Corruption has been a major issue recently in Indian politics. Earlier this month, the Transparency Index (TI) released its Corruptions Perceptions Index in which it named India as one of the countries whose corruption perception had deteriorated since last year. In August, Indian president Smt. Pratibha Devisingh Patil addressed both houses of parliament [JURIST report] and stated that the Indian government would take measures to ratify the UN Convention Against Corruption and that it will take other legislative and administrative measures necessary to improve transparency. In 2008, Indian PM called for the establishment of special courts [JURIST report] to deal only with corruption charges, telling a convention of high-ranking justices and government ministers that, "apart from pendency and delayed justice, corruption is another challenge we face both in government and the judiciary."

Forced virginity testing is not the only act that has been controversial in Egypt concerning protests. Egyptian authorities have also been accused of using excessive violence. In November, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay condemned the violent clashes [JURIST report] between Egyptian security forces and protesters and called for an independent investigation into the situation. Pillay "urge[d] the Egyptian authorities to end the clearly excessive use of force against protestors in Tahrir square and elsewhere in the country, including the apparent improper use of tear gas, rubber bullets and live ammunition." AI has also accused Egyptian officials of violating human rights [JURIST report] including abuse of protesters and journalists who voice their dissatisfaction with the government. All of these acts stem from a protest [JURIST report] that took place in November in which over 50,000 people gathered to decry the military's contented rule over the nation.

Ethiopia's anti-terrorism law has faced ongoing criticism since it was passed [JURIST report] in 2009. HRW has said [press release] that Ethiopia's anti-terrorism law is "fundamentally flawed and being used to repress legitimate reporting." In August, JURIST guest columnist and former executive director Abigail Salisbury argued that the government is using the law to suppress journalists and opposition groups in order to maintain its hold on power [JURIST op-ed]. In July, HRW called on the Ethiopian government to stop using the law to repress free speech [JURIST report].

Last week, Iran denied involvement [JURIST report] in the 9/11 attacks [JURIST backgrounder] after allegations in a default judgment in Havlish v. Bin Laden [materials]. A judge for the US District Court for the Southern District of New York [official website] granted the plaintiffs' motion for judgment against Iran, its Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Hoseini-Kharmenei, former Iranian president Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani [BBC profiles] and several other sovereign defendants holding that they are liable under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act of 1976 (FSIA) [text] for knowingly aiding al Qaeda [JURIST news archive] through Hezbollah [BBC profile] in the 9/11 attack. Also last week, Alan Gross, a US citizen serving a 15-year prison sentence [JURIST report] in Cuba, was not included Cuba's announced release of 2,900 political prisoners. Gross was sentenced in Cuba for installing internet equipment as part of a secretive US program.