Military, detainee lawyers clash on number of Gitmo hunger strikers News
Military, detainee lawyers clash on number of Gitmo hunger strikers

[JURIST] A lawyer for 11 detainees held at Guantanamo Bay [JURIST news archives] says that 90 percent of the 505 prison camp detainees are participating in a hunger strike [JURIST report] in "varying degrees," while US military officials have said that only 91 detainees are participating. The military defines a hunger strike as missing 9 or more consecutive meals, while Kristine Huskey, a Washington lawyer says detainees who miss a meal or two in a day and refuse to take liquids should be considered on strike. Army public affairs office Major Jeffrey Weir said Sunday that despite some of the detainees' desire to commit "a slow form of suicide," "no one is anywhere near death." The detainees are participating in their second hunger strike since July to protest their indefinite imprisonments. Many of the detainees have been held for three and a half years and only 4 have been charged with war crimes. British-born attorney Clive Stafford Smith [BBC profile], who represents about 40 detainees, says "The military wants to downplay this…The truth is, these guys are going to die." USA Today has more.

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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.