Judge rules CIA contractor charged with detainee abuse can plead ‘following orders’ News
Judge rules CIA contractor charged with detainee abuse can plead ‘following orders’

[JURIST] US District Judge Terrence Boyle [official profile] from the US District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina [official website] has ruled that David Passaro [Wikipedia profile], the first US civilian charged with prisoner abuse of a terror detainee, can present evidence at trial to show that he was following government orders. Passaro, a former Army special operations soldier and a CIA contract employee who was working in Afghanistan [JURIST news archive], is charged with assaulting Afghan prisoner Abdul Wali [Wikipedia profile] who died in US custody in June 2003. No trial date has been set, but Passaro may face up to 40 years in prison if convicted. Passaro claims the US military used him as a scapegoat following revelations about prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib [JURIST news archive] in Iraq. 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.