Kuwaiti, Egyptian detainees set to be released from Guantanamo Bay News
Kuwaiti, Egyptian detainees set to be released from Guantanamo Bay

[JURIST] The Kuwaiti ambassador to Washington announced Sunday that five of the 11 Kuwaitis detained [JURIST report] at Guantanamo Bay [JURIST news archive] would "soon" be released to the government of Kuwait and tried before a court in that country. Sheikh Salem Abdullah al-Jaber al-Sabah did not provide a specific date but said the countries were in negotiations for the specifics of the hand-over process. AFP has more. Egypt's foreign minister also announced Sunday that one of the nation's four Guantanamo detainees would be freed. Earlier this month, another Egyptian detainee was released [JURIST report] after a military Combatant Status Review Tribunal [US DOD factsheet, PDF] determined he was improperly classified. The Pentagon said in early October that 247 Guantanamo detainees have been released, with 505 remaining in detention. AFP has more.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Georgia became first US state to ban lynching

On December 20, 1893, Georgia became the first state in the Union to pass a law against lynching, making the act punishable by four years in prison. The statute was not particularly effective—read the text of the 1899 pamphlet Lynch Law in Georgia by anti-lynching activist Ida Wells-Barnett.