Germany to extradite arrested Rwanda presidential aide to France News
Germany to extradite arrested Rwanda presidential aide to France

[JURIST] German prosecutors announced Monday that they will extradite an aide to Rwandan President Paul Kagame [official website] to France on Wednesday in connection with the 1994 assassination [NYT report] of then-Rwandan president Juvenal Habyarima that led to the Rwanda genocide [HRW backgrounder]. Rose Kabuye [advocacy profile], an official in the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) [HRW profile], was arrested [JURIST report] last week under a European warrant issued by French Judge Jean-Louis Bruguiere [BBC profile] in 2006. German officials said that because Kabuye entered the country on personal business, she was not protected by her diplomatic status that had previously prevented her arrest. Kagame responded [AFP report] Monday that Kabuye's arrest and extradition is in effect putting Rwanda itself on trial and that French officials issued the warrant for political reasons. AP has more. From Rwanda, the New Times has local coverage.

In October, German authorities transferred [JURIST report] Augustin Ngirabatware, a former Rwandan minister suspected of involvement in the 1994 Rwanda genocide [BBC backgrounder], from a facility in Frankfurt to a UN detention facility in Arusha, Tanzania, where he faces trial by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) [official website]. In July, German border police arrested [press release; JURIST report] Rwandan war crimes suspect Callixte Mbarushiman as he was preparing to travel to Russia.

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.