Army officer sentenced in Iraqi drowning case News
Army officer sentenced in Iraqi drowning case

[JURIST] Army 1st Lt. Jack Saville was sentenced to 45 days in a military prison Tuesday for his role in forcing three Iraqi civilians into the Tigris River. Saville's court-martial began earlier in the day [JURIST report] after Saville pleaded guilty to assault and other charges for forcing two Iraqi civilians detained for curfew violations into the Tigris River at gunpoint. One of the civilians allegedly drowned. Saville was also convicted of a lesser assault charge for not acting to stop another civilian from being forced into the river during an earlier incident. In addition to the prison sentence, Saville was ordered to forfeit $2,000 of his $2,970 monthly salary for six months. AP has more.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Indian National Congress founded

The Indian National Congress (INC) was founded on December 28, 1885 in Bombay (now Mumbai), India. In subsequent decades, the so-called Congress Party would advocate for Indian independence from the UK, which was eventually achieved in 1947. The first Prime Minister of independent India, Jawaharlal Nehru, was elected as a member of the INC. Learn more about the history and founding of the Indian National Congress.

Congress recognized Pledge of Allegiance

On December 28, 1945, Congress officially recognized the Pledge of Allegiance and encouraged its recitation in schools. The Pledge was supposedly written in 1892 by Francis Bellamy, a Baptist minister, to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Columbus Day. The words “under God” were added by Congress in 1954. The revised version of the Pledge was the subject of litigation before the United States Supreme Court originally brought by Michael Newdow, a parent who unsuccessfully objected to his daughter's school district policy requiring daily recitation of the Pledge. The court ruled that Newdow had no standing.

Nepal ends monarchy, establishes republic

On December 28, 2007, the Kingdom of Nepal's interim parliament ended the country's monarchy and established the Republic of Nepal. Free elections were held on April 10 of the following year to elect a Constituent Assembly.

Learn more about the rise of democracy in Nepal.