UN rights experts urge US to set Guantanamo closure date News
UN rights experts urge US to set Guantanamo closure date

[JURIST] Five special rapporteurs making up the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention [official website] in the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights [official website] on Thursday called on the US [press release] to set a date for closing its detention facility at Guantanamo Bay [JURIST news archive]. In a statement, the group urged the US "to develop a detailed plan of action, with timeframes, for the closure of Guantanamo Bay," while consulting the international community.

In February, the same group of UN human rights experts issued a report [PDF text; press release] calling on the US to close the facility immediately [JURIST report], which the White House dismissed as a "discredit to the UN." The group refused an invitation to observe conditions at Guantanamo Bay [JURIST report] last year because the Pentagon would not allow members to interview detainees [JURIST report]. Reuters 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.