Bosnian immigrant convicted for concealing Srebrenica role News
Bosnian immigrant convicted for concealing Srebrenica role

[JURIST] Bosnian immigrant Marko Boskic was convicted Wednesday when a US federal jury found that he had failed to reveal his role in the 1995 Srebrenica massacre [PBS backgrounder; JURIST news archive] while trying to enter the US as a refugee. Boskic was charged in August 2004 [JURIST report] with five counts of making false declarations on US immigration applications and in an interview with federal agents. He pleaded not guilty [JURIST report], claiming he had been held in a Serbian prison camp and threatened with a gun to his head if he did not take part in the killings.

Boskic was acquitted at trial [JURIST report] on three other charges, including lying on US immigration applications when asked if he had ever persecuted or killed anyone for racial, ethnic or political reasons. He faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and may be deported to Bosnia-Herzegovina [JURIST news archive], where he could be tried for war crimes [JURIST report]. AP has more. The Boston Globe has local coverage.

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.