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.

José Antonio Acosta Hernández AKA "El Diego"—purported leader of La Linea criminal organization, who has been linked to some 1,500 homicides in Mexico—was sentenced to 10 life terms April 5 in El Paso after pleading guilty to the slayings of three people tied to the US Consulate in Ciudad Juárez. Acosta also admitted ordering the massacre of 15 young people in the Mexican border city's Villas de Salvarcar neighborhood, and a car bombing in downtown Juárez. Acosta also pleaded guilty to racketeering, narcotics trafficking, and money laundering charges. US District Judge Kathleen Cardone sentenced him to seven concurrent life terms, three additional consecutive life terms, and 20 years in federal prison.

The National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA), the Tuareg rebel army which has seized control of Mali's north, declared the independence April 6 of what it called the Azawad nation. "We, the people of the Azawad," the statement reads, "proclaim the irrevocable independence of the state of the Azawad starting from this day..." The military chiefs of 13 of Mali's neighbors met one day earlier in Ivory Coast to hash out plans for a military intervention to push back the MNLA. France said it will offer logistical support for the intervention. The European Union followed Paris' lead in announcing it will not recognize the new state. The intervention pact comes with a move to recognize Mali's besieged military junta. The junta and the West African bloc ECOWAS announced a deal that includes the lifting of sanctions and an amnesty for those involved in last month's coup. (AFP, April 7; AP, April 6)

The Palestinian Authority Prisoners Ministry said that Israeli prison authorities stormed the cells of Palestinian prisoners on April 1, leaving 61 injured. The raid in Israel's Nafha facility came after prisoners refused to give DNA samples, the ministry said. Minister of Prisoners Affairs Issa Qaraqe asserted that every prisoner has the right to refuse forcible DNA testing. PA lawyers have filed a complaint with Israel's Supreme Court to demand the end of forced DNA tests for Palestinians jailed by Israel. (Ma'an News Agency, April 1)

South Sudan accused Khartoum April 5 both of bombing an oil pipeline near the town of Heglig, in South Kordofan state, and of trying to build an "illegal" pipeline crossing the border towards the South's oil fields. "This is oil piracy," military spokesman Philip Aguer charged, adding that a "foreign company" was involved. South Sudan also said it had shot down a Sudanese MiG-29 aircraft over South Sudan's oil-producing Unity state. The claims were denied by Khartoum. Heglig was taken by South Sudanese forces late last month, with the South's Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA), saying it was responding to incursions by Khartoum's Sudan Armed Forces (SAF). (Reuters, AlJazeera, April 5; Sudan Tribune, March 28)

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.