Several hundred women, many carrying pictures of relatives killed by drug lords or Taliban militants, held a loud but peaceful protest in Kabul Dec. 10, demanding that President Hamid Karzai purge from his government anyone connected to corruption, war crimes or the Taliban. "These women are being very brave," said the protest leader, her face hidden by a burka. "To be a woman in Afghanistan and an activist can mean death. We want justice for our loved ones!"

Iran's government charged Dec. 9 that a newly built United Nations station to detect nuclear detonations near its border was established to allow world powers to spy on the country. Construction was completed last week on the seismic monitoring station in neighboring Turkmenistan, a few miles from the Iranian border. It is one of about 275 such facilities operating around the world to detect seismic activity set off by nuclear tests. Abolfazl Zohrehvand, an adviser to Iran's nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili, said the international treaty that allows for setting up such observatories is an "espionage treaty."

Iranian human rights violations following the disputed presidential election in June were among the worst in the past 20 years, according to a report published Dec. 12 by Amnesty International. The report, "Iran: Election contested, repression compounded," contains testimony from individuals detained during the protests that ensued after the election. According to AI, individuals were unlawfully detained, beaten, tortured, and raped, resulting in numerous deaths in detention.

In several places around the world, marches commemorating Human Rights Day Dec. 11 were met with official harassment and repression. In Srinagar, capital of India-administrated Kashmir, police fired teargas and live rounds to disperse protesters, leaving at least 15 injured, including a young boy who sustained a bullet wound. (World Bulletin, Dec. 11) In Cuba, hundreds of government supporters jostled and jeered dissidents who staged two small marches in Havana. A 30-strong group of female relatives of political prisoners—known as "the Ladies in White" (Damas de Blanco)—marched through the capital chanting "liberty," carrying flowers, Cuban flags and copies of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. A crowd of some 250 surrounded them and shouted "traitors" and "the street belongs to Fidel." A smaller march of about 10 dissidents in a park in the Vedado district was also surrounded and harassed. (The Guardian, Dec. 11)

From CBS, Dec. 11:

Sources tell CBS News the al Qaeda operative believed killed in a drone strike in Pakistan this week is Saleh al-Somali, who was in charge of external operations for the group. He was considered one of a half dozen top Qaeda operatives.

An "Open Letter to the Norwegian Nobel Committee," online across the anti-war blogosphere (e.g. Antiwar.com):

On December 10, you will award the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize to President Barack Obama, citing "his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between people." We the undersigned are distressed that President Obama, so close upon his receipt of this honor, has opted to escalate the U.S. war in Afghanistan with the deployment of 30,000 additional troops. We regret that he could not be guided by the example of a previous Nobel Peace Laureate, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who identified his peace prize as "profound recognition that nonviolence is the answer to the crucial political and moral question of our time—the need for man to overcome oppression and violence without resorting to violence and oppression."

The Obama administration asked the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in San Francisco to dismiss a lawsuit accusing former Bush administration attorney John Yoo of authorizing the torture of a terrorism suspect, saying federal law does not allow damage claims against lawyers who advise the president on national security issues. Such lawsuits ask courts to second-guess presidential decisions and pose "the risk of deterring full and frank advice regarding the military's detention and treatment of those determined to be enemies during an armed conflict," Justice Department lawyers said in arguments last week.

The US Department of Justice announced Dec. 9 that Kuwaiti Guantánamo Bay detainee Fouad al-Rabiah has been transferred to the control of the Kuwaiti government. Al-Rabiah, a Kuwaiti national, had been held at Guantánamo Bay for nearly eight years under suspicion of aiding al Qaeda and the Taliban. The transfer came after a judge in the US District Court for the District of Columbia in September granted al-Rabiah's habeas corpus petition and ordered his release. According to the DoJ, the "transfer was carried out under an arrangement between the United States and the government of Kuwait. The United States will continue to consult with the government of Kuwait regarding this individual."