Human Rights Watch on Feb. 16 called for the reduction of overcrowding to improve poor prison conditions in Latin America following a prison fire in Honduras. The fire occurred two days earlier and killed more than 300 inmates while injuring dozens more. According to HRW, Honduras prisoners suffer overcrowding which leads to poor prison conditions including inadequate nutrition and sanitation, as well as the tragic result earlier this week. Americas Director at HRW, Jose Miguel Vivanco, stated, "The tragic deaths of hundreds of inmates, one of the worst incidents of its kind in the region, are ultimately the result of overcrowding and poor prison conditions, two longstanding problems in Honduras." According to local press, Honduras has 24 prisons with a total capacity of 8,000. These prisons currently hold 13,000 prisoners, well over capacity.

An Argentine trade union has instructed its members not to work on British ships or aircraft arriving in the country, as a show of support for the Buenos Aires government's claim of sovereignty over the Falkland Islands, known in Argentina as the Malvinas. In a statement reported in the Argentine press Feb. 14, the country's confederation of transport workers (CATT) said: "We have resolved to boycott any ship with the British flag, or with the lying and invented flag of the Falklands, or with any flag of convenience which the British pirates use. "The world should know that Argentinians are a peaceful people, with deep humanitarian feelings, but with a firm conviction to recover the usurped territory." Argentine newspapers reported that the move also extends to aircraft operated by UK firms.

Amnesty International on Feb. 16 released a report ("Militias Threaten Hope for New Libya") accusing the ruling National Transitional Council (NTC) in Libya of allowing the abuse and torture of supporters of former leader Moammar Qaddafi by unofficial militias. In the report, AI alleges that supporters of Qaddafi are being unlawfully detained, tortured and even killed by militias that the NTC has failed to control. The report was compiled by AI representatives who traveled to Libya in January and February and visited 11 facilities used to detain suspected Qaddafi loyalists. AI reported that 12 detainees have been killed while in the custody of these militias and described some of the abuse:

As we have pointed out over and over, a driver's license in New York City is literally a license to kill. Meanwhile, police crack down on the solution. From Transportation Nation, Feb. 15:

NYPD Issued Almost 50,000 Bicycle Tickets in 2011
The NYPD doled out 48,556 summonses to bike riders in 2011. That figure was reported by Executive Officer of the Transportation Bureau, John Cassidy at a hearing held by the NY City Council Wednesday on NYPD policies for traffic investigations.

At least 360 inmates were killed the night of Feb. 14 when a fierce blaze swept through a central prison in Comayagua, Honduras, with several more hospitalized with severe burns. Many victims were burned or suffocated to death in their cells. The nation has been shocked by images of prisoners burned alive clinging to the bars of their cells, desperate to escape. According to one prisoner who escaped by breaking through his ceiling, the guards did not react to pleas for help, and one even flung the keys away, abandoning them before he fled. Other reports indicate guards actually had no keys for exits that inmates fled for—that there was just one set of keys for the facility. Investigators believe the fire started when one prisoner set his mattress alight, possibly in a gang-related conflict. The fire spread rapidly through the wood structure of the prison. After the blaze, relatives of prisoners clashed with police as they tried to force their way into the ruined prison, desperate for news about their loved ones. Police responded with tear gas, and fired shots into the air. Honduran President Porfirio Lobo Sosa pledged a "full and transparent" investigation into the "lamentable and unacceptable" tragedy.

The first trial of alleged Indonesia bomber Umar Patek began Feb. 13 in the West Jakarta District Court over his role in several terrorist plots including the Jakarta church bombings in 2000 and the 2002 Bali nightclub bombing. Patek was arrested in Abbottabad, Pakistan, in 2011, just a few weeks before US special forces killed Osama bin Laden in the same town. If convicted Patek could face life imprisonment or a death sentence. Patek is not facing "terrorism" charges under Indonesia law, since the terrorism law came into effect in 2003 after both bombings and cannot be applied retrospectively. Patek is believed to be a member of the alleged al-Qaeda-linked organization Jemaah Islamiyah, which claimed responsibility for the Bali nightclub bombings. His trial is expected to last months.

The US Defense Department announced on Feb. 14 that military commission charges have been brought against Guantánamo Bay detainee Majid Shoukat Khan, a Pakistani national who lived in the US from 1996 to early 2002 before returning to Pakistan, where was captured in March 2003 and turned over to the CIA. He is faces charges of conspiracy, murder and attempted murder, violations of the law of war, providing material support for terrorism, and espionage. The charges allege that Khan joined with members of al-Qaeda to prepare attacks against targets in the US, Indonesia and elsewhere. Khan is alleged to have used a false document to travel from his residence in Baltimore, Md., to Karachi, Pakistan, in January of 2002 to conspire with Khalid Sheikh Mohammed in a plot to blow up underground gasoline storage tanks at gas stations in the US. (Government Security News, Feb. 15)

Protesters took to the streets of Tehran Feb. 14, one year after opposition leaders Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karoubi were put under house arrest for supporting Iran's last protest wave. Since their detention, their whereabouts have not been known. The opposition website Kaleme, which supports the opposition Green Movement, reported convergences of protesters at several points around the capital, holding generally silent marches, despite a heavy presence of riot police. (BBC News, DPA, Feb. 14)