US authorities on Jan. 7 announced charges against two former employees of security firm Blackwater in connection with the May 5 shooting death of two Afghans in Kabul. Justin Cannon and Christopher Drotleff each face 13 counts under the Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act (MEJA), including two counts of second-degree murder, one count of attempted murder, and discharging a firearm during a violent crime, for which they could receive life in prison or the death penalty if convicted. The men are accused of shooting three men, reportedly during a traffic incident, while working for Blackwater subsidiary Paravant LLC, under contract with the US Department of Defense to provide weapons training to the Afghan National Army. (Jurist, Jan. 8)

Armed conflict killed hundreds of children and adversely affected many others in 2009—the deadliest year for Afghan children since 2001—an Afghan human rights group reports. About 1,050 children died in suicide attacks, roadside blasts, air strikes and in the cross-fire between Taliban insurgents and pro-government Afghan and foreign forces from January to December 2009, the Afghanistan Rights Monitor (ARM) said in a statement Jan. 6.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai Dec. 28 appointed a delegation to begin an investigation of 10 civilian deaths, including eight schoolchildren, believed to have occurred during a raid by international forces in Kunar province. The raid in the Narang district occurred on Dec. 26, and allegedly involved NATO forces, though this has not been confirmed. The same day that Karzai announced the formation of the special delegation, a UN committee released figures that show that civilian deaths in Afghanistan in 2009 are up by 10% over 2008. (Jurist, Dec. 29)

A suicide bomb in Muzaffarabad, Pakistan-administrated Kashmir, killed at least 15 and injured over 100 in an attack on a Shi'ite religious procession marking the Ashura holy period Dec. 28, while another explosion near a procession in the port city of Karachi injured 35. Police said the Karachi blast was triggered by a build-up of gas in a manhole, but doctors who treated the victims found pellets in the bodies, suggesting that an explosive device was detonated. (ANI, Dec. 28)

A House committee has launched an investigation into claims that US military contractors in Afghanistan are paying the Taliban to guarantee the safety of their transportation convoys, an allegation that could mean American taxpayers are indirectly funding the insurgency that has killed more than 900 American soldiers so far.

The Supreme Court of Pakistan Dec. 16 struck down the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO), which granted President Asif Ali Zardari and 8,000 other government officials immunity from corruption charges. A special 17-member panel of court ruled unanimously that the NRO is unconstitutional, paving the way for corruption charges to be brought against Zardari. President Zardari is immune from prosecution while in office, but challenges to his eligibility as a presidential candidate are expected. Many other government officials, including the interior and defense ministers, could face immediate prosecution.

Citing the "biohazard" created by blood-stained money, Judge Lynne Leibovitz of Washington's Superior Court has sentenced Ellen Barfield, a member of the national committee of the War Resisters League to 25 days in jail for a protest at a Senate hearing on US strategy in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

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!"