Chilean court upholds tax fraud charges against Pinochet wife, son News
Chilean court upholds tax fraud charges against Pinochet wife, son

[JURIST] A Chilean appeals court denied a motion to dismiss tax charges against the wife and son of former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet [Wikipedia profile, JURIST news archive] Friday. Chilean prosecutors filed charges [JURIST report] against Pinochet's relatives last week, alleging they were complicit in hiding millions of dollars in over 100 accounts, including some in the US [JURIST report]. The Santiago Appeals Court has stripped Pinochet's immunity [JURIST report] on these charges and on charges of human rights violations [JURIST report]; the prosecutor is waiting on these immunity decisions to reach their final appeal before pressing charges against Pinochet himself. Reuters 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.