Peru prosecutors file human rights charges against opposition leader News
Peru prosecutors file human rights charges against opposition leader

[JURIST] Peruvian prosecutors have filed informal charges against Ollanta Humala [COHA profile; BBC report], the opposition leader who narrowly lost the recent presidential election [BBC report] to Alan Garcia, for murder, torture and kidnapping stemming from his position as an army captain in Peru's San Martin province during the 1990s. A judge must decide whether to formally indict Humala on the charges, which are based on testimony from two family members of Humala's alleged victims.

Humala, who is popular among poor Peruvians, was dismissed from army service in 2000 after spearheading a nonviolent military uprising against then-President Alberto Fujimori [personal website; JURIST news archive]. BBC News 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.