Anything related to the court system, sentencing of offenders, or incarceration issues
A Bulgarian court has sentenced two Lebanese expatriates to life imprisonment for their role in a fatal 2012 bus bomb attack on Israeli tourists at the country's Burgas airport. The blast killed five Israelis, their local bus driver and the bomber as well as injuring 35 other persons. The accused, identified as Lebanese-Canadian Hassan El Hajj Hassan and Lebanese-Australian Meliad Farah, remain at large. [node:read-more:link]
Three former U.S. intelligence officers employed by the United Arab Emirates have admitted to hacking crimes and violating U.S. laws governing the transfer of military technology to foreign governments. Documents filed in a Washington court Sept. 13 set out a conspiracy to furnish the UAE with advanced technology and to assist Emirati operatives in countering perceived enemies of the U.S. ally. [node:read-more:link]
A Chinese state-owned telecom company has been ordered by the federal government to divest itself, on national security grounds, of an interest in a Telus Communications subsidiary for the provision of wireless services. China Mobile International Canada, which admits it had not notified the government as required, has asked the Federal Court to set aside the decision, saying the government was partly motivated by “the current political socioeconomic climate and the general biases against Chinese state-owned companies.” [node:read-more:link]
The only surviving member of a group accused of terrorist attacks in Paris in 2015 which left 130 dead, said at the opening of what is expected to be a mine-month trial, that he and his 19 fellow accused are “being treated like dogs.” The complaint by Salah Abdeslam, a confessed ISIS follower, provoked an outcry from victims’ families. [node:read-more:link]
The High Court of Australia ruled today that the country’s largest news media companies are responsible for comments posted by readers on their corporate Facebook pages. Dismissing an appeal of a lower court ruling that a man who had been the subject of several news reports about youth detention had been defamed on-line, Justice Stephen Rothman said “the acts of the (media companies) in facilitating, encouraging and thereby assisting the posting of comments by the third-party Facebook users rendered them publishers of those comments.” [node:read-more:link]
As the trial begins of 20 men accused in a series of coordinated on Paris in 2015 that left 130 persons dead and hundreds injured, the lone surviving attacker is the key defendant. However, Salah Abdeslam has so far refused to speak to investigators, other than to say ht was “a fighter for Islamic State.” [node:read-more:link]
A former Ontario resident campaigning to be Mayor of Calgary has pleaded guilty to a hate crime in Ontario in connection with online anti-Muslim posts. Defence counsel for Kevin J. Johnston, who moved to Alberta and is a vocal critic of COVID-19 masking, told an Ontario judge that client had recklessly “crossed the line” by using social media to incite hatred against Muslim students in 2017. [node:read-more:link]
An Iranian allegedly involved the mass execution and torture of political prisoners in his homeland in 1988 is on trial in Sweden. Hamid Nouri was arrested in Stockholm in November 2019 under the auspices of an international legal principle of universal jurisdiction. He worked in the prison system when Ayatollah Khomeini ordered the execution of some 5,000 political prisoners. [node:read-more:link]
A British member of an Islamic State group has pleaded guilty in a U.S. court to charges of conspiring to murder four Americans. Alexanda Kotey was accused of being one of the ISIS “Beatles” involved in kidnappings in Iraq and Syria. He and fellow Brit, El Shafee Elsheikh, initially pled not guilty but Kotey’s new plea suggests a deal with prosecutors. [node:read-more:link]
Seven U.S. Capitol Police officers filed suit in federal court Aug. 27 against former President Donald Trump, alleging that he conspired with extremist groups to provoke the Jan. 6 attack on Congress. They argue that the attack was the culmination of months of rhetoric by Trump, who they say was aware of the potential for violence. [node:read-more:link]
A Toronto man who violated a judge's order by distributing screenshots of a court hearing involving a controversial Calgary mayoralty candidate has been fined $2,500 for contempt of court. Donald Smith said “it kind of sucks . . . but I take full responsibility for my actions,” which included calling the judge “crooked.” [node:read-more:link]
Detained in Vancouver for more than two and a half years at the request of the U.S., Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou now must wait more than two months to hear whether she will be extradited to face fraud allegations. With legal arguments concluded, the decision rests with B.C. Supreme Court Associate Chief Justice Heather Holmes, who has set Oct. 21 for Meng’s next appearance but would not have a verdict ready. [node:read-more:link]
A British visitor to Singapore has been jailed for six weeks for repeatedly breaking the city-state’s COVID-19 protocols by refusing to wear a mask in public. He was found guilty of four charges, including not masking on a train and at a court appearance as well as causing a public nuisance and threatening government staff. [node:read-more:link]
A repeat offender commits armed robbery while on bail. Despite previous convictions and a firearms prohibition order, our system released him early from his latest offence. He has now violated that release and taken off. Revolving door indeed. [node:read-more:link]
The federal government is dropping its request that the Federal Court block the release of documents related to the dismissal of two scientists at the country’s Level 4 containment laboratory in Winnipeg. The Public Health Agency of Canada had refused to provide the information to a House of Commons committee, a decision which prompted the government’s action and pitted the Speaker again his own party. [node:read-more:link]
