ACLU sues on behalf of American held without charge by US forces in Iraq News
ACLU sues on behalf of American held without charge by US forces in Iraq

[JURIST] The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit [press release] against the US government Wednesday on behalf of a US citizen detained by US forces in Iraq since May 17. Cyrus Kar, a 44-year-old filmmaker [Los Angeles Times report], was in Iraq shooting a historical documentary when he was stopped at a checkpoint. According to the Pentagon, the taxi he was riding in was packed with a component of explosives, and he has been held in military custody since then. He has not been charged and an FBI agent told his family that his story checked out. Four other Americans are also being held for separate incidents [AP report]. The ACLU complaint [full text] alleges violations of constitutional rights, federal and international law, and US military regulations.

THIS DAY @ LAW

No lynchings reported in US for first time

On December 30, 1952, the Tuskegee Institute reported that 1952 was the first year of no lynchings of African Americans in the United States in the 71 years it had kept records. Learn more about lynching and listen to Billie Holiday's jazz recording of the 1938 protest song Strange Fruit.

USSR established

On December 30, 1922, representatives of Russia, Belarus, Ukraine and the Transcaucus approved the Treaty on the Creation of the USSR and the Declaration of the Creation of the USSR, creating the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). During World War II, the USSR would also annex Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and Moldova. Learn more about the history of the USSR from the BBC.