The US Department of Justice (DoJ) filed a motion in the US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit in Atlanta Oct. 7 to halt enforcement of a controversial Alabama law that expands restrictions on undocumented immigrants. The law requires school officials to verify the immigration status of children and parents, authorizes police to detain an individual and ask for papers if the officer has "reasonable suspicion" that the driver is in the country illegally, and requires businesses to use the federal E-Verify system to determine whether potential employees are legal residents.

The UN Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights (OHCHR) on Oct. 1 voiced concerns regarding the growing number of journalists killed in Mexico, and called for Mexican authorities to investigate these crimes and bring those responsible to justice. According to the journalists' rights group, Reporters without Borders (RSF), the discovery on Sept. 24 of the body of Maria Elizabeth Macias, editor of Primera Hora (Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas), marked the fourth woman journalist to be murdered in Mexico this year, as well as the eightieth journalist to be killed in the country within the last decade. The death of Macias is believed to be the result of her online blogging activity, which covered organized crime in her neighborhood.

The US Department of Defense on Sept. 28 officially referred charges against a high-profile Guantánamo Bay detainee who allegedly planned the 2000 attack on the USS Cole that left 17 sailors dead and 37 others injured. Saudi-born former millionaire Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri will stand trial before a military tribunal at Guantánamo on nine terrorism, conspiracy and murder charges. Specifically al-Nashiri will be charged with orchestrating the attack on the Cole, during which two suicide bombers rammed an explosives-laden boat into the guided missile destroyer, blowing a vast hole into its side.

Libyan leaders, including National Transitional Council (NTC) chairman Mustafa Abdel Jalil, opened a three-day meeting in Benghazi Sept. 25 to begin a discussion regarding the formation of the country's interim government, which is to include a premier, vice premier and 22 ministers. As the NTC's troops continue to scour the country looking for ex-colonel Moammar Qaddafi, who has publicly announced his refusal to surrender, the transitional council continues to make progress within the international community. Last week, the new regime vowed to investigate allegations of human rights abuses after the World Bank recognized the NTC as the official government of Libya. The NTC was responding to an Amnesty International report asserting that both sides of the Libya conflict are responsible for human rights abuses, and warning the NTC to act quickly to investigate these claims. During a meeting in Paris earlier this month chaired by French President Nicholas Sarkozy, the NTC assured world leaders that Libya will be a society of tolerance and respect for the rule of law.

US counter-terrorism officials have indicated that the administration of President Barack Obama is considering trying the former leader of Hezbollah in a military commission on US soil, the Associated Press reported Sept. 26. According to anonymous officials, the Obama administration is considering the controversial move because they believe that the best place to try Ali Mussa Daqduq is a US military base. Daqduq was captured in Iraq in 2007, where he is currently being held. He is linked to a raid in Karbala, which killed four US soldiers, and is believed to have ties to Iran. If a US military tribunal hears the case, it will mark the first time a military commission has been held on US soil since 9-11. If no decision is made by the end of the year, Daqduq must be transferred to the custody of Iraqi officials according to a 2008 agreement between the US and Bagdad. Some have suggested that Daqduq be tried at Guantánamo Bay as an alternative to a trial in the US.

A soldier with the US Army was sentenced on Sept. 23 for his role in murdering an unarmed teenage Afghan civilian. Pvt. Andrew Holmes was sentenced to seven years in prison as part of a plea deal that he agreed to the day before. Holmes pleaded guilty to shooting the civilian, but pleaded not guilty to previous charges of premeditated murder and conspiracy to commit murder. Holmes also pleaded guilty to one count each of possessing a finger bone of the victim and using marijuana. As part of the deal, Holmes will receive 499 days of time served and will be dishonorably discharged from the Army. Holmes is the third soldier to strike a plea deal of the five charged with murder as part of a plot contrived with fellow soldiers to kill Afghan civilians, which took place between January and May of last year in Afghanistan's Kandahar province. Holmes has alleged that his co-defendant, Spc. Jeremy Morlock, ordered soldiers to fire at villagers. Morlock pleaded guilty n March to three counts of murder, as well as one count each of assault, conspiracy, obstructing justice and illegal drug use in exchange for a maximum sentence of 24 years in prison.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay on Sept. 21 suggested a need for UN intervention in Belarus and demanded the regime free non-violent political prisoners. Although Belarus is an active member of the UN and has ratified many of its human rights policies, Pillay noted a sharp deterioration in human rights since the 2010 disputed re-election of President Alexander Lukashenko, who has been in power for 17 years since his 1994 election. Pillay said that citizens have been discouraged from protesting and have not received fair trials, accusing the administration of "a policy of harassment against non-governmental organizations and human rights defenders." The report also cited Belarus as the only European nation to still enforce the death penalty. Pillay called for an investigation into alleged abuses of the judicial system and the acceptance of an Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) mission to Belarus. In response, ambassador Mikhail Khvostov for Belarus said his country disagrees on what constitutes a peaceful demonstration, and that Belarus is committed to human rights.

The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in Manhattan on Sept. 19 lifted an injunction on damages levied against US oil giant Chevron, making the company potentially liable for $8.6 billion in compensation to Ecuadoran citizens for an oil spill in the 1990s. The award will not be granted immediately, pending appeals in Ecuador and a decision by the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague. Chevron responded by insisting it is the victim of fraud: "There is no legitimate evidence supporting any finding of liability against Chevron because Texaco Petroleum Company cleaned up its share of environmental impacts in Ecuador and the remaining impacts are the responsibility of the government of Ecuador and its state-owned oil company, Petroecuador." Jim Tyrrell, attorney for the Ecuadorans, countered: "We are very excited that the court has reached this decision. It represents a triumph of the rule of law over the sensationalism created by Chevron's PR department." (San Francisco Chronicle, Sept. 20)