Russian soldiers cleared of Chechen deaths News
Russian soldiers cleared of Chechen deaths

[JURIST] A North Caucasus District military court has found a group of a special forces soldiers in the Russian military not guilty in the 2002 murder of six Chechen civilians [Amnesty International report]. The troops admitted to killing the civilians but said they were just following orders. When they fired upon a van that missed a checkpoint they only killed one passenger initially, but when they contacted headquarters they were told to execute the survivors and cover up the incident. Human rights groups, including The International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights (IHF) [official website], have denounced the verdict [IHF statement] as not dealing severely with abuses in the Russian military and thousands of people gathered in Chechnya [Mosnews coverage] Friday to protest the verdict. BBC News has more.

THIS DAY @ LAW

First Fleet departs from England to establish penal colony in Australia

On May 13, 1787, the First Fleet departed from England, carrying 780 British convicts to establish a penal colony in Australia. Led by Captain Arthur Philip, all eleven ships arrived safely in Botany Bay, New South Wales, Australia in January of 1788.

Read Captain Philip's account of his voyage on Project Gutenberg, and learn more about the journey and its impact from First Fleet online.

Federal government denied funding to segregated school districts

On May 13, 1966, the US federal government took its first action against violators of the desegregation guidelines of the 1964 Civil Rights Act by denying federal education funding for 12 segregated Southern school districts. Learn more about school desegregation.