Bosnia war crimes prosecutor arrests four suspected of crimes against humanity News
Bosnia war crimes prosecutor arrests four suspected of crimes against humanity

[JURIST] Four former Bosnian Serb officers have been arrested on suspicions of crimes against humanity [BiH Criminal Code Article 172, PDF] in connection with the August 1992 massacre of 200 civilians in Koricanske Stijene, the Prosecutor's Office of Bosnia & Herzegovina said [press release] Tuesday. Milorad Skrbic, Milorad Radakovic, Gordan Duric, and Ljubisa Cetic were arrested on allegations that they, along with members of the so-called "Intervention Squad" and the police force SJB Prijedor [UNSC report], removed more than 200 civilian Bosnian Muslims and Croats from buses as they were transported from Prijedor and shot them. The suspects' homes have been searched and they will now be questioned by the Prosecutor's Office [official website] as further action is considered. Reuters has more.

In 2004, the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) [official website] sentenced [press release] former Bosnian Serb "Intervention Squad" officer Darko Mrdja [ICTY backgrounder, PDF] to 17 years in prison for "unloading, guarding, escorting, shooting and killing" the victims at Koricanske Stijene. The Bosnian Prosecutor's Office works in tandem with the War Crimes Chamber [HRW backgrounder] of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina [official website; JURIST news archive], which was established to alleviate the caseload of the ICTY. The War Crimes Chamber will continue to hear cases as the ICTY winds down in 2010.

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.