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☆ Factbox: Kara-Murza becomes latest Putin opponent to get long jail term
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Maxim ShemetovApril 17 (Reuters) - Sentenced on Monday to 25 years in prison on charges including treason, Vladimir Kara-Murza joined a growing list of Russians who have received long jail terms after speaking out against President Vladimir Putin or the invasion of Ukraine. The 25-year term he received was the harshest of its kind since Russia invaded its neighbour last February. ILYA YASHINOpposition politician Yashin was sentenced to eight-and-a-half years in prison in December 2022 on charges of spreading "false information" about the army. ALEXEI GORINOVGorinov, a Moscow district councillor, was jailed for seven years in July 2022 on charges of spreading false information about the armed forces. ALEXEI MOSKALYOVMoskalyov was investigated by police after his daughter Masha, then 12, drew an anti-war picture at school in 2022.

Kira Yarmysh, his spokeswoman, said in a video clip on Twitter accompanied by disturbing background music. Navalny's supporters cast him as a Russian version of South Africa's Nelson Mandela who will one day be freed from jail to lead the country. Navalny accused the Russian state of trying to kill him, something it denied. Yarmysh said medicine sent to Navalny's prison by his mother was not collected by prison officials from the post office and was returned. Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge and Andrew Osborn Editing by Peter Graff and Nick MacfieOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

RISE TO PROMINENCEA former lawyer, Navalny rose to prominence with blogs which exposed what he said was vast corruption across the Russian elite. Navalny has been detained countless times for organising public rallies, and prosecuted repeatedly on charges including corruption, embezzlement and fraud. Putin dismissed the investigation as a smear, saying: "If someone had wanted to poison him, they would have finished him off." KEY NAVALNY QUOTES:ON THE UKRAINE WAR:"This is a stupid war which your Putin started," Navalny told an appeal court in Moscow via video link from a corrective penal colony in 2022. ON PUTIN:"Corruption is the foundation of contemporary Russia, it is the foundation of Mr. Putin’s political power," Navalny told Reuters in an interview in 2011.

☆ Ben Ferencz, last surviving Nuremberg prosecutor, dies at 103
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-08 | by ( Will Dunham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

We mourn the death of Ben Ferencz—the last Nuremberg war crimes prosecutor. At Nuremberg, Ferencz became chief prosecutor for the United States in the trial of 22 officers who led mobile paramilitary killing squads known as Einsatzgruppen that were part of the notorious Nazi SS. The case we present is a plea of humanity to law," Ferencz added. "Genocide - the extermination of whole categories of human beings - was a foremost instrument of the Nazi doctrine," Ferencz said. After the Nuremberg trials, Ferencz worked to secure compensation for Holocaust victims and survivors.

☆ Russian girl who drew anti-war picture leaves orphanage with mother
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Children's Commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova said she had spoken to the girl and to her mother, named Olga. Lvova-Belova posted a picture of the girl and her mother sitting on a bed, looking into each other's eyes. "I am glad about the beginning of the reunion of daughter and mother," Lvova-Belova said. He was accused of discrediting the Russian armed forces in social media posts. While on the run, he was sentenced in absentia to two years in a penal colony for discrediting the armed forces.

☆ Uganda’s anti-gay bill is the latest and worst to target LGBTQ Africans
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( Aditi Bhandari | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +14 min

Same-sex activity in Africa is punishable by … Map of the 32 African countries where same-sex activity is illegal. Same-sex activity in Africa … Map of the 22 African countries where same-sex activity is legal. In 1993, Guinea-Bissau became the first African country to legalise LGBTQ activity when it adopted a new Penal Code that didn’t include any laws criminalising it. Country Constitutional protection Broad protections Employment Hate crime Incitement Marriage or civil union Adoption Angola No Yes Yes Yes Yes No No Botswana No No Yes No No No No Cape Verde No No Yes Yes No No No Gabon No No No No No No No Guinea-Bissau No No No No No No No Lesotho No No No No No No No Mozambique No No Yes No No No No Sao Tome and Principe No No Yes Yes No No No Seychelles No No Yes No No No No South Africa Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes YesNote: Broad protections include laws protecting against discrimination in at least 3 of 4 categories: the provision of goods and services, housing, healthcare and education. Namibia and Mauritius criminalise same-sex activity, but around 35% of respondents said they would dislike having a gay neighbour.

☆ Beny Steinmetz to appeal Swiss court's corruption ruling - statement
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

GENEVA, April 4 (Reuters) - Mining magnate Beny Steinmetz said he would appeal against a guilty verdict for corruption upheld by a Swiss appeals court on Tuesday, saying the decision was "unfair and politically motivated". The Geneva court upheld a guilty verdict for corruption made by a lower court in 2021. But it acquitted him of forgery and reduced his sentence to three years' imprisonment of which 18 months must be served. "Beny Steinmetz considers that the Geneva justice system turned a blind eye to procedural flaws, stretched the rules of jurisdiction, compensated for the lack of evidence, and misusedthe penal code to save a conviction that it did not dare to dismiss," he said in a statement. Reporting by Emma Farge, Editing by Louise HeavensOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Brittney Griner Urges Biden Administration to Use ‘Every Tool’ to Free Evan Gershkovich
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-02 | by ( Suzanne Vranica | Ann M. Simmons | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Cherelle Griner, left, and Brittney Griner at the NAACP Image Awards in Pasadena, Calif., this year. On social media this weekend the two called on supporters to encourage the Biden administration to bring all wrongfully detained Americans home. U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner, who was released by Russia from a penal colony last year, called on the Biden administration to use “every tool” to bring home Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich. “Every American who is taken is ours to fight for and every American returned is a win for us all,” said Ms. Griner, the WNBA star and two-time Olympian who was released in a high-profile prisoner swap after being jailed in Russia for most of last year.

☆ Russia's arrest of Evan Gershkovich is the first time the country has accused an American journalist of spying since the Cold War. The Wall Street Journal calls the targeting of their reporter 'a vici
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-02 | by ( Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

An American Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich was arrested in Russia on Thursday. He is the first American reporter detained by Russia for spying since the Cold War. Gershkovich, a New York-born journalist based in Moscow, was detained in Yekaterinburg, a city in the Ural mountains. The Wall Street Journal has not been in contact with Gershkovich since his arrest, but the outlet vehemently denies that he was doing anything other than reporting while in Russia. Emma Tucker, editor-in-chief of The Wall Street Journal, told CNN's Anderson Cooper on Friday that US State Department officials are working with the outlet to find a way to get Gershkovich released from Russian custody.

☆ Brittney Griner urges Biden to bring home reporter Gershkovich
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Brittney Griner, the WNBA star who was detained in Russia, speaks next to her wife, Cherelle Griner, during the 54th NAACP Image Awards in Pasadena, California, U.S., February 25, 2023. The Kremlin says Gershkovich was using journalism as a cover for spying activity - something his newspaper, the Wall Street Journal, has vehemently denied. Russia has not made public any evidence to support the charges, under which Gershkovich faces up to 20 years in jail. The White House has described the accusations as "ridiculous" and President Joe Biden has called on Moscow to release him. Brittney Griner, a WNBA star and double Olympic gold medallist who played for a Russian team in the off-season, was arrested at a Moscow airport one week before Russia invaded Ukraine last year.

☆ The Trump Indictment Is Far From an Open-and-Shut Case
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Ethan Greenberg | Sam Braverman | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

A Manhattan grand jury has reportedly voted to hand up an indictment of Donald Trump. The charge is expected to involve a “hush money” payment made to the pornographic film performer known as Stormy Daniels . If Mr. Trump is charged, it seems likely to be for falsifying business records in violation of New York Penal Law 175.10, a Class E felony punishable by up to four years in state prison. The prosecution will probably claim that Mr. Trump falsified the records of the Trump Organization by falsely characterizing $130,000 paid to Ms. Daniels as a “legal fee” to attorney Michael Cohen . Mr. Cohen pleaded guilty in August 2018 and was sentenced to prison by a federal court.

☆ Replica of Kremlin critic Navalny's cell on display at Dutch exhibit
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Anthony Deutsch | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] Alexei Navalny's spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh is seen in a replica of the prison cell where the jailed Russian opposition leader is being held, on display as part of the exhibit "Silenced" at Loevestein Castle, the Netherlands, March 30, 2023. REUTERS/Anthony DeutschLOEVESTEIN CASTLE, Netherlands, March 31 (Reuters) - A replica of the two-by-three-metre prison cell holding Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny went on display in the Netherlands on Friday as part of an exhibit entitled "Silenced" about political prisoners through the centuries. Navalny, the leading Russian opposition figure, nearly died after being poisoned with a Soviet-era nerve agent while campaigning against Russian President Vladimir Putin in August 2020. Amid a crackdown by Russian authorities on the opposition, many of Navalny's most prominent allies left Russia rather than face restrictions or jail at home. She said Navalny's prison conditions are harsh, even by the standards of an authoritarian government.

☆ Fugitive Russian father convicted of insulting army has been detained - lawyer
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 30 (Reuters) - Alexei Moskalyov, a Russian man sentenced to two years in prison for discrediting the Russian army, and whose daughter was taken into care, has been detained after fleeing house arrest, lawyer Dmitry Zakhvatov told Reuters on Thursday. "He has been detained, yes," Zakhvatov said, without providing more details. The Russian-language news outlet SOTA reported earlier that Moskalyov, 54, had been arrested in Minsk, the capital of Belarus, a staunch Russian ally. He was later charged with discrediting Russia's armed forces in connection with separate anti-war comments he was alleged to have made on social media. Later the same day, a court sentenced him in absentia to two years in a penal colony.

Further fuelling the emotions surrounding the case, a letter from 13-year-old Masha to her father - who has been raising her on his own - was made public on Wednesday. Prigozhin asked the prosecutor to review the verdict, and also requested that lawyers associated with Wagner be allowed to work with Moskalyov's defence. Moskalyov's lawyer Vladimir Biliyenko told Reuters he was in favour of both requests, even if he was unsure of Prigozhin's motives. The head of the school called the police, who began examining Moskalyov's online activity and fined him for comments critical of the Russian army. Additional reporting by Caleb Davis, writing by Mark Trevelyan, Editing by Alex RichardsonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

SOTA/Handout via REUTERSMarch 28 (Reuters) - A Russian who was investigated by police after his daughter drew an anti-war picture at school was sentenced on Tuesday to two years in a penal colony on charges of discrediting the armed forces. The case has provoked an outcry among Russian human rights activists and sparked an online campaign to reunite father and daughter. The drawing featured a Ukrainian flag with the words "Glory to Ukraine" and a Russian tricolour with the slogan "No to war". In December, investigators opened another case against him on suspicion of discrediting the armed forces, this time based on a social media post in June. Shortly after invading Ukraine last year, Russia outlawed the act of discrediting the armed forces and provided for jail sentences of several years.

HISTORY OF DEFAMATION AS A CRIMINAL OFFENCESection 499 of the Indian Penal Code enacted by British colonial rulers in 1860 made defamation a criminal offence and Section 500 set out punishment. Anyone found guilty of criminal defamation can be jailed but a civil offence means they can only be made to pay damages. The criminal law has been invoked in cases filed against journalists, politicians and industry leaders but convictions have been rare. "Criminal defamation laws have an inhibitory and silencing effect, even before a conviction,” it said. However, Supreme Court advocate Raju Ramachandran said the section on criminal defamation "is carefully and elaborately worded" and should stay.

☆ Russian man who was prosecuted after 13-year-old daughter's anti-war drawing now appears to be on the run
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Charles R. Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Alexei Moskalev was sentenced Tuesday to two years behind bars for alleged antiwar social media posts. Moskalev was prosecuted after school authorities found antiwar drawings by his 13-year-old daughter. Alexei Moskalev was sentenced Tuesday to two years in a penal colony for the alleged posts, which he has denied penning. In the drawing, a mother and child can be seen holding hands and standing next to the Ukrainian flag as missiles approach them from the Russian side. According to Human Rights Watch, people have since been prosecuted for merely displaying the colors of the Ukrainian flag, blue and yellow.

NEW DELHI, March 27 (Reuters) - Indian banks must give defaulters an opportunity to be heard before they classify a loan account as fraud, the Supreme Court ruled on Monday. Banks cannot unilaterally declare an account as fraud without providing the defaulter the right to be heard, a top court bench led by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud said. However, there is no such requirement before registering a first information report (FIR) to declare a loan account as fraud, the bench observed. The apex court was examining judgements by the Telangana High Court and Gujarat High Court on the Reserve Bank of India (Frauds Classification and Reporting by Commercial Banks and Select Fls Directions 2016) master circular. Telangana High Court had ruled that not granting the right to be heard infringes on the borrowers' constitutional right.

☆ A man detained multiple times said North Korean prisons have improved over the years because the last time he was jailed he no longer had to walk on all fours
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-25 | by ( Hannah Getahun | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

One expert told CNN that many released prisoners are unaware that they lived through torture. His testimony was one of many used in a report released Friday from the NGO Korea Future, which detailed torture and abuse faced by detained North Koreans. "In the past, we had to crawl with both hands and knees when we were moving, but in 2017, we could stand up and walk," the man told CNN. So they just simply thought that they were bad people and for that reason, they were being punished," Kim told CNN. In February, the UN HRC released a report on human rights that backs up many of Korea Future's findings.

☆ Inmates in North Korean prisons are raped, beaten, and starved, watchdog finds. Some eat roaches and rats just to survive.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

A new watchdog report details widespread abuse and torture within North Korea's penal system. The report focuses heavily on the specific cases of three victims who were jailed for trying to leave North Korea, or for helping others leave the country. It added that this was one of 987 such incidents documented across the penal system. A North Korean soldier stands on the bank of Yalu River, near the North Korean town of Sinuiju, opposite the Chinese border city of Dandong, April 12, 2013. Korea Future's findings are in line with forms of abuse that are cited in a recent UN report detailing the human rights situation in North Korea.

China currently dominates the supply chain for many of the entries on Europe's list of "strategic" metals. By which time not more than 65% of any strategic metal's consumption will be able to come from a single third country. Europe has no strategic metal inventory, unlike the United States, China and South Korea. Given such a humble starting point, it seems unlikely EU strategic metal reserves are going to come any time soon, if they come at all. What started as a response to China's dominance of critical metals supply has been accelerated by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

☆ A Million Bodies Are Buried Here. Now It’s Becoming a Park.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( Corey Kilgannon | More About Corey Kilgannon | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

The morgue trucks, loaded with plain, unmarked pine boxes, still arrive regularly by ferry to Hart Island, a potter’s field where the city has long buried its unclaimed dead. The island was once a penal colony, and it has been run since the 19th century by New York’s jail system, which used inmate gravediggers and kept it off limits until 2021, when the city transferred the island over to its parks department. Now, in a remarkable break with the decades-old policy of keeping Hart Island burials secretive and its graves unseen, the department is opening New York’s most forbidden place for public access.

Persons: gravediggers Locations: Hart, York’s

NEW YORK, March 23 (Reuters) - New York City prosecutors on Thursday said Donald Trump created a false expectation of his arrest and led fellow Republicans in Congress to interfere with a probe of his hush-money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels. On Saturday, the former president forecast he would be arrested on Tuesday in the probe by the Manhattan District Attorney's office. The letter said the chairmen's accusations "only came after Donald Trump created a false expectation that he would be arrested the next day and his lawyers reportedly urged you to intervene." It confirmed that Bragg's office was "investigating allegations that Donald Trump engaged in violations of New York State penal law." A former fixer for Trump said he made the payment to Daniels days before the 2016 presidential election at Trump's direction.

☆ California to Transform San Quentin Prison Into Center Emphasizing Inmate Rehab
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( Jim Carlton | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

MARIN COUNTY, Calif.—California aims to turn San Quentin State Prison, one of the country’s oldest penal facilities, into a Scandinavian-style center for inmate rehabilitation that it hopes will become a new model for incarceration in America. Gavin Newsom said Thursday the storied institution, built in 1852 on the shores of San Francisco Bay, will be renamed the San Quentin Rehabilitation Center and converted to focus on providing educational programs and other help for inmates making the transition back into society.

☆ Wagner’s convicts tell of horrors of Ukraine war
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +11 min

They are identified as pardoned former convicts, returned from the front in Ukraine after joining Wagner from prison. Four of the men said they were personally recruited by Yevgeny Prigozhin as he toured Russia’s prison system to bolster his private army. I wish all real men would join Wagner.”The war in Ukraine is straining Russia’s military capacity. One of the convict recruits told Reuters he travelled to a Wagner training camp in the Russian-controlled part of eastern Ukraine’s Luhansk region. According to the United States, by mid-February Wagner had suffered more than 30,000 casualties in Ukraine, including 9,000 dead, almost all of them convicts.

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