Rwandan genocide suspect transferred from Germany to ICTR News
Rwandan genocide suspect transferred from Germany to ICTR

[JURIST] German authorities Wednesday transferred custody of Augustin Ngirabatware, a former Rwandan minister suspected of involvement in the 1994 Rwanda genocide [BBC backgrounder], from a facility in Frankfurt to a UN Detention Facility in Arusha, Tanzania. In Tanzania, Ngirabatware awaits an appearance before the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) [official website], where he is facing charges of conspiracy to commit genocide, genocide, and complicity in genocide. In a press statement [text], the ICTR expressed its "gratitude to the German Government for the arrest, detention and smooth transfer of the accused person to Arusha." AFP has more.

German police arrested Ngirabatware [JURIST report] in September 2007. The former Rwandan Minister of Planning had been a fugitive since 2001, when the ICTR issued a warrant for his arrest. Ngirabatware was one of 18 fugitives wanted by the ICTR. He is accused of providing weapons and support to Hutus during the 1994 slaughter of an estimated 800,000 Rwandans.

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.