Gitmo detainees begin new hunger strike News
Gitmo detainees begin new hunger strike

[JURIST] Detainees at the US prison camp in Guantanamo Bay [JURIST news archive] have started another hunger strike in an effort to "receive a fair hearing and humane treatment," according to human rights lawyers with the Center for Constitutional Rights [advocacy website]. The detainees ended an earlier strike on June 28 after the military promised that facility officers would comply [JURIST report] with the Geneva Conventions [ICRC materials], but the protestors claim that nothing has changed. Many of the prisoners have been held for over three years without being charged or having access to lawyers. US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld announced changes in Guantanamo terrorism trials [JURIST report] yesterday, saying that 12 detainees are currently eligible for trial with four already charged. But Amnesty International [advocacy website] remains critical of the new changes [press release] saying they give "no real rights to the accused." Read a statement by one of the Guantanamo detainees participating in the hunger strike. AP has more.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Pope Urban II sparks First Crusade

Pope Urban II threw his support behind what would become the First Crusade on November 27, 1095 during the Council of Clairmont. The Pope urged the council's participants to render aid to the Byzantine Empire, which was being attacked by the Seljuks. Pope Urban called for a wide coalition of rich and poor to combat the threat, which eventually resulted in the conquest of much of the Muslim-controlled Levant by the Crusaders and the establishment of the Crusader States. Read Pope Urban's address.  

Catholic Code of Canon Law revised

On November 27, 1983, the revised Code of Canon Law of the Roman Catholic Church went into effect. Learn more about the history of Canon Law from Professor Kenneth Pennington of the Catholic University of America's Columbus School of Law.

Alfred Nobel creates Nobel Prize in his will

On November 27, 1895, Alfred Nobel signed his will, creating the Nobel Prize. Learn more about the history of the Nobel Prize and the Nobel Commission.