Trial of former Serb republic leader begins at The Hague News
Trial of former Serb republic leader begins at The Hague

[JURIST] The trial of Milan Martic [BBC profile], former leader of the erstwhile Serb republic in Croatia [Wikipedia backgrounder] who has been charged with exterminating hundreds of Croat, Muslim and other non-Serb civilians between 1991 and 1995, began [ICTY press release] Tuesday at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) [official website]. Martic is also charged with persecution, imprisonment, torture, inhumane acts, cruel treatment, deportation, forcible transfer, plunder of public or private property, wanton destruction and unlawful attacks on civilians allegedly committed in "ethnic cleansing" during the same period. BBC News 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.