Navy investigates early Iraq abuse photos News
Navy investigates early Iraq abuse photos

[JURIST] The US Navy has begun investigating a new series of photos depicting abuse of detainees and prisoners of war in Iraq, according to a spokesperson. The photos, while not as graphic and brutal as the ones taken in connection with the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse scandal, appear to have been taken as early as May 2003 and were discovered posted on a commercial photo-sharing website. Navy Cmdr. Jeff Bender, a spokesman for the Naval Special Warfare Command, said the "photographs raise a number of important questions regarding the treatment of prisoners of war and detainees," and promised to investigate the matter thoroughly. Taking souvenir photos of prisoners of war is a violation of the Geneva Convention. AP has more.

THIS DAY @ LAW

No lynchings reported in US for first time

On December 30, 1952, the Tuskegee Institute reported that 1952 was the first year of no lynchings of African Americans in the United States in the 71 years it had kept records. Learn more about lynching and listen to Billie Holiday's jazz recording of the 1938 protest song Strange Fruit.

USSR established

On December 30, 1922, representatives of Russia, Belarus, Ukraine and the Transcaucus approved the Treaty on the Creation of the USSR and the Declaration of the Creation of the USSR, creating the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). During World War II, the USSR would also annex Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and Moldova. Learn more about the history of the USSR from the BBC.