ICTY prosecutor calls on EU to suspend membership talks with Serbia News
ICTY prosecutor calls on EU to suspend membership talks with Serbia

[JURIST] In an interview [in French] with Paris newspaper Le Figaro published Wednesday, the chief prosecutor for the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugsoalvia [official website] urged European Union officials to suspend membership talks with Serbia in order to pressure Belgrade to arrest wanted war crimes suspect Ratko Mladic [JURIST news archive]. Carla del Ponte [BBC profile] wants Brussels to delay plans towards a Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) [EU backgrounder], the first legal step towards EU membership, until Mladic is captured. Mladic is wanted on charges of genocide and war crimes stemming from his involvement in the Bosnian war in the early 1990s. Serbia and Montenegro Defense Minister Zoran Stankovic has admitted to secret talks with the Mladic family, but claims that he does not know where Mladic is hiding. The Serbian Supreme Defense Council has also admitted [AP report] that retired army officers previously helped hide Mladic, but they maintain that they have no knowledge of Mladic's current whereabouts. EUObserver has more.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Pennsylvania police killed 19 miners during strike

The Luzerne County Sheriff and deputies opened fire on a group of 400 striking miners in the town of Lattimer, Pennsylvania on September 10, 1897. Around 19 strikers were killed, and 39 were injured as a result. Luzerne County Sheriff James Martin and his deputies were later acquitted by a Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania jury after claiming that the strikers advanced upon the police. Learn more about the Lattimer Massacre from the Zinn Education Project and the Pennsylvania Center for the Book.

Sewing machine patented

On September 10, 1846, United States patent number 3640 was awarded to Elias Howe for his sewing machine. In 1854, Howe brought legal action against Isaac Singer, because he alleged Singer's machine infringed upon the patent. Howe won the case and was awarded royalties from the Singer sewing machines. Learn more about Elias Howe from the University of Rochester.

Last French execution by guillotine

On September 10, 1977, Hamida Djandoubi, a Tunisian immigrant convicted of murder, became the last person executed by guillotine in France. The French death penalty was formally abolished by President Francois Mitterand in 1981. Learn more about the history of the guillotine.