Burmese authorities reportedly detained a Buddhist monk who was just recently freed from prison. Shin Gambira was taken early Feb. 10 from a monastery in Rangoon, apparently for "questioning." Shin Gambira, a leader of the 2007 "Saffron Revolution" protests, was sentenced to 68 years in prison after the movement was crushed, including 12 years of hard labor. He was among 651 political prisoners released from detention last month by Burma's new, military-backed civilian government. Western powers have imposed the freeing of political dissidents as a condition for the lifting of economic sanctions. (VOA, AFP, Feb. 10)

se rule, Radio Free Asia reported Feb. 9. Yeshe Rigsal, a monk, and his brother had taken part in a Jan. 23 protest in the predominantly Tibetan county of Luhuo in Sichuan province that turned violent when police shot dead at least one person. The incident came a day after a 19-yr-old Tibetan set himself alight in Sichuan's Ngaba county, and an unidentified monk in his 30s set himself on fire in Tridu county, Keygudo Autonomous Prefecture (Chinese: Chenduo county, Yushu Autonomous Prefecture) of Qinghai province. The youth in Ngaba apparently lived, as security forces arrived and doused the flames, although he is hospitalized and his survival seems doubtful. Identified as Rinzin Dorjee (AKA Rikpe), he self-immolated at his school in Ngaba town, where 13 Tibetans have now set themselves on fire. The new incidents brought to 22 the number of Tibetans who had immolated themselves while protesting against Chinese rule since February 2009. Eight of the self-immolations have taken place this year. (Channel News Asia, Phayul, Tibetan Review, Feb. 10; TCHRD, Feb. 9)

Two years ago when we reported revelations that two Czech NATO commanders in Afghanistan had worn Nazi SS regalia while on duty, everyone told us it was an isolated incident and not to make a big deal of it. What do you say now, pronoiacs?* From MSNBC, Feb. 9:

Marines posed with flag resembling Nazi SS logo in Afghanistan
SAN DIEGO — The US Marine Corps confirmed Thursday that a sniper team in Afghanistan posed for a photograph in front of a flag with a logo resembling that of the notorious Nazi SS.

Palestinian detainee Khader Adnan has been on hunger strike since Dec. 17, and Physicians for Human Rights now say that his life is at risk. This was also acknowledged by the Israeli Prison Service, which has transferred him from military detention on the West Bank to Ziv hospital in northern Israel, and said he had agreed to take potassium pills. Adnan, believed to be a leader of Islamic Jihad, is refusing all food in protest of his ill-treatment and his arbitrary detention without charge or trial—known as "administrative detention." His wife, Randa, who saw him for the first time since his detention Feb. 7 described his condition as rapidly deteriorating, and that he has lost a third of his weight and his hair. Amnesty International said Israel must release Adnan or charge him with a recognizable criminal offense and promptly try him.

Police and supporters of deposed Maldives President Mohamed Nasheed clashed Feb. 8, leading to the death of at least two who were protesting Nasheed's removal from power a day earlier in what is being called a coup d'etat. Clashes have spread beyond the capital of Male to several outlying islands, where protesters are reported to have seized several police stations. The Maldives had its first-ever democratic elections in 2008, bringing former political prisoner Nasheed to power and ending 30 years of rule under President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom. Nasheed now charges Gayoom and his supporters instigated street protests that preceded his removal. He said some 20 police and army rebels forced him at gunpoint to resign, which he later did live on TV. The weeks of protests were ostensibly over the detainment of senior criminal court Judge Abdulla Mohamed, who was arrested last month for corruption. But Mohamed was arrested by the military—an unprecedented move—following his ruling to release a government critic. Local media reported hours after Nasheed's removal that Mohamed had been released .

Two of the last remaining Occupy encampments left in the USA have met with setbacks in recent days. Two members of Occupy DC remain jailed on charges of assaulting officers during a Feb. 4 clash with US Park Police who razed their encampment at McPherson Square. A second encampment at nearby Freedom Plaza was raided the next day, although many tents were left standing. (Huffington Post, Feb. 7) On Feb. 1, police cleared out the hearty souls who had stuck it out in frigid Buffalo. The raid came three hours after Occupy Buffalo held a press conference in which they stated their refusal to sign a contract with the city that would have required them to decamp by March 8. From a first-hand account in Buffalo's ArtVoice:

The Court of Appeals in Milan on Feb. 6 announced the overturn of a lower court's verdict on Tunisian former Guantánamo Bay detainee Mohamed Riadh Ben Nasri. Nasri was convicted of terrorism association two years ago, after he was transferred from Guantánamo to stand trial in Italy. He was sentenced to six years in prison for recruiting martyrs to commit acts of terrorism. Nasri and his lawyer alleged that he was tortured extensively while being detained by US forces. It is unknown if this influenced the court's decision, as Nasri contended that he was beaten until he admitted he was part of al-Qaeda. The court also upheld the sentence of Tlili Lazar under similar charges. Reasoning behind the two decisions will be released in the next 30 days.

An unidentified man attacked Mexican human rights activist Norma Esther Andrade with a knife on the morning of Feb. 3 as she was leaving her current residence in the Coyoacán delegación (borough) of Mexico City. She was cut on one cheek by the attacker, who then fled without speaking. Andrade, a founder of the organization Our Daughters Return Home, has been a leader in denouncing the unsolved murders of hundreds of women in Ciudad Juárez in the northern state of Chihuahua. She has been staying in Mexico City since she was wounded by gunfire from unknown attackers in Ciudad Juárez on Dec. 2; local authorities claimed the attack might be a carjacking or robbery attempt.