Turkish officials charge Kurdish party leader with inciting hatred over Kirkuk News
Turkish officials charge Kurdish party leader with inciting hatred over Kirkuk

[JURIST] Hilmi Aydogdu, leader of the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party [official website; Wikipedia backgrounder], was charged by Turkish authorities Friday with inciting hatred after stating that any Turkish attack on Kirkuk [Global Security backgrounder], a city in northern Iraq with a large Kurdish population, would be comparable to an attack on all Kurds. Aydogdu could face up to three years in prison if found guilty.

Growing hostility between Kurds, Arabs, and Turks in Kirkuk, as well as suspicions that Iraqi Kurds seek to create an independent state with Kirkuk as its capital, has made Turkey wary. The country has suggested that it might protect its interests in the oil-rich city with military force. The status of Kirkuk [JURIST report] is set to be decided by referendum this year. Kurdish Media has more.

THIS DAY @ LAW

International Day Against Fascism and Anti-Semitism

November 9 is the International Day Against Fascism and Anti-Semitism [UNITED factsheet]. On November 9, 1924, American gay activist Henry Gerber and several associates formed the Society for Human Rights, the first gay rights organization in the United States. The Society received a charter from the State of Illinois in December but was disbanded in July 1925 after a police raid which led to Gerber's arrest and trial (albeit not conviction). Pay a virtual visit to Henry Gerber House, now a registered Chicago landmark.

Supreme Court strikes down Massachusetts anti-draft law

On November 9, 1970, the Supreme Court voted 6-3 in Massachusetts v. Laird not to hear the case of the state's anti-draft law. Massachusetts had passed a law, which allowed its citizens to decline to fight in any undeclared war, even if the person was drafted. The law was passed in opposition to the draft and the war in Vietnam. The First Circuit found the war constitutional and thus struck down the law.