A former Syrian authorities official has been indicted on torture costs by a Los Angeles grand jury, the US Division of Justice has introduced.
Samir Ousman Alsheikh, 72, of Lexington, South Carolina, was reportedly the pinnacle of the Damascus Central Jail — colloquially often called Adra Jail — between 2005 and 2008.
Whereas he was main the jail, Alsheikh allegedly ordered his subordinates to ship “extreme bodily and psychological ache and struggling on political and different prisoners,” in accordance with a DOJ assertion. Courtroom paperwork allege that Alsheikh himself additionally participated in torture classes.
The jail reportedly had a “punishment wing” the place prisoners have been despatched to be overwhelmed whereas they have been dangled from the ceiling. Prisoners have been additionally reportedly subjected to a tool colloquially known as the “Flying Carpet” which folded their our bodies in half, inflicting excruciating ache and generally spinal fractures.
“Samir Alsheikh is charged with torturing political dissidents and different prisoners to discourage opposition to the regime of then-Syrian President Bashar al-Assad,” mentioned Principal Deputy Assistant Legal professional Normal Nicole Argentieri, head of the Justice Division’s Legal Division. “Alsheikh later allegedly lied about his crimes to acquire a U.S. inexperienced card.”
The “victims of such violent therapy proceed to endure lengthy after the bodily acts of torture have ceased,” Argenteiri added. “The Justice Division is dedicated to prosecuting perpetrators of such crimes and won’t permit them, by means of lies and concealment, to cover in the USA.”
US Legal professional Martin Estrada mentioned the “grave human rights abuses” within the indictment have been “chilling.”
“Our nation is not going to be a secure harbor for these accused of committing atrocities overseas,” he mentioned.
Alsheikh held a number of positions within the Syrain police and state safety forces, and later as the pinnacle of a regional authorities. In 2011, now-ousted Syrian chief Bashar al-Assad appointed him the pinnacle of the Deir Ez-Zour province. Immigration paperwork report that Alsheikh immigrated to the US in 2020, and utilized for his US citizenship in 2023.
“With regards to pursuing our felony investigations, Homeland Safety Investigations (HSI) has a protracted attain and a fair longer reminiscence,” mentioned Particular Agent in Cost Eddy Wang of the HSI Los Angeles Area workplace.
“The defendant is accused of torturing prisoners in Syria virtually 20 years in the past, and as we speak, we’re one step nearer to holding him accountable for these heinous crimes. The US won’t ever be a secure haven for individuals who commit human rights abuses overseas,” he added.
Alsheikh had alreay been charged with visa fraud and, tried naturalization fraud costs previous to the indictment. The indictment provides three counts of torture, and one rely of conspiracy to commit torture to his costs.
The previous jail chief faces as much as 20 years in jail for the conspiracy to commit torture costs, and a most penalty of 20 years in jail for every of the three torture costs. He may obtain a most of 10 years in jail for his immigration fraud costs.
The indictment follows Assad’s regime collapsed following an offensive led by opposition forces which have been battling for management of Syria since 2011.
Following the autumn of Assad , political prisoners inside his regime’s prisons have been launched en masse, revealing proof of surprising and disturbing human rights abuses inside.
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A federal jury in Nevada has awarded greater than $34 million to a lady who was arrested at age 18, wrongly convicted twice, and served practically 16 years in a Nevada state jail for a 2001 killing she didn’t commit.
Kristin Lobato, who’s now 41 and makes use of the title Blaise, cried and hugged her attorneys after a decide learn the trial verdict Thursday in U.S. District Court docket, the Las Vegas Evaluate-Journal reported.
“It’s been an uphill battle with many, many obstacles,” she advised reporters. “And I’m comfortable that it’s all lastly completed.”
Lobato stated she did not know if changing into a millionaire would make up for years in jail, including that she had “no thought what the remainder of my life goes to appear like.”
The civil trial jury discovered Las Vegas police and two detectives, now retired, fabricated proof throughout their investigation and deliberately inflicted emotional misery upon Lobato. The panel decided that Lobato ought to obtain $34 million in compensatory damages from the division and $10,000 in punitive damages from every former detective.
The detectives, Thomas Thowsen and James LaRochelle, and their legal professional, Craig Anderson, declined to remark exterior courtroom. Anderson advised U.S. District Choose Richard Boulware he deliberate to file further courtroom paperwork following the decision. Anderson stated Friday an attraction was “doubtless.”
The division beforehand agreed to pay damages if the jury dominated in Lobato’s favor.
Lobato was 18 when she was interviewed by police with out an legal professional, arrested and charged with killing Duran Bailey in Las Vegas in July 2001. Bailey, who had been homeless, was discovered useless close to a trash bin with a slashed neck, cracked cranium and lacking genitals.
No bodily proof or witnesses related Lobato to the killing, and he or she maintained she by no means met Bailey. However police maintained she confessed in jail that she had killed a person who tried to rape her throughout a three-day methamphetamine binge.
Lobato was 19 when she was convicted of homicide in 2002. The Nevada Supreme Court docket threw out that verdict and Lobato’s jail sentence in 2004 as a result of her legal professionals weren’t capable of cross-examine a prosecution witness who testified that Lobato made the jailhouse confession.
Lobato was tried once more in 2006, convicted of manslaughter, mutilation and weapon prices, and sentenced to 13 to 45 years in jail.
She was exonerated and free of jail in late 2017 after the Innocence Undertaking and attorneys in Las Vegas once more took her case to the state Supreme Court docket. Justices stated proof confirmed that Lobato was in her hometown of Panaca, Nevada, some 150 miles (214 kilometers) from Las Vegas when Bailey was killed.
Final October, a state courtroom decide in Las Vegas issued a certificates declaring Lobato harmless of Bailey’s killing.
That motion was challenged by Clark County Sheriff Kevin McMahill and Clark County District Lawyer Steve Wolfson in a letter asking state Lawyer Basic Aaron Ford to analyze how and why attorneys for Lobato acquired the certificates of innocence.
A lady who was significantly injured in the identical knife assault that killed her pal on Bournemouth seashore instructed police she saved her life, a courtroom has heard.
Nasen Saadi, 20, from Croydon, south London, is on trial at Winchester Crown Court docket charged with the homicide of private coach Amie Grey, 34, at Durley Chine Seashore on 24 Might.
Saadi can also be charged with the tried homicide of Leanne Miles, 39, on the identical location. He denies the costs.
Ms Grey suffered 10 knife accidents whereas Ms Miles had 20, Dwelling Workplace pathologist Dr Basil Purdue instructed the trial.
Upon being instructed by police that her pal had died, Ms Miles responded “that Amie Grey had saved her life”, Sarah Jones KC, prosecuting, mentioned.
The prosecutor additionally instructed the courtroom that when paramedics arrived, Ms Grey was “unconscious, unresponsive, not respiratory and chilly to the contact – there have been issues she was already lifeless”.
Regardless of makes an attempt to avoid wasting her life, together with CPR, she was pronounced lifeless at 12.24am.
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Police discovered 5 knives on the house of Saadi’s aunt, the place he had been dwelling earlier than he was arrested on 28 Might. They included a machete and a decorative knife, the courtroom heard.
Officers additionally seized a blue Trespass rucksack which contained white latex gloves, two of which had been inside out, a black balaclava, a torch, used moist wipes, a packet of tissues and two packets of chillies.
An additional knife was later recovered which had been hidden in a wall cavity within the room.
Police additionally seized two knives and an axe from the house of the defendant’s dad and mom which his father had “beforehand taken and hidden” from Saadi, Ms Jones mentioned.
The courtroom has heard that the defendant has pleaded responsible to failing to offer his cell phone code to police.
The trial continues.
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Sir Brian Leveson is to guide a “as soon as in a era” overview of the courts system in England and Wales to take care of the spiralling backlog of instances.
Justice secretary Shabana Mahmood has introduced that the retired choose, most well-known for chairing the inquiry into press requirements a decade in the past, with the instruction that “no reform is off the desk” to take care of the disaster.
It implies that the appropriate to a jury trial may very well be faraway from an entire sequence of offences aside from essentially the most severe and magistrates may very well be empowered at hand out sentences past their present most of 12 months.
The overview will run alongside a sentencing overview being carried out by former justice secretary David Gauke and is anticipated to report within the spring of 2025.
The announcement follows revelations in The Impartial yesterday about the best way that court docket instances at the moment are going through unacceptably lengthy delays.
The variety of delayed homicide trials has nearly quadrupled within the final decade whereas victims of rape now have to attend nearly a 12 months (48 months0 on common for his or her attackers to return to court docket.
In 2021, the Conservatives promised to chop the court docket backlog by 7,000 instances by March 2025 however on their watch, it truly elevated by greater than 7,000.
The overview might be led by Sir Brian, a former Excessive Court docket Choose and a earlier President of the Queen’s Bench Division.
Sir Brian can even take into account long-term reform to the courts, advising on whether or not extra instances ought to transfer from the Crown Courts to magistrates’ courts. This might contain the reclassification of offences, in order that sure trials can solely be heard in magistrates courts.
It might additionally embrace an extension of magistrates’ sentencing powers, constructing on the extension from six to 12 months introduced by the Authorities in October.
Sir Brian can even be requested to think about the case for a brand new, “intermediate court docket” that may sit between the magistrates’ court docket and the Crown Court docket.
Whereas the Authorities has launched a variety of measures in the previous couple of months to cut back strain on the courts system, these figures present the size of the problem. Even when the Crown Court docket had been to function at most capability, the backlog would proceed to develop. Daring, progressive reforms are subsequently the required answer.
A Labour spokesperson mentioned: “Beneath the final authorities, the crown court docket backlog rose to report excessive ranges. The Tories stored victims of significant, violent crimes ready for justice. Repeatedly, we heard the Conservatives blame their report backlog on the pandemic however delays had been rising earlier than lockdown and continued afterwards.
“This Labour authorities is taking the robust selections to ship on our plan for change with safer streets. The Tories left prisons overflowing and a report variety of instances languishing within the crown court docket backlog. Justice delayed is justice denied, and this authorities is dedicated to making sure that victims see justice and criminals face the punishment they deserve.”
Hassan Sentamu, 18, is accused of murdering {the teenager} outdoors a Croydon procuring centre
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A New York Metropolis jury will start weighing whether or not to convict Marine veteran Daniel Penny of criminally negligent murder within the loss of life of a person he positioned in a chokehold on a subway prepare, after the jurors stated final week they could not attain a unanimous verdict on a extra severe cost.
The choose agreed to dismiss the highest depend of manslaughter in opposition to Penny on Friday and directed the panel to start out deliberating Monday on the lesser cost, which carries a lighter punishment.
“Whether or not that makes any distinction or not, I don’t know. However I’m going to direct you to focus your deliberations on depend two,” Choose Maxwell Wiley stated, telling them to “go residence and take into consideration one thing else.”
Penny positioned Jordan Neely in a chokehold for about six minutes in Could 2023 after Neely started performing erratically on a subway automotive. Through the monthlong trial, the 26-year-old’s attorneys argued he put his personal life on the road to guard different passengers from a mentally unwell man, whereas prosecutors stated he went too far in responding to Neely, who was unarmed.
The case sparked nationwide debate, and has additionally divided New Yorkers over problems with homelessness and public security in a metropolis the place thousands and thousands trip the subway every single day.
The jurors started deliberating Tuesday and on the time have been instructed they wanted to succeed in a verdict on the manslaughter depend earlier than they may take into account criminally negligent murder. However on Friday, they instructed the choose they have been deadlocked on the highest cost, and remained so even after Wiley urged them to maintain making an attempt.
Manslaughter includes recklessly inflicting one other individual’s loss of life and carries a potential sentence of as much as 15 years behind bars. Criminally negligent murder includes a defendant participating in “blameworthy conduct” that they didn’t understand would contribute to a danger of loss of life. It carries punishments starting from probation to as much as 4 years imprisonment.
Through the trial, the jury heard testimony from witnesses to the subway confrontation, in addition to a Marine Corps teacher who skilled Penny in chokehold methods. Penny selected to not testify, however family and associates spoke about his character.
Neely, 30, had been a Michael Jackson impersonator who carried out within the system, but additionally had a historical past of psychiatric and drug issues.
Neely’s father, Andre Zachary, filed a lawsuit final week in opposition to Penny, accusing him of negligence, assault and battery that led to his son’s loss of life. Penny’s lawyer, Steven Raiser, dismissed the swimsuit as a distraction throughout jury deliberations, calling it an “try and assault Danny whereas he’s beneath such great stress.”
