Belarus approves legislation to stem protests News
Belarus approves legislation to stem protests

[JURIST] The Belarussian parliament on Friday voted 97-4 to approve a law imposing harsh penalties for anyone convicted of inciting demonstrations or spreading harmful information. Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko [BBC profile] wants the laws to stop anti-government protest movements like Ukraine's Orange Revolution [BBC report] which led to a change in leadership last year. Lukashenko is running for re-election next year and has drawn criticism from Western nations for attempting to silence dissidents. Reuters has more.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Tojo and other Japanese WWII leaders executed for war crimes

On December 23, 1948, former Japanese premier Hideki Tojo and six other Japanese war leaders were executed for war crimes in Tokyo.

Learn more about the Tokyo War Crimes Trials.

Terry Nichols convicted for Oklahoma City bombing

On December 23, 1997, Terry Nichols was found guilty of conspiracy and involuntary manslaughter for assisting Timothy McVeigh in bombing the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. He was later sentenced to life in prison. On April 19, 1995, McVeigh detonated a truck bomb that gutted the building and killed 168 people, making it the deadliest terrorist attack on US. soil until the attacks of September 11, 2001. McVeigh was convicted for his role before Nichols on June 2, 1997. Learn more about the trials of Terry Nichols and Timothy McVeigh.