Spanish police arrest 16, including potential Iraq suicide bombers News
Spanish police arrest 16, including potential Iraq suicide bombers

[JURIST] Spain announced on Wednesday the arrest of 16 suspected Islamic militants, including 11 fighters loyal to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi [BBC profile] and men training to carry out suicide attacks in Iraq. A statement [press release in Spanish] from the Spanish Interior Ministry [official website in Spanish] characterized the men as "extremely radical and dangerous," and said that five of the 16 had aided the terror cell responsible for the Madrid train bombing [JURIST news archive] of 2004. Eleven of the suspects are Morrocan, two are Algerian, two are Spanish, and the origin of one is unknown. Spain has made over 200 arrests of supected terrorists in nine different investigations. Reuters 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.