trend (as in the 2012 Atlas) is observed in the N11 region, where the majority of countries continue to rank in the ?extreme? and ?high risk? categories. South Korea is one positive exception in the N11 region, and while the judiciary is sometimes criticized for avoiding politically sensitive subjects for fear of repercussion, it still continues to rank in the ?medium risk? category. Pakistan sadly started to slip even deeper into the 'extreme risk' category, as the judiciary has started to split along political lines, greatly hampering any attempt at maintaining a semblance of political autonomy. Bangladesh also suffered a notable decline, as the procedural irregularities in the case against the Garmeen Bank shed some light into the use of political pressure to cause the judicial independence to be compromised. The MENA region has seen large upheavals in a number of the countries, in the wake of the Arab Spring. Algeria saw some minor improvement, as the pressure from the public forced the government to remove the restrictive state of emergency, and promise constitutional reforms. The situation in Bahrain also remains in flux; after a crushing crackdown on protests in February 2011 that resulted in many deaths and imprisonments, a judicial commission heavily criticised the government in a November report. In Tunisia, 2011 finished on a more positive note. The fall of the Ben Ali regime is expected to have a positive influence on the previously Ali influence judiciary, as many members of the judiciary were among the first to