Convicted spy alleges torture in US prison News
Convicted spy alleges torture in US prison

[JURIST] New legal documents filed by convicted spy Jonathan Pollard [defense website] include allegations that Pollard has been tortured during his US imprisonment. Pollard was arrested in 1985 and was convicted of spying for Israel while he was a civilian intelligence analyst for the Navy. In a petition [Hebrew text; DOC] to the Israeli Supreme Court, Pollard alleges that he was kept naked for more than a year in solitary confinement in subzero temperatures, that he has been soaked with ice water and that he was forced to sleep on a bare concrete slab. Pollard also alleges that his US jailers have lied to him about arrangements made by the Israeli government for his release. Pollard's petition to the Israeli Supreme Court asks the court to force the government to declare him a Prisoner of Zion, a status which would require Israel to do all it can to secure Pollard's release. AP has more.

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.