A judge for the US District Court Eastern District of Virginia on Aug. 13 sentenced a convicted Somali pirate negotiator to a dozen life sentences. Judge Robert Doumar sentenced Mohammad Shibin to serve 10 concurrent life sentences, two consecutive life sentences and two 20-year sentences, and ordered him to pay $5.4 million in restitution. Shibin was convicted in April of piracy, hostage taking, kidnapping, conspiracy, and other charges for his role in the February 2011 hijacking of an American yacht that ultimately led to the murder of the four US citizens taken hostage. Shibin was allegedly paid $30,000-50,000 for his services, which included ransom negotiations and hostage background investigations. The four hostages were killed despite attempts by the US military to negotiate their release. Shibin also served as a ransom negotiator for 22 crewmen who were taken hostage when their German-owned vessel was hijacked in May 2010. The men reported being tortured during their seven months in captivity.

The Supreme Court of Montana on Aug. 10 ruled that its state's November ballots may include Initiative 166, a nonbinding policy statement that would direct the state's congress to support an amendment to the US Constitution asserting that corporations are not people and money does not qualify as speech. The goal of the endeavor is to counteract the 2010 US Supreme Court decision of Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, which allows corporations to spend and contribute unlimited and unrestricted money in political campaigns. The court's majority made clear, however, that its decision was limited only to whether the initiative complied with constitutional requirements regarding its proper submission to electors, and that it did not consider the "substantive legality of the issue, if approved by voters." The dissent echoed this distinction, labeling Initiative 166 as "simply a feel-good exercise exhibiting contempt for the federal government and, particularly, the US Supreme Court."

The Egyptian government announced Aug. 2 that it has requested the release of the last of its citizens currently being held at the Guantánamo Bay detention facility. Egyptian Tarek al-Sawah, 54, has been held at Guantánamo for 11 years without charges or trial. Egyptian Foreign Minister Mohamed Kamel requested al-Sawah's release in a letter to US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. In announcing the request the Foreign Ministry noted that al-Sawah's prior charges of supporting terrorist groups in Afghanistan were dropped by the US military prosecutors and that the Egyptian government will appoint a US lawyer specializing in the rights of Guantanamo prisoners to defend al-Sawah. Since President Mohammed Morsi was sworn in a few weeks ago the Muslim Brotherhood-led administration has sought freedom for many Egyptians internationally jailed for Islamist militancy.

An Iraqi court on Aug. 2 rejected a US extradition request for accused Hezbollah commander Ali Mussa Daqduq. The court also ruled that Daqduq should be released immediately from his house arrest. In May an Iraqi court had cleared  all charges against Daqduq. The court stated that Iraq could not extradite someone whose charges were dropped. He had been detained by the US for four years based on allegations that he was involved with Hezbollah and that he was responsible of planning a raid in 2007 which resulted in the deaths of five US soldiers. He had been transferred in December of last year when talks over which country should be responsible for trying him failed. US President Barack Obama considered trying Daqduq on US soil but was unable to reach an agreement with Iraqi authorities resulting in an extradition request pursuant to the 2008 Status of Forces Agreement between the US and Baghdad.

A federal court in Brazil on Aug. 1 ordered Chevron and drilling company Transocean to suspend all oil drilling in the country within 30 days in the wake of two oil spills off the coast of Rio de Janeiro. A judge for Brazil's Regional Federal Court of the Second Region ruled that each company must pay 500 million reals, or $244 million, for every day that they do not comply with the suspension. In November, a Chevron appraisal well leaked 155,000 gallons of oil. In March, oil started leaking again from the well and Chevron suspended production in that oil field. In its ruling, the court rationalized that two oil spills in the span of four months demonstrated that Chevron and Transocean cannot operate the wells safely. Chevron plans to appeal the ruling, saying that it complied with all applicable laws and industry standards. 

The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) on Aug. 3 urged Sudan to initiate an investigation into allegations of excessive force by government security forces against protesters in Darfur four days earlier resulting in eight deaths and more than 50 injuries. The OHCHR urged the government to "promptly launch an independent and credible investigation into the violence and the apparent excessive use of force by security forces" and noted that international standards must be respected in order to provide civilians the freedom of speech and assembly. During the July 31 protest more than 1,000 people, mostly students, blocked roads in market area of Nyala, the biggest town in Darfur, to express their opposition against fuel price increases. The OHCHR stated that it received eye witness reports that security forces used tear gas as well as live bullets against protesters.

Amnesty International on Aug. 1 published a report holding the Syrian government responsible for human rights violations in Aleppo that AI claims amount to crimes against humanity. "All-out repression: Purging dissent in Aleppo, Syria" documents how security forces and allied militias routinely used live fire against peaceful demonstrations in and around Aleppo and elsewhere in Syria, killing and injuring protesters and bystanders. AI contends that, as the size and frequency of these anti-government protests in Aleppo increased in recent months, government forces employed "reckless and brutal use of force that inevitably led to peaceful demonstrators being killed and injured." The report "details a wide range of systematic, state-directed violations including the deliberate targeting of peaceful protesters and activists, the hunting down of injured protesters, the routine use of torture, the targeting of medics providing life-saving emergency treatment to the wounded, arbitrary arrests and enforced disappearances." AI further claims that arrested individuals were routinely tortured, threatened and intimidated while in detention, and reiterates its long-standing calls for the UN Security Council to refer the situation in Syria to the International Criminal Court.

Saudi Arabia's Ministry of the Interior announced July 30 that a former Guantánamo Bay inmate who had completed the country's militant rehabilitation program surrendered to Saudi authorities. Adnan al-Sayegh, who was placed in the Ministry's rehabilitation program after returning from Guantánamo in 2006, escaped to Yemen and rejoined al-Qaeda. He expressed remorse when he surrendered himself to the authorities, according to a statement released by the Ministry of Interior. Sayegh argued that he was deceived into joining the terrorist group. He was placed on the country's wanted list in 2009 as the 85th most wanted terrorist. Authorities stated that he will receive proper procedure and that his surrender will be taken into consideration. The rehabilitation center was a measure by the country addressing the attacks initiated by Islamist militants during 2003 and 2006.