Sweden, Finland join campaign for tougher anti-terror laws News
Sweden, Finland join campaign for tougher anti-terror laws

[JURIST] With new anti-terrorism measures being introduced across Europe [JURIST report] in the wake of the London bombings, Sweden's Justice Minister Thomas Bodstrom [official profile] has said he plans to introduce a bill that would strengthen the military's role in the event of an attack, and give authorities the preventative power to listen in on conversations. His comments were reported Wednesday by the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung in Germany. A similar bill failed several years ago in Sweden because of civil rights concerns. Finland recently granted its authorities the power to bug telephones as an anti-terror measure. UPI 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.