Burundi authorities arrested several military generals May 15 after an unsuccessful coup attempt and said the suspects will face a military court for mutiny charges. Maj. Gen. Godefroid Niyombare [who fought alongside Hutu rebels in the 1993-2005 civil war] announced the coup on May 13. President Pierre Nkurunziza was in Tanzania at the time the coup was announced but is believed to be back in his country. In Bujumbura, troops supporting the president and those supporting Niyombare fought on the streets for two days after the declared coup. Following the announcement, the airport in Bujumbura and the land borders were closed, but the streets reportedly calmed by May 15.

The Polish government on May 15 processed payments to two terror suspects currently held by the US at Guantánamo Bay. The European Court of Human Rights had imposed a deadline of the following day on Poland to make the reparations. Last July Abu Zubaydah and Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri were awarded $147,000 and $113,000, respectively, in a lawsuit against Poland for allowing the CIA to detain them and for not preventing torture and inhumane treatment. The court also ordered Poland to urge the US not to execute the suspects. Many people in Poland are upset with the penalty, feeling they must pay for US actions, and many Americans are upset at the idea that possible terror suspects could receive this money. The detainees' lawyer, however, claims there rights were violated, they were subjected to torture, and they have never been found guilty of a crime in court.

Chinese prosecutors on May 15 said that prominent human rights lawyer Pu Zhiqiang has officially been indicted on charges of fanning ethnic hatred and provoking unrest for comments that he posted online. He has already been detained for one year. A more severe charge of inciting divisions and a charge of illegally obtaining personal information were dropped by prosecutors. In a statement the Beijing prosecutors' office said that the human rights lawyer should face criminal prosecution for comments he made on social media and his microblog, which has since been shut down by authorities as a disruption of social order. The US State Department urged Chinese authorities to release Pu earlier this month and respect his rights in accordance with the country's international human rights commitments, but China refused to release him. According to one of Pu's lawyers, the charges could result in a maximum sentence of 10 years, though it is unlikely that such a sentence will be imposed. Pu continues to reject the charges and maintain his innocence, asserting that the case is baseless and politically motivated.

An Egyptian court on May 16 sentenced ex-president Mohammed Morsi and more than 100 others to death for their involvement in a mass prison break in 2011. The prison break occurred during the country's 2011 uprising that ousted then-president Hosni Mubarak. Morsi was accused of conspiring with foreign militants to free Islamists during the mass prison breaks. The case was referred by Judge Shaaban el-Shami to the nation's top Muslim theologian for his non-binding opinion on whether the sentences should stand, as is customary for all death sentences in Egypt. Amr Darrag, co-founder of the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party and cabinet minister under Morsi, denounced the verdict, saying that day would be "remembered as one of the darkest days in Egypt history." Amnesty International also spoke against the verdict, calling for a retrial and stating that all evidence gathered against the former president and his co-defendants was inadmissible as a result of their illegal detention before trial.

Eight supporters of former Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi  were sentenced to life in prison on May 11 for illegal protests and acts of violence committed in Cairo's eastern al-Marg district in July 2014. The defendants allegedly chanted against the army and the police, in addition to damaging public areas and blocking the road in al-Marg. After hearing the testimony of eyewitnesses, the prosecution accused the defendants of joining a terrorist organization, damaging public and private buildings, illegally protesting, and carrying weapons, among other things. Furthermore, the defendants allegedly protested against the death sentences of 14 Muslim Brotherhood leaders in al-Marg and Matariya. Two people were killed and four injured as a result of clashes between protestors and residents of the district.

Refugees and migrants crossing through Libya face human rights abuses including torture and rape, Amnesty International (AI) reported May 10. The report asserts that foreign nationals in Libya are subject to alarming rates of rape, torture and abduction, causing many to risk their lives crossing the Mediterranean Sea trying to escape. AI also noted that a recent upsurge in xenophobia has caused some of the abuses against religious minorities, especially Christians, who are subject to exploitation, abuse and unlawful killings by armed groups enforcing a harsh version of Islamic law. To ameliorate the situation, AI called for the re-opening of neighboring borders and challenged the EU to investigate the human rights abuses, in addition to the search and rescue operations to which they have already committed themselves.

UN human rights experts on May 8 condemned the growing number of executions in Iran in recent years. According to the Special Rapporteurs on the situation of human rights in Iran and on extrajudicial executions, Iran has executed about 350 people in 2015 and executed approximately six people per day between April 9 and April 26. This year, Iran has performed 15 public executions, which the experts say "have a dehumanizing effect on both the victim and those who witness the execution, reinforcing the already cruel, inhuman and degrading nature of the death penalty." Iran also executed at least 852 people between July 2013 and June 2014. Many of the crimes for which prisoners were executed were not "most serious crimes," with many executed for drug offenses. The new Islamic Penal Code enacted by Iran in 2013 still permits death sentences for juveniles and for crimes like adultery, and repeated alcohol use. The UN is urging Iran to institute a moratorium on the death penalty and consider abolishing the practice.

A judge for the Alberta Court of Appeal  on May 7 ruled that former Guantánamo detainee Omar Khadr can be released on bail while he appeals his US war crimes conviction. According to Justice Myra Bielby, the ruling was based on her belief that there was "no clear evidence there would be irreparable harm if he was released." The judge also rejected arguments made by government lawyers that Khadr's release would damage Canada's foreign relations. He will be required under the terms of his bail to live with his attorney and submit to electronic monitoring and a curfew.