Bangladesh to form human rights commission News
Bangladesh to form human rights commission

[JURIST] The interim government of Bangladesh [JURIST news archive] said Tuesday it plans to set up a national human rights commission in the country to deal with human rights problems there. Human rights groups have recently complained about extra-judicial killings and arbitrary arrests [HRW press release] by the security forces in Bangladesh. There have been 50 unexplained deaths in the country since the interim government took control on January 12.

Bangladeshi President Iajuddin Ahmed [Wikipedia profile] declared a state of emergency [JURIST report] in the country on January 11 in the face of unrest over upcoming national elections and later cancelled a scheduled national poll [JURIST report]. The interim military-backed government has promised to hold new elections, but no date has yet been set. AFP has more.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Ku Klux Klan founded

The US hate group known as the Ku Klux Klan was founded on December 24, 1865 in Pulaski, Tennessee as a reaction to reconstruction efforts following the Union victory in the American Civil War. The group would later become notorious for its attacks on Black Americans, being targeted by the Enforcement Act of 1871, which imposed civil and criminal liability for deprivation of constitutional rights. Read the Enforcement Act of 1871.  

Hamid Karzai born

On December 24, 1957, Hamid Karzai was born in Karz, Afghanistan. He would go on to become in 2004 his country's first elected president after the end of Taliban rule in 2001.