudeh because she represented political activists and sought to highlight the execution of juveniles in the country. Last month Argentina sentenced former Interior Minister Jaime Smart to life in prison for crimes against humanity [JURIST report] during the nation's 1976-1983 "Dirty War" [GlobalSecurity backgrounder; JURIST news archive]. In July Argentina's Poder Judicial de la Nacion sentenced two former Argentine dictators [JURIST report] to a total of 65 years in prison for their involvement in the systematic kidnapping of babies from leftist activists detained and killed during the "Dirty War."

Last week the US Department of Defense (DOD) announced that it will not withdraw charges of conspiracy [JURIST report] against the five accused plotters of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Earlier in January the chief US military judge at Guantanamo Bay denied [JURIST report] defense motions filed in both the 9/11 military commission trial and the 2000 USS Cole [Navy backgrounder] bombing trial. Defense counsel for accused 9/11 conspirators filed a motion requesting that the court find that the US constitution was "presumed to apply" in the proceedings, and that the prosecution must bear the burden of proving that any particular provision did not apply. Colonel James Pohl ruled that the request presented a nonjusticiable issue because the Commission cannot rule on hypothetical legal questions that do not aver "real and substantial controversy admitting of specific relief" relating to actual historical fact. In a separate case, counsel for accused USS Cole bomber, Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri [JURIST news archive] filed a motion to dismiss alleged violations of the Military Commissions Act in August 2012 on grounds that the bombing occurred "prior to the commencement of hostilities" between the US and al Qaeda.

In December, a Moscow court acquitted [JURIST report] prison doctor Dmitry Kratov of all charges stemming from Magnitsky's. A Russian judge found that there was no evidence showing a causal link between Kratov's negligence and Magnitsky's death. Kratov was the head of medical services at Butyrka Prison, where Magnitsky died from untreated pancreatitis. An investigation conducted by Russia's Presidential Council on Human Rights concluded [JURIST report] that in addition to being denied medical treatment Magnitsky had been severely beaten during his year long pretrial incarceration. Kratov was accused of negligence for allegedly refusing to respond to repeated requests by Magnitsky to treat his life-threatening condition. Magnitsky's death while in custody has caused a rift in Russia's relationship with the US.

Abedini is only the most recent human rights advocate to be imprisoned by Iran for threatening national security. Earlier this month Iranian lawyer and prominent human rights activist Nasrin Sotoudeh [JURIST news archive] was temporarily released after spending over two years in prison [JURIST report] in Tehran for her September 2010 conviction for propaganda and harming national security. Iranian authorities pursued Sotoudeh because she represented political activists and sought to highlight the execution of juveniles in the country. In December Sotoudeh ended a 49-day hunger strike [JURIST report] in protest of her prison conditions and a travel ban imposed on her family. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay had expressed concern for Sotoudeh's deteriorating health and urged the Iranian government to lift the travel ban, saying the ban was not justified by international law. After judicial authorities agreed to lift the travel ban on Sotoudeh's daughter, Sotoudeh ended her strike. Sotoudeh was sentenced in January 2011 to 11 years in prison after being found guilty of "acting against national security" and "making propaganda against the system" for which she will serve five and one years, respectively.