Peru to challenge Shining Path human rights ruling News
Peru to challenge Shining Path human rights ruling

[JURIST] Peru plans to mount a legal challenge to a decision from the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) [official website] ordering a $20 million judgment be paid to the families of deceased rebels and calling for the government to publicly honor the rebels, Peruvian President Alan Garcia [official website] said Tuesday. The IACHR's November ruling [materials, in Spanish] held Peru liable for the death of at least 41 Shining Path rebels [FAS backgrounder] in a 1992 prison riot that took place weeks after former President Alberto Fujimori [JURIST news archive] disbanded congress, suspended the constitution, and seized government control with military assistance. Garcia said that taxpayers should not be required to pay the judgment. He has previously assured the international legal community that despite the unfavorable decision, Peru will remain a member of the IACHR.

Fujimori was released on bail [JURIST report] in May while Chile courts decide whether he should be extradited to Peru, where he faces corruption and human rights charges [Trial Watch backgrounder; JURIST report], including authorizing an illegal death squad and abuse of power. Human rights activists have said the decision presents Peru with an opportunity to admit culpability for human rights abuses committed during the civil war of the 1980s and 1990s [BBC timeline]. 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.