Rights group alleges Russia using secret prisons in Chechnya for torture News
Rights group alleges Russia using secret prisons in Chechnya for torture

[JURIST Europe] The International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights [official website] has claimed in a new report [text] that Russia is maintaining secret prisons in Chechnya [BBC backgrounder; government website, in Russian] and is using them for kidnapping and torturing separatist Chechens in violation of European and Russian laws.

The group submitted the report to Dick Marty [official profile], the Chairperson of the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights of the Council of Europe [official website]. Marty is also heading the investigation into alleged secret CIA detention centers in Europe. In the past, Russia has rejected allegations of Chechen torture [JURIST report] and has not yet commented on the latest report. Voice of America has more.

Tatyana Margolin is an Associate Editor for JURIST Europe, reporting European legal news from a European perspective. She is based in the UK.

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.