Sudan says no handover of war crimes suspects for foreign trials News
Sudan says no handover of war crimes suspects for foreign trials

[JURIST] Sudan's state-run news agency Saturday quoted the country's vice-president as saying that Sudan [official government website; English version] would not extradite any Sudanese suspected of war crimes for trial in foreign courts. Vice President Ali Osman Mohammed Taha said that such trials, possibly at the International Criminal Court [official website] in The Hague or in a special regional tribunal, would constitute "something we will not accept as a government" and that Sudan had its own courts in which human rights cases might be brought. Last week a UN report which declined to characterize the situation in the western Darfur region of the country as genocide [JURIST report] nonetheless recommended that 51 Sudanese – including high ranking officials and militia leaders – be charged with committing crimes against humanity. The Darfur conflict has displaced over 2 million people and led to the deaths of over 70,000. AP has more.

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.