Sri Lankan rebels illegally recruiting child soldiers, UNICEF says News
Sri Lankan rebels illegally recruiting child soldiers, UNICEF says

[JURIST] UN Children's Fund [official website] officials have confirmed 40 cases of children being abducted or recruited as soldiers [UNICEF fact sheet, PDF] by Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger rebel group [factional website] since December's tsunami disaster [JURIST Hot Topic]. According to UNICEF spokesman Martin Dawes, "We have had 40 verified cases by UNICEF of child recruitment of the LTTE [Tamil rebels] since the tsunami. When we say verified, these are cases that have come to our attention from families or concerned people, which we were able to check out and basically take to the LTTE as a complaint." Dawes said that only four children were removed from tsunami displacement camps, which raises the possibility that there is general recruitment amongst the population. Recruiting of child soldiers is banned by international convention. VOA News 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.