Spain divided over pardons for Franco victims News
Spain divided over pardons for Franco victims

[JURIST] Political parties in Spain [government website] are in an uproar after the ruling Socialist Party [official website] Wednesday initiated a process for officially pardoning victims of former fascist Spanish dictator Generalissimo Francisco Franco Bahamonde [profile]. Franco signed orders for thousands of executions while he ruled Spain between 1938 and 1975, often consigning convicts to death by strangulation with a garrotte. The Socialists have set up a committee of ministers to examine Franco's execution warrants and issue pardons for those where the "minimum standards of a fair trial" were not observed. Right-wing politicians are angered by the refusal of the Socialist party to undertake the same review of individuals executed by the self-proclaimed Republican (anti-Franco rebel) government. Critics from all sides have voiced concern over whether the pardon plan would merely reopen old wounds and violate the unofficial 'pact of silence' currently in place concerning the country's history from the 1930s to the 1970s. Expactica.com 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.