On Jan. 4 Argentine federal judge Sandra Arroyo charged two coast guard officers, Angel Volpi and Ruben Iglesias, with homicide in connection with the death of former navy officer Hector Febres. Febres, who was 66, was found dead on Dec. 11 in the Naval Prefecture in Buenos Aires, two days before he was to be sentenced for participation in torture and other crimes, including the theft of babies from dissident women during the 1976-1983 military dictatorship. Febres' wife, Stella Maris Guevara, and their children, Hector and Sonia Febres, were charged with concealment.

Chilean agronomy student Matias Catrileo Quezada, an indigenous Mapuche, was shot dead early on the morning of Jan. 3 at the Fundo Santa Margarita estate, in Vilcun in the southern region of Araucania, presumably by police agents. He and other Mapuche activists were setting fire to bales of hay; the estate, which the local Mapuche community claims as part of its traditional ancestral lands, has been attacked several times in recent years. Activists told Bio-Bio radio station Catrileo was shot in the back with a machine gun.

A petition from the Organization of Women's Freedom in Iraq (OWFI), Jan. 5:

The southern cities of Iraq which are totally under the grip of Islamist parties have turned into no-woman zones. Female physical appearance is not acceptable in the streets, educational institutions, or at work places. Although veiled and passive, death awaits women around street corners, in the market, and visits them inside their homes daily in the city of Basra.

Kenyan police sealed Nairobi and broke up protests with water cannons and baton charges Jan. 3, barring supporters of opposition leader Raila Odinga from holding a planned rally in Nairobi's Uhuru Park. Odinga made his own accusations of "genocide" against supporters of President Mwai Kibaki. Attorney General Amos Wako called for an independent investigation into the contested vote. (BBC, Bloomberg, Jan. 3) Three people were reported dead, a church and two petrol stations set ablaze, and five cars torched. (Daily Nation, Nairobi, Jan. 3) Reuters reports from the ethnically-mixed, impoverished Nairobi district of Mathare which residents have renamed "Kosovo"—violently contested by Kikuyu gangs such as the Mungiki and a Luo militia calling itself the "Taliban." (Reuters, Jan. 3)

An explosion in the center of Diyarbakır in Turkish Kurdistan—timed to the very second a military vehicle was driving by—killed five and wounded at least 52 Jan. 3. Many of the wounded were soldiers, but the five dead were civilians, and some are said to have been children. The explosion occurred in a parking lot between the five-star Dedeman Hotel and the Galleria Shopping Center at 4:55 PM. Authorities blame the blast on the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), with police searching for two PKK suspects. Diyarbakır Mayor Osman Baydemir, of the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP), said the attack was "unacceptable," adding: "I condemn it no matter who the perpetrator was. I hope this is the last one." The pro-PKK Fırat news agency reported that PKK leaders in Iraq have declared Turkey's cities to be targets in retaliation for Turkish attacks on guerilla bases. (Zaman, Turkish Daily News, Jan. 3)

From the Asian Human Rights Commission, Jan. 2:

The two daughters of Ms. Asma Jehangir, a well known lawyer, human rights activist and the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to freedom of religion or belief, were assaulted and illegally held for several hours along with their friends by armed persons of the Pakistan Muslim League Q (PML-Q); they were beaten severely and threatened to be killed. One of the girls was pushed into a room and this was only prevented due to the intervention of their mother. Ms. Asma. Ms. Asma herself was also threatened by the gunmen who used very filthy language against her. When police were called to the scene they took the side of the gunmen who claimed to be police officers. However, only two out of this group were policemen and the 20 other gunmen belonged to the PML-Q.

The excessive delay in processing naturalization applications has forced thousands to file lawsuits against the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) [Homeland Security Department]. These cases are either still pending or have been settled by the parties without addressing the underlying problem of bureaucratic delay. The delays are the result of the FBI name checks that have been conducted after the 9-11 tragedy as an added security measure against the threat of terrorism. Because of the slow processing of the name checks, a huge backlog has been created causing naturalization applicants to wait for years after their interviews for their US citizenship.

On Dec. 19, the Senate confirmed Julie L. Myers as director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), two years after President George W. Bush used a recess appointment to assign her to the position. Myers was among more than 30 people whose appointments were approved by a voice vote of the Senate as it concluded its session before the holidays. Her appointment was questioned recently after she gave the "most original" costume award to a white employee who came to the ICE Halloween party dressed as an escaped prisoner with dreadlocks and darkened skin. Myers apologized for the incident after it drew complaints of racial insensitivity. (AP, Dec. 12)