Afghanistan president will not block student death sentence News
Afghanistan president will not block student death sentence

[JURIST] Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai [official website; BBC profile] is concerned about the imposition of the death penalty against journalism student Sayad Parwez Kambaksh but will not intervene in the case pending Kambaksh's appeal, a presidential spokesman said Tuesday. Under Article 64 of the Afghanistan Constitution [text], Afghanistan's president may reduce penalties and grant pardons in accordance with provisions of Afghan law. In January, Kambaksh was convicted of blasphemy and sentenced to death [JURIST report] for distributing papers questioning why Islam permitted men to have up to four wives while women cannot have multiple husbands.

A three-judge panel, following a recommendation from the Afghan Council of Mullahs, invoked Article 130 of the Afghanistan Constitution on judicial discretion and sentenced Kambaksh to death. Kambaksh has received international support [RWB report] from Reporters Without Borders [advocacy website], as well as the European Parliament President Hans-Gert Pöttering [official website]. AP 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.