Sunnis call for international probe into Iraq torture allegations News
Sunnis call for international probe into Iraq torture allegations

[JURIST] The Iraqi Islamic Party [official website; GlobalSecurity profile], one of Iraq's largest Sunni parties, on Wednesday demanded an international investigation into allegations that security forces illegally detained and tortured suspected insurgents [JURIST report] at secret jails in Baghdad. Omar Heikal said that the majority Shiites were trying to suppress minority Sunnis before the December 15 parliamentary elections and called for the "United Nations, the Arab League and humanitarian bodies to denounce these clear human rights violations, and we demand a fair, international probe so that all those who are involved in such practices will get their just punishment." The demands come a day after Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari [BBC profile; JURIST news archive] confirmed that more than 173 prisoners were found malnourished and possibly tortured by government security forces and announced that the Iraqi government will investigate the alleged abuse. AP has more.

1:17 PM ET – Manfred Nowak, UN Special Rapporteur on Torture [official website], also called Wednesday for an independent investigation into torture allegations at US and Iraqi detention centers. AP has more.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 signed into law

US President Millard Filmore signed the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 on September 18 of that year, obliging law enforcement to arrest escaped slaves in all US states, including those where slavery was not legal. Free black men and women were endangered by the act's passage as they were at risk of being falsely identified as escaped slaves. The act heightened tensions between abolitionists in the North and slaveholders in the South, contributing to what would become the Civil War eleven years later. Learn more about the Fugitive Slave Act from the National Constitution Center.

Jurist Joseph Story born

On September 18, 1797, future US Supreme Court Justice, Harvard law professor, and legal author Joseph Story was born in Marblehead, Massachusetts. West Virginia University law professor James Elkins notes that Story was also a poet; learn more about Story and read a couple of his poems here.

Anti-Corn Law League created in UK

On September 18, 1838, the Anti-Corn Law League was created in the United Kingdom. As the name suggests, the purpose of the association was to press for the abolition of British Corn Laws, which were indeed repealed in 1846. After the repeal, the organization worked to oppose other protectionist measures in the UK. The weekly news publication, The Economist, was founded as part of the anti-corn law movement.

Jurist Joseph Story born

On September 18, 1797, future US Supreme Court Justice, Harvard law professor, and legal author Joseph Story was born at Marblehead, Massachusetts.

West Virginiia University law professor James Elkins notes that Story was also a poet - learn more about Story and read a couple of his poems here.