US denies plan to release high-ranking Iraqi prisoners News
US denies plan to release high-ranking Iraqi prisoners

[JURIST] American officials denied a claim Friday that they planned to release 12 high-ranking prisoners from the US detention facility at Camp Cropper [Wikipedia backgrounder] near Baghdad International Airport [GlobalSecurity backgrounder]. Iraqi lawyer Badia Aref had said that US officials planned to free the prisoners within two weeks, but that his client, former Iraqi Prime Minister Tariq Aziz [BBC profile], would not be among those released. Aref has been calling [JURIST report] for the release of Aziz due to his deteriorating health [JURIST report].

The US currently holds 65 high-ranking figures from the Saddam Hussein regime awaiting trial. There have been no releases since the US freed over 20 prisoners [JURIST report] in December, including two of Hussein's top weapons experts. Lt. Col. Keir-Kevin Curry, acting as a spokesman for the facility, said that the US had no plans to release high-value detainees any time soon. Reuters has more.

THIS DAY @ LAW

UN Security Council called for Israeli withdrawal from territories occupied in Six Days' War

On November 22, 1967, the UN Security Council called for Israeli withdrawal from territories occupied during the Six Days' War, and for respect of the right of all States in the area to "live in peace within secure and recognized boundaries." Read Resolution 242, which remains a cornerstone of efforts to achieve peace in the Middle East.

President Kennedy assassinated, VP Lyndon Johnson sworn inin

On November 22, 1963, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas. Later that day, Vice-President Lyndon Johnson was sworn in as the 36th President of the United States. Earl Warren, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, was later tasked with leading a commission to investigate the assassination. President Johnson received the final report of the Warren Commission on September 24, 1964. Read the Warren Commission Report.