Guantanamo prisoners say they were sold into captivity News
Guantanamo prisoners say they were sold into captivity

[JURIST] Detainees being held in Guantanamo Bay claim they were sold into captivity, according to new US government documents released to AP [JURIST report] under the Freedom of Information Act [text]. The CIA and the US Defense, State and Justice departments deny any knowledge of bounty payments being made for random prisoners. The US Rewards for Justice Program [official website] openly pays for the capture of suspected terrorists identified by name and currently has high rewards for the capture of Osama bin Laden and militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. Pakistan has handed over hundreds of suspects to the US – most recently, erstwhile al Qaeda number-three Abu Faraj Farj al Liby [Reuters report] – and many detainees say they were wrongfully handed over to US military personnel for money but Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed maintains no one in Pakistan has taken money in exchange for prisoners. 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.