Rwanda genocide tribunal seeks more time to complete trials News
Rwanda genocide tribunal seeks more time to complete trials

[JURIST] The prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) [official website] Wednesday asked the UN Security Council [official website] to extend the ICTR's mandate so that the court can complete all war crimes trials. Hassan Bubacar Jallow [official profile] said in a report [PDF text] that the recent arrests of several Rwandan genocide suspects meant that the court would not have time to finish several first-instance cases until 2009. Pursuant to UN Security Council Resolution 1503 (2003) [PDF text], the court is to complete all trials by the end of the year, and to complete all of its work, including appellate review, by 2010. AFP has more.

Also at the UN Wednesday, Russian diplomat Vitaly Churkin [video, interview] called for the closure of both the ICTR and the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY). There have been significant developments [JURIST news archive] this year in the prosecution of several individuals accused of involvement in the 1994 Rwandan genocide, and those convicted are now allowed to serve out their sentences in Rwanda. Neither the ICTR nor the ICTY has been able to bring all suspects into custody, and the courts have often been criticized for their slow progress. Churkin asserted that after 2009, national courts should handle any new cases. Novosti 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.