Iraqi tribunal names chief judge for second Saddam trial News
Iraqi tribunal names chief judge for second Saddam trial

[JURIST] Judge Abdullah al-Amiri, a Shiite judge, will preside over the second Saddam Hussein trial [JURIST news archive] by the Iraqi High Tribunal, this one involving the so-called "Anfal" operation [HRW backgrounder] that killed 100,000 Kurds in northern Iraq in the 1980s. In the new trial, scheduled to begin on August 21 [JURIST report], Hussein and six co-defendants are charged with genocide and crimes against humanity [JURIST report]. Munqith Takleef al-Firuan will serve as the chief prosecutor, a court official said Sunday.

Hussein's first trial, on charges of crimes against humanity stemming from the alleged execution of 148 Shiites in response to a 1982 assassination attempt in Dujail, has been adjourned until October 16 [JURIST reports]. Both sides have presented closing arguments and are awaiting a verdict for Hussein and seven co-defendants. The prosecution called for the death penalty, while court-appointed lawyers presented the closing arguments for Hussein and some of his co-defendants because their defense team boycotted trial proceedings in protest of poor security after the murder of a defense lawyer in June [JURIST reports]. AP has more.

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.