Anything related to the court system, sentencing of offenders, or incarceration issues
Long-awaited court hearings for the two Canadians detained in China since December 2018 are about to begin. Foreign Affairs Minister Marc Garneau confirmed March 17 that Michael Spavor’s trial is set for March 19 while Michael Kovrig’s is set for March 22. Garneau also said Canada has requested permission to attend. [node:read-more:link]
More than two years after he and another Canadian, Michael Kovrig, were detained in China for alleged espionage, Michael Spavor’s closed-court “trial” today in Dandong lasted only two hours. Spavor and his lawyer appeared for the hearing but other parties, including Canadian consular officials, were not permitted on national security grounds. The court will eventually set a day for issuing a verdict but Chinese courts have a conviction rate of more than 99 per cent. Kovrig’s trial is set for March 21. [node:read-more:link]
B.C. Supreme Court Associate Chief Justice Heather Holmes has granted detained Huwei executive Meng Wanzhou’s defence team a three-and-a-half month adjournment in her extradition case. The extra time evidently is due to the need to obtain documents from a Hong Kong bank which her lawyers say could affect her U.S.-requested extradition. However, Holmes also has said she would accept no further delays. [node:read-more:link]
As expected, the trial of detained Canadian Michael Kovrig ended today with no verdict after a two-hour closed hearing in Beijing. Fellow detainee Michael Spavor’s March 19 similar trial ended the same way. They were arrested in December 2018 on alleged espionage charges and Foreign Affairs Minister Marc Garneau today said Canada remains “deeply troubled by the total lack of transparency.” [node:read-more:link]
The Alberta government has introduced draft legislation in an unprecedented move to prevent some violent offenders from legally changing their names. The president of the Canadian Prison Law Association said March 21 that Bill 61 “probably” intrudes on federal criminal law jurisdiction and does not consider individuals’ rehabilitation. [node:read-more:link]
Fox News and its owner, Rupert Murdoch, are being sued by Dominion Voting Systems for defamation arising from the network’s coverage of the 2020 U.S. election. The Toronto-based company is seeking at least $1.6 billion in damages over allegations that its widely-used voting machines had been rigged to help Joe Biden win the presidency. [node:read-more:link]
The Polish government is being taken to court by the European Commission, which accuses its member state of undermining judicial independence. “Polish judges . . . apply EU law and contribute to the mutual trust on which Europe is built,” EC Vice-President Věra Jourová, a Czech politician and lawyer, explained today. “National governments are free to reform the judiciary, but while doing so they have to respect the EU treaties.” [node:read-more:link]
A Federal Court judge has certified a class-action lawsuit against the RCMP over accusations that physicians who routinely screen applicants had sexually abused them. “It's rewarding to be able to move this forward and know that some folks will get resolution,” the lead plaintiff says. [node:read-more:link]
Despite personal misgivings, Israeli President Reuven Rivlin has asked incumbent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to forming a new government after a recent election, the country’s fourth in two years, failed to produce a clear winner. Rivlin’s request comes as Netanyahu goes on trial on charges of fraud and breach of trust. [node:read-more:link]
A West Virginia woman who once served in the U.S.Air Force, working with the National Security Agency, has been sentenced to more than 11 years in prison Monday for planning to offer NSA information to Russia. She pleaded guilty last year as part of a plea agreement. [node:read-more:link]
The Canadian Armed Forces reservist arrested on the grounds of Government House last July after ramming the main gates with his truck pleaded guilty today to eight charges. The charges against Manitoba resident Correy Hurren included possessing firearms for “a purpose dangerous to the public peace.” [node:read-more:link]
The International Criminal Court, which has never been recognized by the U.S., is claiming jurisdiction over territories occupied by Israel after the 1967 Mideast war. The decision opens up the prospect of investigations into alleged war crimes by Israel. Washington has expressed “serious concerns” about the court’s “attempts to exercise its jurisdiction over Israeli personnel.” [node:read-more:link]
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was told March 4 by U.S. Vice-President Kamala Harris that the U.S. opposes an International Criminal Court investigation into possible war crimes in the Palestinian territories. The ICC said last month that the territories fall under its jurisdiction and Chief Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda, a Gambian national, has promised the inquiry will be conducted “independently, impartially and objectively.” [node:read-more:link]
Twenty-six persons, including 16 former Turkish Aerospace Industries employees and a former member of the government’s defence procurement agency, were detained today on suspicion of espionage. They also are accused of what Turkey says is a terrorist organization run by an exiled Muslim cleric. [node:read-more:link]
Twenty-six persons, including 16 former Turkish Aerospace Industries employees and a former member of the government’s defence procurement agency, were detained today on suspicion of espionage. They also are accused of what Turkey says is a terrorist organization run by an exiled Muslim cleric. [node:read-more:link]
