Lawyers for alleged Saudi torture victims going after Saudi assets in UK News
Lawyers for alleged Saudi torture victims going after Saudi assets in UK

[JURIST] A UK lawyer representing three Westerners allegedly tortured in a Saudi Arabian prison said Tuesday that her firm would attempt to seize Saudi assets in Britain, including those of Saudi Arabian Airlines, as reparation for the men's mistreatment and to pay for overdue legal costs. The men – two British nationals and a British-Canadian citizen – were held in Saudi prison for two years and confessed to planning a stream of bomb attacks in Riyadh in 2000 and 2001 [BBC backgrounder]. The men continue to plead their innocence, saying that they would have pleaded guilty to anything considering the torture they suffered through [Guardian report; CBC backgrounder on William Sampson]. Last October, Britain's appeals court overruled [opinion] the State Immunity Act of 1978 [text], effectively forbidding blanket immunity for foreign officials in countries accused of serious crimes, such as torture. The appeals court also ordered Riyadh to pay the cost of the appeals for the men, believed to be over 100,000 pounds. Human Rights Watch [advocacy website] has repeatedly tagged Saudi Arabia as a country who denies fundamental rights to criminal suspects [press release]. AFP has more.

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.