Jordan sentences al-Zarqawi to death in absentia News
Jordan sentences al-Zarqawi to death in absentia

[JURIST] A Jordan military court on Sunday sentenced al Qaeda's chief in Iraq Abu Musab al-Zarqawi [BBC profile] and two others to death for a failed suicide bombing on the country's border with Iraq last year. Al-Zarqawi and one of the other suspects were sentenced in absentia, but the third, Saudi Fahd Noman Suwelim al-Feheiqi, was present for the trial and claimed that he wanted to carry out the bombing. The court ruling is the second time that Jordan has sentenced Jordanian-born al-Zarqawi to death for a terror attack, and in March he was also sentenced to 15 years [JURIST report] in prison for an alleged plot to bomb the US embassy in Jordan. Al-Feheiqi was halted in the bombing attack in December 2004 when the car he was driving ran into a ditch, and al-Zarqawi and the other militant were both charged with conspiracy in the attempted attack. Al-Zarqawi remains at large in Iraq, where he has played a major role in the insurgency, and he is believed to be connected to bombings in Amman, Jordan in November that killed 60. AP 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.