Thailand prosecutors file new corruption charges against ex-PM News
Thailand prosecutors file new corruption charges against ex-PM

[JURIST] Thai prosecutors formally filed new corruption charges Monday against former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra [BBC profile; JURIST news archive] and other high-level officials, accusing Thaksin and the officials of illegally approving and operating funds from the state lottery. The military-appointed Assets Examination Committee has frozen nearly $2 billion of Thaksin's assets and is seeking up to $500 million in compensation from Thaksin. Thaksin and his wife Pojamarn Shinawatra are scheduled to appear in court on Wednesday on separate corruption allegations [JURIST report] stemming from a 2003 land purchase by Pojamarn from the government-directed Financial Institutions Development Fund [official website].

In February, Thaksin returned to Thailand [JURIST report] from self-imposed exile to face corruption charges laid against him after he was ousted in a military coup [JURIST report] in September 2006. Thai authorities immediately arrested Thaksin upon his return and later released him on bail. Reuters 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.