Pentagon files terrorism charges against Sudanese Guantanamo detainee News
Pentagon files terrorism charges against Sudanese Guantanamo detainee

[JURIST] US Department of Defense [official website] prosecutors Friday charged [charge sheet, PDF] Guantanamo Bay detainee Noor Uthman Muhammed with conspiracy and providing material support for terrorism. Muhammed, a Sudanese national, is accused of conspiring with various al Qaeda [JURIST news archive] leaders and running a terrorist training camp in Afghanistan between 1996 and 2000.

Captured in Pakistan in 2002, Muhammed is the sixteenth detainee to be charged at Guantanamo under the Military Commissions Act of 2006 [DOD materials], passed by Congress after the US Supreme Court ruled [opinion, PDF; JURIST report] that the previous system, created by President George W. Bush, violated US and international law. AP has more. Reuters has additional coverage.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Laws of Burgos put into effect

The Spanish Crown put the Laws of Burgos into effect on December 27, 1512. These laws governed the relationship of Spanish settlers with the indigenous peoples of the Caribbean. The laws established the encomienda system of labor, promoted conversion to Catholicism, and safeguarded the indigenous peoples from physical abuse.  However, historians argue that the laws were ineffective at protecting the rights of the indigenous population. Learn more from the Library of Congress.

Prohibitionist Carrie Nation carried out her first public bar smashing

On December 27, 1900, militant Prohibitionist Carrie Nation carried out her first public smashing of a bar, at the Carey Hotel in Wichita, Kansas. Nation argued that destroying bars was an acceptable means of battling the liquor trade since the Kansas Constitution prohibited alcohol. Learn more about Carrie Nation.

World Bank created

On December 27, 1944, the World Bank was created during the United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, USA. Learn more about the history of the World Bank.