Russian court overturns acquittal of soldiers in Chechnya killings News
Russian court overturns acquittal of soldiers in Chechnya killings

[JURIST] The Russian Supreme Court Tuesday overturned the acquittal of four Russian soldiers [JURIST report] in the 2002 murder of six Chechen civilians [Amnesty International report]. The acquittal was overturned due to criminal procedure violations, and Judge Alexander Koronets ordered the case sent back to the same military court that has twice acquitted the soldiers. Captain Eduard Ulman and three subordinates have been found not guilty by two different juries, but rights groups have said that the verdicts reflect an atmosphere where Russian troops fighting Chechen separatists can abuse civilians without fear of punishment. Only one high-ranking Russian military officer has ever been convicted for abusing civilians during the 10-year war. Reuters has more. MosNews has local coverage.

THIS DAY @ LAW

UN General Assembly approves Palestine partition plan

The UN General Assembly approved UN Resolution Resolution 181 (II) on November 29, 1947, recommending that the British Mandate for Palestine be split into a Jewish state, an Arab state, and an international zone for Jerusalem. The vote in the assembly was 33 for to 13 against, with 10 abstentions. The resolution sparked a war between Palestinian Arabs and Jews in 1947 and a wider war after Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Iraq, and Lebanon invaded the new State of Israel in 1948. Read Resolution 181 (II).

UN divided Palestine between Arabs and Jews

On November 29, 1947, the UN General Assembly voted to partition Palestine into Jewish and Arab territories, leading to the establishment of a Jewish state the following year. Read UN General Assembly Resolution 181.

Defense Secretary Robert McNamara resigns during Vietnam Conflict

On November 29, 1967, Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara announced that he was resigning from his office to accept an appointment as head of the World Bank. The announcement came as the Vietnam Conflict was becoming increasingly unpopular in the United States and abroad.