The alleged instigator of the theft of the "Arbeit macht frei" ("Work will set you free") sign from the former Nazi concentration camp at Auschwitz, a man living in Sweden, is said to have intended to use the proceeds from the sale of the sign to finance an assassination plot at the Swedish Parliament and at the prime minister's headquarters in Stockholm. The claim was reported in the Swedish media Jan. 2, citing sources in that country's intelligence services.

Medical aid and 518 activists entered Gaza the night of Jan. 6 after protests against the Egyptian government refusal to allow 400 of the group to pass lead to clashes at the Rafah border crossing. An Egyptian soldier was reportedly shot dead during the clashes, and at least 12 Palestinians were injured during a a protest against Egypt's perceived compli'scity in the Israeli blockade. The protest had been called by the Hamas administration that governs the Strip, against what they called attacks on the Viva Palestina convoy.

On a tour of Central Asia, Iran's President Mahmud Ahmadinejad arrived in Turkmenistan's capital Ashgabat Jan. 5 to inaugurate a new natural-gas pipeline linking the the two countries. The Dovletabat-Sarakhs-Khangiran pipeline was formally opened in a ceremony with Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov. When fully operational, will more than double Turkmen gas exports to Iran—from 8 billion cubic meters (bcm) annually to 20 bcm.

An Iranian parliamentary inquiry has found that Tehran prosecutor Saeed Mortazavi was responsible for the deaths of at least three detainees involved in protests that followed the June 12 presidential election, the conservative Alef website reported Jan. 6. The report alleges that Mortazavi, the prosecutor responsible for overseeing the Kahrizak prison, ordered that the prisoners be transferred to Kahrizak, where they were tortured and beaten to death.

Iranian Interior Minister Mostafa Mohammad Najjar on Jan. 5 warned opposition activists that they could face execution if they continue anti-government protests. Najjar's statement came one day after the Intelligence Minister Heidar Moslehi announced that "Several foreigners are among those who were arrested on the day of Ashura," when Tehran was rocked by street clashes that left at least four dead and some 300 arrested. Najjar said that the foreigners would also face punishment if found guilty of crimes. (Jurist, Tehran Times, Jan. 5)

Civil rights groups Jan. 4 opposed stricter screening procedures for passengers entering the US from 14 countries, calling the measures unconstitutional. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) called on the US government to "adhere to longstanding standards of individualized suspicion and enact security measures that are the least threatening to civil liberties and are proven to be effective."

The US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit Jan. 4 upheld the conviction and life sentence of accused 9-11 conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui. Moussaoui's lawyers had requested that his guilty plea and be withdrawn and a new trial be granted, arguing that his plea was involuntary due to Fifth and Sixth Amendment violations. They also argued that his unawareness of the charges against him violated Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure and that his trial counsel did not have access to statements made by al-Qaeda members denying Moussaoui's involvement in the 9-11 conspiracy. The appeals court rejected all of those arguments and "affirm[ed] Moussaoui's convictions and sentences in their entirety."

Israeli officials said Jan. 5 that a military delegation had canceled a trip to the UK over fears that they would be arrested on war crimes charges for their involvement in last year's Operation Cast Lead in the Gaza Strip. Israeli Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Danny Ayalon that day in Jerusalem with UK Attorney General Patricia Janet Scotland to challenge several British arrest warrants for Israeli politicians and military officials, stating that the warrants are straining Israeli-British foreign relations. The arrest warrants are the result of Palestinian plaintiffs working with British lawyers to bring charges against Israeli officials. Scotland, who also gave a speech Jan. 5 at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, told Ayalon that UK officials were working to resolve the issue and protect senior officials traveling to the UK. (Jurist, Jan. 5)