Nigeria president says indicted Liberia leader Taylor should stay in exile for now News
Nigeria president says indicted Liberia leader Taylor should stay in exile for now

[JURIST] Nigerian President and current African Union chair Olusegun Obasanjo told the UN General Assembly Saturday at the opening of its regular 60th anniversary session that former Liberian president Charles Taylor, indicted [text] by the Special Court for Sierra Leone [official website] on 17 counts of war crimes committed during his 15-year rule, should for now stay in exile in Nigeria rather than returning to face trial. Obasanjo said that the peace process in Liberia was at a critical stage and having Taylor come back for trial at this point would do more harm than good. Court prosecutors [JURIST report] and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louis Arbour [JURIST report] have called for Taylor to be delivered for trial as soon as possible. Obasanjo and President Bush discussed how Taylor might be brought to trial [JURIST report] during the Nigerian leader's latest visit to the White House in May. Read the full text of Obasanjo's address [PDF]. The UN News Center 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.