A judge for the US District Court for the District of Columbia on Feb. 18 denied a petition for writ of habeas corpus of a Yemeni man currently detained at Guantánamo Bay. Judge Ricardo Urbina held that the government proved by a preponderance of the evidence that Mashour Abdullah Muqbel Alsabri provided material support to the Taliban, al-Qaeda or associated enemy forces. The court found that the petitioner traveled to Afghanistan to fight with the Taliban or al-Qaeda, stayed at Taliban or al-Qaeda guesthouses, received military training at an al-Qaeda facility, traveled to the battle lines and was captured during armed conflict. The court found no evidence that the petitioner dissociated with these enemy forces at any point prior to his capture. These findings taken together, the court said, support the government's contention that the petitioner was lawfully detained. The petitioner was arrested in 2002 and filed his habeas corpus petition in October 2006.

Fatah leader Tawfik Tirawi called Feb. 18 for a "day of rage" against the United States next Friday after the Obama administration used its veto power to block a UN Security Council resolution condemning Israeli settlements on the West Bank. In the previous day's vote, the US directed its UN ambassador to kill the draft resolution even though the 14 other members of the 15-nation Council voted in favor. (Ma'an News Agency, Feb. 19)

Mexican Federal Police allegedly shot radio journalist Gilardo Mota Figueroa as he covered a protest Feb. 15 against President Felipe Calderón’s visit to Oaxaca City. Mota Figueroa told Crónica de Oaxaca that during clashes with Oaxaca’s teachers union, a Federal Police officer opened fire on the crowd from a distance of about six meters. One of the bullets struck Mota Figueroa in the leg. Another 2-4 bullets were embedded in an armored SUV that authorities had left parked on the street.

The sister of a murdered woman from Ciudad Juárez is the latest activist in the border city to suffer an aggression against her person or property. On the evening of Feb. 16, armed men set fire to the house of Malu García Andrade, while she was attending a hunger strike/protest encampment in support of other human rights activists under siege. No one was injured in the fire, but Garcia's home suffered serious damages.

US Defense Secretary Robert Gates said at a congressional hearing Feb. 17 that Guantánamo Bay is unlikely to be closed because of security concerns. Responding to a question from the Senate Armed Forces Committee, Gates said that the odds of closing the detention facility are "very, very low," particularly because of congressional opposition, the difficulty in predicting which detainees are likely to return to terrorist activities and restrictions on detainees being brought to the US for trial under the Ike Skelton National Defense Authorization Act of 2011. Gates made his comments one day after CIA Director Leon Panetta told Congress that, if captured, Osama bin Laden and his second-in-command would probably be sent to Guantánamo Bay. At his first press briefing on Feb. 16, press secretary Jay Carney said that President Barack Obama still aims to close Guantánamo, despite Panetta's comments.

Three Turkish journalists allegedly involved with aiding the Ergenekon coup plot were jailed Feb. 18 amid foreign concerns for the treatment of journalists within the country. Members of the Ergenekon plot allegedly planned to assassinate prominent members of Turkey's Christian and Jewish minority groups, blame Islamic terrorists for the deaths and use this to delegitimize the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP). Soner Yalcin, the owner of Oda TV, an online news website that has been critical of the Turkish government, and two of his colleagues were formally arrested following several days of interrogations. The three were detained during a police raid that followed an eight-month investigation by authorities. US officials have voiced concerns over the treatment of journalists in Turkey, while Turkish officials have warned other countries not to become involved in their domestic matters.

Tens of thousands of flag-waving Egyptians filled Cairo's Tahrir Square Feb. 18 to celebrate the fall of Hosni Mubarak and pressure the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces to deliver on pledges of reform. A military band in full dress uniform played patriotic music to widespread cheers, but demands included the release of detained protesters still being held by the military. The Coalition of the Revolution Youth called the gathering to "remember the martyrs of freedom and dignity and justice," after at least 365 were killed and 5,500 injured in the protests that brought down Mubarak, by the Health Ministry's official estimate. (Middle East Online, Feb. 18)

Three protesters were killed in street clashes in the cities of Arbil, Dohuk and Sulaimaniyah in Iraqi Kurdistan Feb. 18. Apparent supporters of the ruling Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) looted several offices of the Goran opposition party. Protests against corruption, poor basic services and high unemployment in several cities across Iraq also left more than 100 people wounded. (Middle East Online, Feb. 18)