Obama administration may bring more Guantanamo detainees to US News
Obama administration may bring more Guantanamo detainees to US

[JURIST] The Obama administration is considering transferring more Guantanamo Bay detainees to the US, according to testimony [schedule] Friday by US Defense Department General Counsel Jeh Charles Johnson [official profile] to the the House Armed Services Committee [official website]. Some detainees could be transferred for long-term incarceration and others for prosecution, but none would be released domestically. Guantanamo Bay detainee Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani [JURIST news archive] was transferred [JURIST report] to New York in June to face criminal charges for alleged involvement in the 1998 bombings of US embassies in Tanzania and Kenya which killed 224 people. In a related development Friday, the Department of Justice petitioned the US District Court for the District of Columbia [official websites] for permission to continue to detain Mohammed Jawad [ACLU materials; JURIST news archive] while the department determines if he can be tried in a US-based federal court on criminal charges.

Johnson and Assistant Attorney General for National Security David Kris [official profile] urged Congress to pass proposed reforms to the Military Commissions Act of 2006 [text, PDF; JURIST news archive] and detainee policy. Both men faced criticism for failing to deliver a detailed plan on closing the Guantanamo Bay detainee facilities. Earlier this week their taskforce delayed release [JURIST news report] of a report on the matter after failing to meet a six-month reporting deadline, and instead presented an interim report [text, PDF; prosecution protocol, PDF].

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.