Rice to address secret CIA prison allegations on Europe trip News
Rice to address secret CIA prison allegations on Europe trip

[JURIST] US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice [official profile] will visit Germany, Romania, and the European Union [official website] headquarters in Brussels next week in an attempt to defuse increasing pressure by the EU to respond to allegations that the CIA has been operating secret European prisons [JURIST report] to interrogate al Qaeda suspects. US State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said that Rice plans to discuss the situation with EU officials "in the broader context of our common struggle against terrorism" in a war with groups of people who "respect no law." Earlier Monday, a top European Union justice official said that EU voting rights could be suspended [JURIST report] for any of the 25 bloc nations that are found to have operated secret prisons, and urged the US to punish violations. Since reports of the covert CIA prison camps broke earlier this month, the Bush administration has declined to admit or deny the allegations. Reuters 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.