Russia responsible for Chechen death: ECHR News
Russia responsible for Chechen death: ECHR

[JURIST] The European Court of Human Rights [official website] Thursday ruled [press release] that Russian authorities were responsible for the 2001 death of a Chechen man who died after he was taken into Russian custody during a raid. The court ordered Russia to pay €62,285 compensation [judgment text] to the family of Shamil Said-Khasanovich Akhmadov, whose battered body was discovered in a field after being detained by Russian forces. The case is not the only one brought against Russia by Chechens; the president of the court has said almost a fifth of the 90,000 complaints currently before the court name the Russian government as a defendant. Radio Free Europe has more.

In April the ECHR ordered Russia to compensate a Chechen woman [JURIST report] for the disappearance and alleged killing of her husband in 2000.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Montgomery started racially-integrated bus service after boycott

On December 21, 1956, buses in Montgomery, Alabama, started racially integrated service following federal court rulings ending on-board segregation. Bus boycott leaders Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King and Rev. Ralph Abernathy were among the first riders under the new scheme. Learn about the Montgomery Bus Boycott.

Stalin born

On December 21, 1879, Joseph Stalin was born in Gori, Georgia. In 1922, he became leader of the USSR until his death in 1953. During his time as Soviet dictator, Stalin industrialized his country, which he then led to become one of the world's two superpowers after WWII. Through his infamous purges, show trials and nationwide famines, Stalin also became responsible for millions of deaths.