Chinese human rights group Gongmeng announced July 30 that its co-founder, prominent attorney Xu Zhiyong, was arrested at his home the previous morning and has not been heard from since. The group has also been unable to reach a second staff member, Zhuang Lu. Both Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have expressed concern over the detentions of Xu and Zhuang, calling for their immediate release. China's recent measures against human rights lawyers are viewed by many as an attempt to quash dissidence as the 60th anniversary of Communist rule approaches in October.

The Supreme Court of Pakistan July 31 declared that former president Pervez Musharraf violated the constitution when he declared emergency rule in November 2007. The court also found that Musharraf's removal of many members of the judiciary, including current Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry, and subsequent appointment of Abdul Hameed Dogar as chief justice were unconstitutional. Judges appointed in consultation with Dogar were removed from office.

Human rights group Reprieve announced July 28 that it is suing the British government over the 2002 "rendition" of Mohammed Saad Iqbal Madni from Indonesia to Egypt. The group alleges that the UK allowed the US rendition flight of Madni to stop on the British island territory of Diego Garcia, where the Pentagon has an air base. Madni says he was tortured with cattle prods for three months in Egypt, then sent to Guantánamo Bay, where he was held for six years before being released last August without having been charged.

The leader of Nigeria's Boko Haram rebels was killed after capture by the military July 30 following a massive offensive on the sect's strongholds in the north of the country. Initial statements said Muhammad Yusuf "died in police custody," but international rights groups are demanding an investigation. Eric Guttschuss, of Human Rights Watch, said: "The extrajudicial killing of Mr Yusuf in police custody is a shocking example of the brazen contempt by the Nigerian police for the rule of law." Some 300 were killed in the 72-hour offensive, and possibly twice that number. At least 100 were killed when soldiers shot their way into the mosque in Maiduguri. (PTI, The Guardian, AP, July 30)

The deadline for an Iraqi referendum on the security agreement with the US passed July 30 with a few deadly bombings but no vote. The government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has proposed scheduling the referendum for Jan. 15, 2010, to coincide with parliamentary elections. (Seattle Times, July 31)

Several were wounded and more than 250 arrested July 30 in clashes between protesters and security forces at several locations around Tegucigalpa, the Honduran capital. Police and army troops used both rubber bullets and live rounds, and fired tear gas from helicopter. The worst violence occurred at El Durazno, on the northern outskirts, where protesters took over the highway and one was shot in the head. Demonstration leaders accused police of firing on peaceful protesters. TV footage showed some protesters armed with sticks and pick-axes. (NYT, Comun-Noticias, Honduras Resists, July 30)

President Hugo Chávez withdrew his ambassador from Bogotá and threatened to break diplomatic relations to protest "irresponsible declarations" by Colombian President Alvaro Uribe that weapons found in the hands of the FARC guerrillas had been sold by the Swedish government to Venezuela in 1988. Stockholm has asked Venezuela to explain how Swedish-made weapons ended up in the hands of the guerillas.

Honduran authorities claimed July 27 that Colombia's FARC guerilla organization has financed supporters of ousted President Manuel Zelaya. The National Police say they seized a book and receipts that show payments between $2,500 and $100,000 for officials of the Zelaya government to "spend in El Paraiso," the region on the Nicaraguan border where followers of Zelaya wait for the ousted president's return.