Spain agrees to accept Guantanamo detainees News
Spain agrees to accept Guantanamo detainees

[JURIST] Spain's Minister of Foreign Affairs Miguel Angel Moratinos [official profile] on Tuesday indicated his country's willingness to accept Guantanamo detainees [JURIST news archive] during his meeting with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton [official profile; BBC profile] in Washington DC. No specific details were set out during the meeting, and Moratinos told Spanish media [El Pais report, in Spanish; Cadena SER radio interview, in Spanish] that the legal implications of each detainee's case will have be considered. Moratinos also stated that Spanish commitment to Afghanistan will continue, but declined to discuss the nature of the nation's future role.

Earlier this month, the European Parliament [official website] voted 542-55, with 51 abstentions, to adopt a resolution [materials; JURIST report] encouraging member states to accept low-risk Guantanamo prisoners who cannot be returned to their country of origin for fear of persecution. In January, EU Secretary General Javier Solana [official profile] stated that accepting such detainees may be conditioned [JURIST report] on the US conducting background checks to ensure that they will not be a danger to the host country.

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.