Suspected war criminal Mladic to turn himself in for $5M News
Suspected war criminal Mladic to turn himself in for $5M

[JURIST] Former Bosnia Serb General Ratko Mladic [BBC profile], who has been indicted [indictment] for war crimes, has agreed to turn himself over to the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia [official website], in exchange for $5 million for his family and associates, according to the London Sunday Times. Mladic has been in hiding for 10 years, since the Srebrenica massacre [Domovina.net backgrounder] in Bosnia where more than 7,000 Muslim men and boys were killed by troops under Mladic's command as they tried to flee a UN "safe area." Though the Serbian government originally denied negotiations [JURIST report] were occurring, prosecutors appear to be willing to overlook the methods used to capture Mladic and worry that he may try to kill himself rather than surrendering. The Sunday Times 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.