EU opens membership talks with Turkey News
EU opens membership talks with Turkey

[JURIST] The European Union [official website] officially opened accession negotiations [EU press release, PDF] Tuesday with Turkey [JURIST archive] after member states were able to overcome a deadlock on whether to offer Turkey full membership [JURIST report]. Late Monday, Austria withdrew its opposition to full membership [BBC backgrounder] and Ankara agreed to conditions included in the EU's negotiating framework [PDF text]. The forthcoming negotiations are expected to take more than 10 years, as deep pre-accession reforms need to be made in Turkey. The bid is a culmination of a more than 40-year effort [Turkish MOFA backgrounder] by Turkish diplomacy to begin the integration process with the EU. BBC News has more. The EU has background on its enlargement negotiations with Turkey.

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.