Polish PM to order probe into CIA secret prisons News
Polish PM to order probe into CIA secret prisons

[JURIST] Polish Prime Minister Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz [official profile] said Saturday in a television interview that he will order an investigation into reports that the CIA ran a secret detention facility in Poland. Allegations have been circulating in press reports and human rights group statements for over a month, and were most recently detailed in the Warsaw daily Gazeta Wyborcza [newspaper website], which Friday cited Human Rights Watch claims that Poland hosted the largest CIA facilty in Europe [JURIST report], housing roughly 100 prisoners. The Polish government has denied that any such prison existed; as recently as Tuesday, a spokesman for the Polish Justice Minister said the goverment would not launch an investigation [JURIST report] without further evidence. Marcinkiewicz said Saturday that a probe was necessary as the matter affected Poland's national security. Reuters has more.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Laws of Burgos put into effect

The Spanish Crown put the Laws of Burgos into effect on December 27, 1512. These laws governed the relationship of Spanish settlers with the indigenous peoples of the Caribbean. The laws established the encomienda system of labor, promoted conversion to Catholicism, and safeguarded the indigenous peoples from physical abuse.  However, historians argue that the laws were ineffective at protecting the rights of the indigenous population. Learn more from the Library of Congress.

Prohibitionist Carrie Nation carried out her first public bar smashing

On December 27, 1900, militant Prohibitionist Carrie Nation carried out her first public smashing of a bar, at the Carey Hotel in Wichita, Kansas. Nation argued that destroying bars was an acceptable means of battling the liquor trade since the Kansas Constitution prohibited alcohol. Learn more about Carrie Nation.

World Bank created

On December 27, 1944, the World Bank was created during the United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, USA. Learn more about the history of the World Bank.