Brazil grants asylum to ousted Ecuador president News
Brazil grants asylum to ousted Ecuador president

[JURIST] Brazil has granted asylum to ousted Ecuadoran President Lucio Gutierrez [Wikipedia profile], Brazil's Ministry of External Relations [official website] said Thursday. The Ministry said Gutierrez sought asylum Wednesday at the Brazilian embassy in Quito, calling its grant of the request a "regional tradition." Gutierrez was removed from his position on Wednesday by a congressional vote [JURIST report] after a day of protests and a no-confidence vote by the military following his declaration of a brief state of emergency and his dismissal of the country's Supreme Court [JURIST report]. Vice President Alfredo Palacio was sworn-in [Knight Ridder report] as president following Gutierrez's removal, making him Ecuador's seventh president in 10 years. From Quito, the Diario Hoy has local coverage [in Spanish] of the events. AFP has more.

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THIS DAY @ LAW

38 Santee Sioux hanged by US for rebellion

On December 26, 1862, 38 Santee Sioux men were hanged in a mass execution for their roles in a rebellion against US authorities in Minnesota which left hundreds dead and made refugees of some 40,000 white settlers. Government annuities promised under a treaty with the Sioux had failed to arrive on schedule and credit for purchases was not advanced in the meantime, threatening the tribe with starvation. The Santee Sioux Tribe's members were deported first to South Dakota and ultimately to Nebraska, where they remain today. Learn more about the 1862 Minnesota Sioux Rebellion.

Louis XVI put on trial during French Revolution

On December 26, 1792, Romain de Sèze, a defense attorney for deposed King Louis XVI, presented a defense of his client. The former King was on trial before a French Revolutionary court on thirty-three charges, including treason and other crimes against the state. He was convicted on January 15, 1793 executed by guillotine on the following January 21.