Argentina prosecutor seeks arrest of ex-president in Buenos Aires bomb cover-up News
Argentina prosecutor seeks arrest of ex-president in Buenos Aires bomb cover-up

[JURIST] Argentine prosecutor Alberto Nisman filed a petition Thursday for the arrest of former Argentine President Carlos Menem [BBC backgrounder] and five others accused of covering up the possible involvement of businessman Alberto Jacinto Kanoore Edul in the 1994 bombing of a Jewish community center in Buenos Aires. In 2004, an Argentine judge conducted an investigation [JURIST report] into the possible connection between Swiss bank accounts allegedly held by Menem and the bombing. Argentine prosecutors have alleged that the bombing, which killed 85 and injured more than 200, was planned by Iranian officials and carried out by Hezbollah [BBC backgrounder]. AP has more.

In 2006, Argentina sought the arrests [JURIST report] of high-ranking members of the Iranian government, including former Iranian President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani [official website, in Farsi], in connection with the bombing, but Interpol's Executive Committee [official website] denied the request and voted to issue arrest notices [press release; JURIST report] for only five Iranians and one Lebanese man. In response, Iranian prosecutors issued court summonses [JURIST report] for five Argentinians they accused of falsely implicating an Iranian group with planning the bombing.

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.