Several hundred women, many carrying pictures of relatives killed by drug lords or Taliban militants, held a loud but peaceful protest in Kabul Dec. 10, demanding that President Hamid Karzai purge from his government anyone connected to corruption, war crimes or the Taliban. "These women are being very brave," said the protest leader, her face hidden by a burka. "To be a woman in Afghanistan and an activist can mean death. We want justice for our loved ones!"

Iran's government charged Dec. 9 that a newly built United Nations station to detect nuclear detonations near its border was established to allow world powers to spy on the country. Construction was completed last week on the seismic monitoring station in neighboring Turkmenistan, a few miles from the Iranian border. It is one of about 275 such facilities operating around the world to detect seismic activity set off by nuclear tests. Abolfazl Zohrehvand, an adviser to Iran's nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili, said the international treaty that allows for setting up such observatories is an "espionage treaty."

Iranian human rights violations following the disputed presidential election in June were among the worst in the past 20 years, according to a report published Dec. 12 by Amnesty International. The report, "Iran: Election contested, repression compounded," contains testimony from individuals detained during the protests that ensued after the election. According to AI, individuals were unlawfully detained, beaten, tortured, and raped, resulting in numerous deaths in detention.

The Obama administration asked the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in San Francisco to dismiss a lawsuit accusing former Bush administration attorney John Yoo of authorizing the torture of a terrorism suspect, saying federal law does not allow damage claims against lawyers who advise the president on national security issues. Such lawsuits ask courts to second-guess presidential decisions and pose "the risk of deterring full and frank advice regarding the military's detention and treatment of those determined to be enemies during an armed conflict," Justice Department lawyers said in arguments last week.

The US Department of Justice announced Dec. 9 that Kuwaiti Guantánamo Bay detainee Fouad al-Rabiah has been transferred to the control of the Kuwaiti government. Al-Rabiah, a Kuwaiti national, had been held at Guantánamo Bay for nearly eight years under suspicion of aiding al Qaeda and the Taliban. The transfer came after a judge in the US District Court for the District of Columbia in September granted al-Rabiah's habeas corpus petition and ordered his release. According to the DoJ, the "transfer was carried out under an arrangement between the United States and the government of Kuwait. The United States will continue to consult with the government of Kuwait regarding this individual."

A judge in the US District Court for the District of Columbia Dec. 10 found the US Department of Defense in contempt for failing to videotape the testimony of Yemeni Guantánamo Bay detainee Mohammed al-Adahi. Al-Adahi had petitioned for habeas relief in 2005, which the court granted in August, and Judge Gladys Kessler had directed the DoD to videotape the testimony at the merits hearing in June so that the public and news media could see it. The government failed to comply with that order, claiming it was "due to oversight and miscommunication."

Human rights conditions in 12 Arab nations continued to deteriorate last year, according to a report issued Dec. 9 by the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS). The publication, entitled "Bastion of Impunity, Mirage of Reform," is the group's second annual report. It condemns violations of human rights, including those against political and reform activists. According to the report, Iraq continues to be the region's worst offender despite "relative improvements," while Egypt, Morocco, and Bahrain are identified as having regressed significantly since last year.

Colombian officials are continuing to investigate three Chiquita Brands officials suspected of involvement in the payment of paramilitary death squads in the name of the banana company. According to a report by Bogotá's El Tiempo Dec. 7, Colombian prosecutors requested that the US Department of Justice notify Chiquita Brands executives John Paul Olivo, Charles Dennis Keiser and Dorn Robert Wenninnger that they are under investigation by the Colombian government for having financed paramilitary operations in the region of Urabá totaling $1.7 million between 1997-2004.