Former Guantanamo detainee sues US government for torture News
Former Guantanamo detainee sues US government for torture

[JURIST] Former Guantanamo Bay [JURIST news archive] detainee Adel Hassan Hamad [advocacy website] filed suit [complaint, PDF] in the US District Court for the Western District of Washington [official website] Wednesday against the US government and more than a dozen government officials. Hamad, a Sudanese aid worker captured in Pakistan in 2002, claims he was tortured during his time at Guantanamo Bay. A lawyer for Hamad claimed in 2007 that he was not guilty of any crimes [JURIST op-ed] and that the government had obstructed lawyers' attempts to clear his name. It is unclear how much compensation Hamad is seeking.

Hamad was among a group of former detainees who announced in Sudan [JURIST report] in 2008 that they planned to sue the US government in US courts. The US government released Hamad [JURIST report] in 2007. Earlier that year, Hamad's lawyers filed an affidavit signed by an unnamed Army officer accusing the government of bias [JURIST report] in its treatment of detainees.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Montgomery started racially-integrated bus service after boycott

On December 21, 1956, buses in Montgomery, Alabama, started racially integrated service following federal court rulings ending on-board segregation. Bus boycott leaders Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King and Rev. Ralph Abernathy were among the first riders under the new scheme. Learn about the Montgomery Bus Boycott.

Stalin born

On December 21, 1879, Joseph Stalin was born in Gori, Georgia. In 1922, he became leader of the USSR until his death in 1953. During his time as Soviet dictator, Stalin industrialized his country, which he then led to become one of the world's two superpowers after WWII. Through his infamous purges, show trials and nationwide famines, Stalin also became responsible for millions of deaths.