Nepal created two commissions Feb. 10 to investigate allegations of war crimes and disappearances that occurred during the nation's 10-year civil war, announced Nepali Law Minister Narahari Acharya. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission, will investigate abuses committed during the conflict, and the Commission on Enforced Disappearances will investigate the disappearances of more than 1,300 people still missing after the conflict ended in 2006. This agreement by the coalition government to address the war-time accusations comes just two weeks after Human Rights Watch (HRW) expressed its concern regarding the government's delay in the formation of the commissions. The commissions will start their investigations within six months of their creation and will operate on two-year tenure.

Adel Abdel Bary, a member of al-Qaeda and the Egyptian Islamic Jihad (EIJ) was sentenced to 25 years in prison Feb. 6 by Us District Judge Lewis Kaplan. The Egyptian national pleaded guilty last September to threatening to kill, injure, intimidate, and damage and destroy property by means of an explosive; conspiracy to make the threat; and conspiring to kill US nationals. The US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York said that Bary "facilitated communications" for al-Qaeda leaders, including claims of responsibility and threats for the 1998 US Embassy bombings in Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, which killed 224 people. The 25-year sentence was the maximum allowed under his plea agreement, and Bary will likely serve about eight more years to complete his sentence, as he has been incarcerated since 1999. Along with prison time, Bary was also sentenced to pay over $7.5 million dollars in restitution to victims' families, and over $26.3 million in restitution to the US. Khalid al-Fawwaz, one of Bary's co-defendants, is currently still on trial.

Amnesty International (AI)  said Feb. 1 it has gathered evidence that the Egyptian government is covering up the deaths of more than two dozen people in protests on the anniversary of the 2011 uprising. Twenty-seven people died in protests last week, including two women, a 10-year-old child and two members of the security forces. AI found that security forces fired shotguns and tear gas against nonviolent crowds and failed to stop clashes among protesters for several hours. The rights group said its investigators have reviewed testimonies from witnesses, photographs and video footage, but the government has threatened and detained witnesses present at the demonstrations to keep them from testifying against security forces. Prosecutors are also reportedly refusing to reveal where the detained protesters are being held and have not permitted lawyers to file complaints. AI is urging that:

The Cairo Appeals Court for Urgent Matters on Jan. 31 banned and declared the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades to be a terrorist group. Qassam Brigades is the armed branch of Hamas, which is itself an offshoot of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood. The ruling is based on allegations by Egyptian officials that Qassam Brigades played a role in the bombing attacks on the Sinai Peninsula last October, and that members have been smuggling weapons from the Gaza Strip into Egypt. Hamas spokesperson Sami Abu Zuhri described the verdict  as a "dangerous" promotion of Israel's occupation of Palestine.

UN rights experts on Jan. 30 urged the Omani government to release Said Ali Said Jadad, a human rights activist. Jadad, who promoted democratic reforms, was arrested last week with no warrant and charged with undermining the prestige of the state, inciting demonstrations, steering up sectarian strife and offending state officials. The Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders Michel Forst and the Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association Maina Kiai believe Jadad's detention may be retaliation for communicating with international organizations, noting that Jadad has been arrested several times after visits from representatives of the UN. The Gulf Center for Human Rights (GCHR) has also denounced the arrest. Jadad has reportedly been harassed by the government for several months; he was placed under travel ban last October, and also detained last December when police raided his home.

Security forces in Egypt arrested 516 supporters of the banned Muslim Brotherhood, Interior Minister Mohamed Ibrahim announced Jan. 26. The previous day, which marked the fourth anniversary of the 2011 uprising and the fall of Hosni Mubarak, supporters of the Brotherhood and ousted president Mohamed Morsi battled with security forces while rallying against President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi's government. Twenty people were killed during the demonstrations in addition to the 516 arrested. Ibrahim stated, "We confirmed, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that all those who took to the streets yesterday were Muslim Brotherhood elements alone. ... We arrested 516 elements from the Muslim Brotherhood group who were involved in firing ammunition, planting explosives and bombing some facilities." The arrests were the largest police sweep of Morsi supporters since Sisi took office in May.

Egypt's Court of Cassation upheld convictions and three-year prison sentences of three activists Jan. 26 for violating the country's protest laws. Ahmed Maher, Ahmed Douma and Mohammed Adel were arrested under a law that bans political gatherings of more than 10 people without prior government permission. As the Court of Cassation is Egypt's highest, the convicted men have no further legal redress. Human Rights Watch has criticized the law since its drafting, claiming that it goes "well beyond the limitations permitted under international law" for the right to peacefully assemble. The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights also condemned the law, its spokesperson stating that "no one should be criminalized or subjected to any threats or acts of violence, harassment or persecution for addressing human rights issues through peaceful protests." Thousands have been arrested under this law, including many supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood.

Former Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) commander Dominic Ongwen on Jan. 26 made his first appearance  before the International Criminal Court (ICC). The pre-trial hearing was brief as Ongwen simply had to confirm his identity and that he clearly understood the charges against him. During his hearing, Ongwen thanked God and referred to himself as a former soldier saying that he "was abducted in 1988 and...taken to the bush when [he] was 14 years old." He spoke in Acholi, his native language. Ongwen faces three counts of crimes against humanity: murder, enslavement, and inhumane acts of inflicting serious bodily injury and suffering; and four counts of war crimes: murder, cruel treatment of civilians, intentionally directing an attack against a civilian population, and pillaging. A pre-trial confirmation of charges hearing has been scheduled for August. This hearing will determine whether there is sufficient evidence to establish substantial grounds to believe that Ongwen committed each of the crimes with which he is charged. The ICC took legal custody of Ongwen in Central African Republic's capital Bangui earlier this month.