A French appeals court on July 7 upheld Marine Le Pen’s conviction for embezzling EU funds but reduced her ban on holding elected office.

The Paris Court of Appeal sentenced Le Pen to two years of imprisonment, one year of “at home electronic monitoring,” and a €100,000 fine. The ruling also imposed a 45-month ban on holding public office, 30 of which were suspended. Because the initial ban was effective during her appeal, she has already served the remaining 15-month period of ineligibility. (Jurist)

A coalition of 22 Democratic state attorneys general filed a comment letter July 6 opposing the Trump administration’s proposed tariffs of up to 12.5% on 59 countries and the EU, arguing they are unlawful and amount to a pretext to re-impose broad tariffs previously struck down by the courts.

The coalition, co-led by California Attorney General Rob Bonta, Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield and Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes, filed its objections in response to a proposal by the US Trade Representative to impose tariffs under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 on countries the administration says have failed to enforce prohibitions on goods made with forced labor. The targeted 60 economies account for more than 99% of all US imports.

“After his first two attempts to impose tariffs were declared illegal by the courts, including the US Supreme Court, the President is back at it again,” Bonta said. “Tariffs are taxes, and the American people cannot shoulder extra costs—no matter how much President Trump wants them to.” (Jurist)

A federal judge on July 7 quashed a grand jury subpoena for information about 2020 election workers in Georgia, dealing a setback to an investigation by the Department of Justice (DoJ).

Various lawsuits have followed President Donald Trump’s loss in the 2020 election and his claims of claims of voter fraud in swing states. In Georgia, federal courts have had a central role in cases including attempts to overturn the election results and defamation suits filed by poll workers. In January, the FBI searched Fulton County’s election headquarters, seizing ballots and records. A federal judge denied a request to force the federal government to return the property in May. Fulton County is the most populouscounty in Georgia and includes the Democratic stronghold of Atlanta, where Joe Biden received nearly 73% of the vote in 2020.

The DoJ issued a grand jury subpoena in April requesting rosters of 2020 election workers, including enough information “to identify [their] name, position/function, residential and email addresses, and personal telephone number(s)” from the Fulton County Board of Registration and Elections (FBRE).

The FBRE objected, arguing that the US District Court for the Northern District of Georgia “should quash the Subpoena to protect thousands of election workers from potentially devastating consequences.” It characterized the subpoena as the “latest effort to target and harass the President’s perceived political enemies—this time election officials, poll workers, and volunteers in Fulton County.”

The DoJ urged the court to deny the motion to quash, contending that FBRE sought to “undermine the grand jury’s very purpose,” asserting that the subpoena sought “relevant documents” and was “not overbroad.”

District Judge William Ray called the breadth of the subpoena “staggering.” He stated that enforcing it “would not lead to information that could be used to charge anyone with anything…because the statute of limitations for any possible crime arising from the 2020 Election has long expired.” Accordingly, the DoJ’s “investigation of alleged criminal conduct of anyone that may have led to the certification of the 2020 Election in Georgia would not be a legitimate use of the Grand Jury and its subpoena power.” (Jurist)

Amnesty International on July 1 released a report concluding that the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) committed crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing during their siege and capture of El Fasher in North Darfur state, Sudan. 

The report, titled “City Under Siege, Children Under Fire: Rapid Support Forces’ Crimes Against Humanity in North Darfur,” documents the slow, violent takeover of El Fasher by the RSF. Amnesty charges that the abuses committed by the RSF between April 2023 and the capture of El Fasher in October 2025 amounted to war crimes and crimes against humanity. The report documents how civilians in North Darfur were unlawfully detained, tortured and killed on a massive scale. Women and girls were raped and forced into sexual slavery, while children were often deliberately targeted by the militants. (Jurist)

UN Secretary-General António Guterres has voiced concern over the detention of opposition politicians, reports of disappearances, and continued restrictions on media freedoms in Uganda. Alarm has been raised over the health of opposition leader Kizza Besigye, who is facing treason charges along with co-accused Hajji Obeid Lutale. The government has also shut down media houses belonging to Nation Media Group. (TNH)

Marking a key moment in Syria’s transition process, President Ahmed al-Sharaa announcedthe appointment of 70 new legislators, allowing the 2010-member body to hold its first session on July 6. Al-Sharaa’s picks—the rest of the parliamentarians were elected by regional councils in October—include 15 women and 13 people who were imprisoned during the regime of Bashar al-Assad. (TNH)

The Norwegian Refugee Council has warned that—despite multiple ceasefires—around 700,000 people are unable to go back to their homes in Lebanon. Truces have reduced fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, but destroyed homes, a lack of services, access restrictions, unexploded ordnance, and the fact that Israel is still occupying part of south Lebanon are among the factors preventing wide-scale returns. (TNH)