Moroccan court sentences Islamic militants to death News
Moroccan court sentences Islamic militants to death

[JURIST] A Moroccan court Tuesday sentenced two men, Taoufik Hanouichi and Mohcine Bouarfa, to death for "murder in connection with a terrorist group." The trial included 46 other defendants arrested as part of an effort to dismantle militant Islamic networks following a suicide bombing in Casablanca [BBC report] on May 16, 2003 which killed 45 people. Thirty-one defendants were sentenced from one to twenty years in prison and nine were acquitted. Four others were sentenced to life in prison under the anti-terrorism law for killing a policeman and Moroccan Jew in 1994. Hanouichi and Bouarfa are unlikely to be executed as Morocco has had a de facto moratorium on the death penalty since 1993. AP has more. The Morocco Times has local coverage.

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.