Rwanda leader gets 6-year sentence for genocide role News
Rwanda leader gets 6-year sentence for genocide role

[JURIST] The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda [official website] Monday sentenced Vincent Rutaganira, a former local leader, to six years in prison after he pleaded guilty to a charge of extermination by omission. In the court's first judgment this year, the court handed down its shortest sentence ever. The ICTR was established by the UN in 1995 to try those who oversaw the genocide in Rwanda in 1994, when 800,000 Tutsis and Hutus were killed by extremists in 100 days. Rutaganira was the councilor for the Kibuye province in western Rwanda during the genocide. The tribunal has thus far convicted 21 people for genocide-related crimes and acquitted three. Reuters has more. Read the full 9-page ruling [PDF text].

THIS DAY @ LAW

Laws of Burgos put into effect

The Spanish Crown put the Laws of Burgos into effect on December 27, 1512. These laws governed the relationship of Spanish settlers with the indigenous peoples of the Caribbean. The laws established the encomienda system of labor, promoted conversion to Catholicism, and safeguarded the indigenous peoples from physical abuse.  However, historians argue that the laws were ineffective at protecting the rights of the indigenous population. Learn more from the Library of Congress.

Prohibitionist Carrie Nation carried out her first public bar smashing

On December 27, 1900, militant Prohibitionist Carrie Nation carried out her first public smashing of a bar, at the Carey Hotel in Wichita, Kansas. Nation argued that destroying bars was an acceptable means of battling the liquor trade since the Kansas Constitution prohibited alcohol. Learn more about Carrie Nation.

World Bank created

On December 27, 1944, the World Bank was created during the United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, USA. Learn more about the history of the World Bank.