Cambodia genocide tribunal dismisses charges against former Khmer Rouge member News
Cambodia genocide tribunal dismisses charges against former Khmer Rouge member

The Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) [official website] on Wednesday dismissed [press release] charges against Im Chaem, a Buddhist nun suspected of playing a role in the Khmer Rouge regime. The judges in the case said they lacked jurisdiction to decide Im Chaem’s case as she was “neither a senior leader nor … one of the … officials of the Khmer Rouge regime.” The full reasons for dismissal will be filed at a later date.

Im Chaem was thought to have run a forced labor camp during the between 1975 and 1979 when the Khmer Rouge killed [BBC backgrounder] approximately 20 percent of the Cambodian population. Cambodia has struggled, at great expense, to bring former Khmer Rouge officials to justice. Last November the ECCC upheld [JURIST report] the life sentences of two key Khmer Rouge officials. However, the ECCC has been criticized [REUTERS report] for only convicting three Khmer Rouge officials—at a cost of USD $260 million—during its 10-year existence.

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.