US military returns Abu Ghraib prison to Iraqis News
US military returns Abu Ghraib prison to Iraqis

[JURIST] The US military on Saturday formally relinquished control of the Abu Ghraib prison [JURIST news archive] to the Iraqi government, according to an Iraqi spokesperson, after it was emptied of US detainees [JURIST report] last week. The spokesperson said the government has not decided how it will use the prison in the future.

Historically, Abu Ghraib was used by former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein [JURIST news archive] as a torture facility, and the US has faced pressure to close Abu Ghraib since scandalous photos [JURIST report] of US troops abusing Iraqi prisoners there surfaced in April 2004. A Human Rights Watch report released in July claimed that US commanders authorized [JURIST report] widespread torture of Iraqi detainees during and even after the Abu Ghraib scandal. 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.