Iran judiciary refuses to return remains of Canadian reporter News
Iran judiciary refuses to return remains of Canadian reporter

[JURIST] Iran's judiciary [official website] Tuesday rejected Canada's demands that the remains of a Iranian-Canadian photographer who died in detention in Tehran be returned to Canada. Officials in Ottawa demanded last week that Iran return the body of Zahra Kazemi [CBC backgrounder], who died in custody in July 2003, so that an autopsy could be performed to investigate allegations of rape [JURIST report]. Iran's judiciary rejected the request stating that Kazemi "was an Iranian citizen and having a Canadian citizenship does not exclude her case from being dealt with by the Iranian courts." The laws of Iran do not recognize dual nationality. However, the case will be reviewed by an appeal court in Tehran, with lawyers to present their claims on May 20. Last Sunday, Nobel peace prize winner Shirin Ebadi [official profile], who is representing Kazemi's mother, asked the head of Iran's judiciary to appoint a special judge to investigate the circumstances of Kazemi's death. Kazemi died 10 days after being arrested for photographing a demonstration outside a Tehran prison. AFP has more.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Indian National Congress founded

The Indian National Congress (INC) was founded on December 28, 1885 in Bombay (now Mumbai), India. In subsequent decades, the so-called Congress Party would advocate for Indian independence from the UK, which was eventually achieved in 1947. The first Prime Minister of independent India, Jawaharlal Nehru, was elected as a member of the INC. Learn more about the history and founding of the Indian National Congress.

Congress recognized Pledge of Allegiance

On December 28, 1945, Congress officially recognized the Pledge of Allegiance and encouraged its recitation in schools. The Pledge was supposedly written in 1892 by Francis Bellamy, a Baptist minister, to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Columbus Day. The words “under God” were added by Congress in 1954. The revised version of the Pledge was the subject of litigation before the United States Supreme Court originally brought by Michael Newdow, a parent who unsuccessfully objected to his daughter's school district policy requiring daily recitation of the Pledge. The court ruled that Newdow had no standing.

Nepal ends monarchy, establishes republic

On December 28, 2007, the Kingdom of Nepal's interim parliament ended the country's monarchy and established the Republic of Nepal. Free elections were held on April 10 of the following year to elect a Constituent Assembly.

Learn more about the rise of democracy in Nepal.