A Beijing court on April 10 sentenced Chinese housing activist and lawyer Ni Yulan to two years and eight months in prison on charges of fraud and "inciting a disturbance" in Beijing. Ni's husband, Dong Jiqin, was also sentenced to two years in prison on similar charges. Ni and her husband had assisted victims of government land seizures, including those displaced by the Beijing Olympics project, prior to their arrest in August 2011. Amnesty International called for Ni and her husband's immediate release, saying that that charges are false and meant to punish Yulan for her activist work. Ni has been confined to a wheelchair since 2002, when prison guards beat her severely while she was serving one of two prior prison sentences. In poor health, lying on a stretcher and relying on an oxygen machine, Ni pleaded not guilty at her trial in December. Although a court spokesperson indicated the trial was open to the public, foreign journalists and diplomats were barred from the proceedings.

A trial court in the west Indian state of Gujarat on April 9 convicted 23 people of crimes committed during the 2002 Gujarat riots. The individuals were convicted on charges of murder, attempted murder, conspiracy, rioting, unlawful assembly, and destruction of evidence over their participation in the killing of 23 Muslims, 18 of whom were women, in the riots that left more then 2,000 dead. An additional 23 individuals were acquitted. This specific incident became known as the "Ode massacre" for the village of Ode, where Muslim families were locked in homes that were then set on fire. The Ode massacre is the third out of 10 incidents during the riots that have been probed by a Special Investigating Team.

The Supreme Court of Chile ruled April 4 that a proposed mega-scale hydroelectric dam complex in Patagonia does not violate the constitutional rights of residents opposing the project. Several environmental advocacy groups, including Chile Sustentable, challenged a ruling of the Court of Appeals of Puerto Montt which refused to issue an injunction to stop the construction of the dam, finding that the project does not violate the constitutional rights of those in opposition. The HidroAysen, a private Chilean venture, seeks to build five dams whose construction was approved by the Chilean government in May 2011. Chile Sustentable expressed disappointment following the ruling but vowed to continue to challenge the project in court, indicating the group is considering bringing a challenge to the project in an international forum.

The US Department of Defense (DoD) referred charges to a military commission on April 4 against Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four other alleged 9-11 conspirators being held at Guantánamo Bay. Mohammed, along with Muhammad Salih Mubarak Bin 'Attash, Ramzi Binalshibh, Ali Abdul Aziz Ali and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi, have been charged pursuant to the Military Commissions Act of 2009, and are accused of conspiracy, murder in violation of the law of war, attacking civilians, attacking civilian objects, intentionally causing serious bodily injury, destruction of property in violation of the law of war, hijacking aircraft and terrorism. The men could face the death penalty if convicted.

Libya's National Transitional Council on April 5 refused a request from the International Criminal Court (ICC) to hand over Saif al-Islam Qaddafi, the son of former leader Moammar Qaddafi. Libyan officials have stated they will keep Saif al-Islam prisoner and he will stand trial within the country. This decision comes after the ICC ruled this week that Saif al-Islam must be handed over to the court, marking a departure from previous statements that Saif al-Islam could remain in Libya and be tried there. These statements were met with protest from human rights organizations that believed it would be almost impossible for Saif al-Islam to receive a fair trial in Libya. One of the big differences between the ICC and Libya is the possible sentence imposed if Saif al-Islam is found guilty—he faces the death penalty if found guilty in Libyan court, but only a prison term if convicted by the ICC. The ICC still claims jurisdiction over Saif al-Islam because it issued a warrant for his arrest last June.

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) on March 30 agreed to hear the case of Guantánamo Bay detainee and Algerian national Djamel Ameziane. The Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) and the Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL), co-counsel for Ameziane, states that Ameziane has been held at Guantánamo Bay without any charge or trial for more than 10 years. This is the first time that the IACHR has agreed to accept jurisdiction over a Guantánamo detainee. J Wells Dixon, senior staff attorney at CCR, stated:

On March 26, the US Supreme Court ruled 8-1 in MBZ v. Clinton that the ability of a US national born in Jerusalem to list Israel as place of birth on a passport is not a political question, but remanded the case for a ruling specifically on the issue. The US State Department argued that this question was political because it informs the government's foreign policy toward recognition of Israel as sovereign over Jerusalem. Chief Justice John Roberts, writing for the majority, disagreed, due to the suit being based on a statutory enactment by Congress:

The former head of the Polish intelligence services may face charges for his assistance to the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in operating a secret prison in Poland. Zbigniew Siemiatkowski told Polish newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza on March 27 that he could face charges for his association with the prison and the allegations of torture that occurred there.