Mladic in surrender talks with Hague war crimes court: report News
Mladic in surrender talks with Hague war crimes court: report

[JURIST] Former Bosnian Serb general and indicted war criminal Ratko Mladic [ICTY case backgrounder; JURIST news archive] is reported to be discussing his surrender with the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) [official website; JURIST news archive], according to an article Monday in the UK Independent, citing a former Belgrade police chief. In exchange for his surrender Mladic is requesting financial protection for his followers and family, and criminal immunity for those who protected him while a fugative. The president of the ICTY has threatened [JURIST report] to frusturate Serbia's bid for European Union membership if Mladic is not delivered to the ICTY by year's end, and two weeks ago ICTY chief prosecutor Carla del Ponte characterized [JURIST report] Serbia's inability to deliver Mladic as "dysfunctional." Mladic is rumored [JURIST report] to have been protected by remnants of the Serbia-Montenegro army. Mladic has been charged by the ICTY with genocide for the execution of over 7,000 Muslim prisoners, and for the shelling and sniping of innocent civilians during the siege of Sarajevo, and is one of six indicted ICTY war criminals still at large.

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.