"Fiat Justitia Ruat Caelum"

Egypt court sentences Muslim Brotherhood chief to death

An Egyptian court on Monday sentenced 683 alleged Islamists to death, including Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohamed Badie. In another session, the same court also reversed 492 of 529 death sentences issued in a March 24 ruling.

The trials have sparked international outrage amid a continuing crackdown against Islamists by Egypt’s military authorities.

The rulings by Judge Saeed Yousef Sabry at a court in the southern province of Minya has been closely followed by international rights groups as well as Egyptians across the country – particularly among the families of the accused. According to reporters in Minya, several female relatives waiting outside the courtroom on Monday fainted on hearing news of the verdict.

On March 24, Justice Sabry sentenced 529 people to death after only one session – a one-hour hearing in which defence lawyers were prevented from presenting arguments, and the prosecution offered no evidence, according to human rights groups.

Under Egyptian law, the court pronounces a death sentence and refers the case to the country’s top Islamic scholar, who plays an advisory role. It then ratifies the sentence in a subsequent hearing.

Reporting from Cairo, FRANCE 24’s Kathryn Stapley explained that Egypt’s grand mufti’s decision is sent to the court, which publicly discloses the ruling. Monday’s reversal of 492 death sentences marked the first time Egypt’s top Islamic scholar had gone against a judge’s initial ruling.

But in another ruling, the court recommended the death sentence for Muslim Brotherhood leader Badie, as well as 682 alleged supporters of the group, on charges of the murder and attempted murder of several policemen during rioting by supporters of ousted president Mohammed Morsi in Minya in August 2013.

The verdict was the first major ruling against any Brotherhood leader. These death sentences must also be approved by Egypt’s grand mufti.

The US and UK governments have expressed outrage over the trials. In a statement issued a day after the March 24 verdict, the New York-based Human Rights Watch said it was “shocking even amid Egypt’s deep political repression that a court has sentenced 529 people to death without giving them any meaningful opportunity to defend themselves”.

‘I have no faith in the judiciary’

Days before the trial, FRANCE 24 met with Ahmed Shabib, a defence lawyer representing 30 of the 529 people sentenced to death.

Shabib was in the Egyptian capital of Cairo to meet some of the families of the defendants.

A visibly tense Mustafa Mohammed, cousin of two of the defendants, listened as Shabib explained the details of the case.

“Neither of them had anything to do with the demonstration or with anything else,” said Mohammed, referring to the August 2013 violence in Minya. “One of them was part of a charitable organization so they think he's Muslim Brotherhood. I'm hopeful the sentence will change. But I have no faith in the judiciary – that's it,” he added, shaking his head.

On August 14, 2013, the Matai police station in Minya was attacked amid mounting rage over the dispersal of pro-Morsi demonstrations in Cairo. One policeman was killed in the clashes.

Shabib, the lawyer, criticized the judge for violating legal procedures and pronouncing sentence after just two hearings.

“To reach a verdict after reading the entire case in 48 hours – this is the crux of the mistake,” said Shabib. “He [Justice Sabry] didn't hear the defence case. He broke the law in not registering the defendants. There are many grounds to appeal.”

The March sentencing sent a chill through opponents of the military-installed regime, which has placed thousands of alleged Islamists on mass trials since Morsi's ouster.

But speaking to FRANCE 24, Ezzat Khamees, a senior Justice Ministry official, denied that the trials were politically motivated and aimed at crushing Egypt’s Islamist opposition.

“There is nothing to do with politics in the judiciary and nothing to do with the judiciary in politics,” said Khamees. “Judges don't work in politics.”

But human rights groups have criticised Egyptian authorities for demonstrating “almost zero tolerance” for any form of dissent by arresting and prosecuting journalists, demonstrators and academics for peacefully expressing their views.

Among the more high profile cases is the trial of three Al Jazeera journalists – including veteran Australian reporter Peter Geste – on charges of disseminating “false information” and belonging to a “terrorist organization”.

At least 1,000 people have been sentenced since December, all in groups of 10 or more. Their prison terms range from six months to life, with two sentenced to death.

Amnesty International says more than 1,400 people have been killed in the police crackdown since the army overthrew Morsi, Egypt's first elected and civilian leader.

FRANCE 24:

Judge’s faulty summary saves 7 cops from jail

THE Court of Appeal has ordered the immediate release of seven police officers who were convicted and imprisoned for five years each for the manslaughter of a suspected robber, Festo Stephano.

Justices January Msoffe, Nathalia Kimaro and Sauda Mjasiri reached the decision after allowing the appeal lodged by three of the seven police officers to challenge the verdict and sentence given on June 21, last year, by Judge Sam Rumanyika of the High Court at Tabora.

“We find that the appeal has merit. We allow the appeal, quash the convictions and set aside the sentences. We order the release of the appellants from prison unless they are held there for lawful cause,” they ruled.

Along Inspector Baraka Hongoli, other appellants were Corporal Swahibu and Detective Constable Jerry.

The other four officers who had not lodged any appeal but benefited from the court’s decision are Police Constable Charles, Detective Constable Shamsi, Detective Constable Amran and Detective Corporal Mawazo.

The justices noted that the summary the trial judge gave in association of the police officials in the commission of the offence was not borne out by the evidence adduced and the law.

“To a large extent his summary of the reasons why he convicted the appellants was speculative and self-contradictory because he also said in the judgment that the matter was not sufficiently investigated,” they said.

The justices added, “Trial courts have to be guided by the evidence before it in determining the issues which arise in the cases brought before them and not speculation.

We hope these remarks will assist the learned trial judge and others to properly conduct the trials before the trial courts.”

During the trial, the seven police officers were charged with the murder of Stephano on August 6, 2011 in Rungwe Mpya village in Kasulu district, Kigoma region.

At the end of the trial, all the accused persons were found guilty and convicted of the lesser offence of manslaughter.

It was alleged that the deceased and his brother, Masumbuko Christian, who was among the prosecution witnesses, were arrested by militiamen in connection with a robbery committed at a tobacco plantation in the village.

They were locked up in the office of the Ward Executive Officer awaiting collection by the police. The appellants arrived from Kasulu Police Station to collect the deceased and Christian.

The court was told that the deceased was severely beaten up by the police using bamboo sticks, gun butts and also cut him with broken bottle fragments until he lost consciousness.

Prosecution witnesses further alleged that the duo were subsequently put into a vehicle which had ferried the appellants to the village and were driven away.

The deceased was later taken to hospital after his condition worsened, but he subsequently died shortly upon arrival at the hospital.

The death led to the arrest of the appellants and were charged with murder. The appellants denied beating either the deceased or his brother Christian.

They claimed that the deceased died while attempting to escape from police arrest when he jumped from the speeding vehicle while on the way to Kasulu police station.

Daily News:

Woman in Barclays ‘robbery’ seized

Dar es Salaam. 

Police have arrested more suspects in the Barclays Bank robbery investigation, including a 30-year-old woman who was flushed out of a bus with a reported Sh26 million stuffed in her bag.

The woman (name withheld), a resident of Tabata in Dar es Salaam, was in the police list of most wanted suspects in connection with the theft of millions of shillings at the bank’s Kinondoni Branch by conniving staff and some crooked police officers.

According to impeccable sources close to the investigation, it is now emerging that up to Sh500 million, and not the Sh300 million reported first on April 15, may have been stolen in a hoax that was stage-managed to appear like a robbery. 

The suspect was dramatically arrested on Thursday at Kabuku in Tanga Region inside an Arusha-bound Dar Express Bus. On her, the police sources confided to The Citizen, some Sh26 million in crisp banknotes in a small travelling bag was found.

Also seized, were the suspect’s younger sister and her husband from whom another stuffed bag with approximately Sh15 million was found. The couple was picked from their Kibaha town residence and are said to have led the police to arrest their travelling relative.

Another suspect whose identity has not been divulged was arrested at the Julius Nyerere International Airport as he waited to board a plane to an undisclosed destination.

The weekend round-up brings to nearly a dozen those being held at the Oyster Bay police.  Efforts by The Citizen to reach out to the Kinondoni RPC, Mr Camillius Wambura, and the Dar es Salaam Special Police Zone Commander, Mr Suleiman Kova, for comment were futile as their phones went unanswered.

But The Citizen can today reveal the dramatic details of the arrest of the key woman suspect as recounted by Ms Dementria Naluyaga who witnessed the drama on Thursday.

Interestingly, Ms Naluyaga was also arrested alongside the suspect at Kabuku and spent the night together with the other suspects under tight police guard at Oyster Bay.

She was, however, released on Friday evening after it was proven hers was a case of mistaken identity. 

In an interview with The Citizen at a Kigamboni hotel on Saturday, Ms Naluyaga said she was travelling to Arusha to attend her sister’s pre-wedding ceremony when the events leading to her arrest begun to unfold.

“I was in the same Dar Express bus with the suspect and in fact we were sharing a seat right behind the driver at the time of the arrest,” she recalled.

She said she sat alone in the bus up to Kongowe in Kibaha where the suspect was dropped off by a motorcycle and entered the bus.

“She came and sat with me and we rode together as she played banter for the reminder of the journey. We somewhat bonded and she even borrowed my phone to make several calls.

“A few minutes after 1pm we arrived at Kabuku and immediately noted that something was afoot.All the Dar Express buses from the city were being held and passengers detained inside.”

Ms Naluyaga said she overheard the crew say that the police had orders from Dar to stop all the buses from continuing with the journey.

According to her, her woman companion was calm during the journey.

“She, however, showed signs of panic and made a lot of calls when we were told about the police hunt for suspects. She made calls from a scribbled list numbers and spoke in her mother tongue.”

Soon, the team from Dar arrived in a marked car at about 2pm. They did not take long to land their prized suspect. Apparently, the bodaboda cyclist had been arrested and led them to the bus that his sister in-law had boarded. 

“The police who were described as members of a task force came in and asked the lady to identify herself. She gave her name and they told her they were looking for her. She alighted with her bags and was taken in. But a few minutes later before we could proceed, another order came that I should also alight. I was now being accused of being an accomplice on account of my phone that was used to make calls to numbers that the police said belonged to the criminals they were looking for.”

Ms Naluyaga said they were held at the Kabuku station where they were interrogated and recorded statements.

“At about 7.30pm we begun the journey back to the city, arriving past midnight and were led to a small room at Oyster Bay.

“The police accused me of being a Kenyan and a dangerous criminal and terrorist who they have been looking for. They seized our phones and declined any request to contact my family. But I knew I was innocent and it would only be a matter of time and I would be free.”

As for the arrested woman, Ms Naluyaga said she was shocked to learn of the story behind her.

“She had told me she was heading to Segera to fetch her child from her estranged husband.”

The Citizen:

India court recognises transgender people as third gender

India's Supreme Court has recognised transgender people as a third gender, in a landmark ruling.

"It is the right of every human being to choose their gender," it said in granting rights to those who identify themselves as neither male nor female.

It ordered the government to provide transgender people with quotas in jobs and education in line with other minorities, as well as key amenities.

According to one estimate, India has about two million transgender people.

In India, a common term used to describe transgender people, transsexuals, cross-dressers, eunuchs and transvestites is hijra.

Campaigners say they live on the fringes of society, often in poverty, ostracised because of their gender identity. Most make a living by singing and dancing or by begging and prostitution.

Rights groups say they often face huge discrimination and that sometimes hospitals refuse to admit them.

They have been forced to choose either male or female as their gender in most public spheres.

'Proud Indian'

"Recognition of transgenders as a third gender is not a social or medical issue but a human rights issue," Justice KS Radhakrishnan, who headed the two-judge Supreme Court bench, said in his ruling on Tuesday.

"Transgenders are also citizens of India" and they must be "provided equal opportunity to grow", the court said.

"The spirit of the Constitution is to provide equal opportunity to every citizen to grow and attain their potential, irrespective of caste, religion or gender."

The judges asked the government to treat them in line with other minorities officially categorised as "socially and economically backward", to enable them to get quotas in jobs and education.

"We are quite thrilled by the judgement," Anita Shenoy, lawyer for the petitioner National Legal Services Authority (Nalsa), told the BBC.

"The court order gives legal sanctity to the third gender. The judges said the government must make sure that they have access to medical care and other facilities like separate wards in hospitals and separate toilets," she said.

Prominent transgender activist Laxmi Narayan Tripathi, who was among the petitioners in the case, welcomed the judgement, saying the community had long suffered from discrimination and ignorance in the traditionally conservative country, reports the Agence France-Presse news agency.

"Today, for the first time I feel very proud to be an Indian," Ms Tripathi told reporters outside the court in Delhi.

In 2009, India's Election Commission took a first step by allowing transgenders to choose their gender as "other" on ballot forms.

But India is not the first country to recognise a third gender. Nepal recognised a third gender as early as in 2007 when the Supreme Court ordered the government to scrap all laws that discriminated on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. And last year, Bangladesh also recognised a third gender.

Tuesday's ruling comes after the Supreme Court's decision in December which criminalised gay sex by reversing a landmark 2009 Delhi High Court order which had decriminalised homosexual acts.

According to a 153-year-old colonial-era law - Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code - a same-sex relationship is an "unnatural offence" and punishable by a 10-year jail term.

Legal experts say Tuesday's judgement puts transgender people in a strange situation: on the one hand, they are now legally recognised and protected under the Constitution, but on the other hand they may be breaking the law if they have consensual gay sex.

BBC News:

Court orders Berlusconi to perform community service at center for elderly

An Italian court ruled Tuesday that former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi must perform community service at a home for the elderly as his sentence for tax fraud. The order was requested by Berlusconi, a three-time prime minister, media magnate and billionaire, as a way to serve the remaining year of a four-year sentence, the first three years having been covered by amnesties. Berlusconi, 77, is legally considered too old to serve prison time and would have been subjected to house arrest had he not consented to community service. He has been assigned to work at a center run by the Fondazione Sacra Famiglia [official website, in Italian] Catholic foundation in the Lombardy region of Milan one day a week for at least four hours. The court has also restricted Berlusconi's travel, requiring him to remain in the Lombardy region of Italy, allowing him to travel only to Rome Tuesday through Thursday of each week. Berlusconi had already been required to relinquish his passport and has since twice been denied international travel.

Tuesday's court ruling is the latest in the legal drama that has plagued Berlusconi for several years. Having been a defendant in nearly 50 cases, Berlusconi has avoided prison through successful appeals and expired statute of limitations. He has, however suffered much political fallout as a result of his criminal charges. With regard to Berlusconi's most recent legal struggles, last month, an Italian high court upheld a two-year ban from public office for Berlusconi as a result of his tax-fraud conviction. For the same reason, the Italian Senate expelled Berlusconi from parliament last November, removing his immunity and making him prone to prosecution for other crimes. In October 2013, Berlusconi was ordered to stand trial for allegedly bribing a senator to switch political parties. The previous June, Berlusconi was convicted of paying a 17-year-old dancer for sex while he was in office and for abusing his power by asking police to release her. In March 2013, Berlusconi was convicted of breaking secrecy rules by publishing the transcript of a taped phone conversation between him and a political rival.

JURIST

French court drops ‘hate speech’ case against Bob Dylan

A court in Paris has dismissed a case brought against American singer Bob Dylan on charges of inciting hatred following an interview in which he allegedly compared Croats with Nazis.

In the 2012 interview with Rolling Stone magazine, Dylan was quoted as saying, "If you got a slave master or Klan in your blood, blacks can sense that. That stuff lingers to this day. Just like Jews can sense Nazi blood and the Serbs can sense Croatian blood."

His comments, which were in response to a question about race relations in the United States, outraged some of his Croatian fans, leading the Council of Croats in France (CRICCF) to lodge an official complaint.

A judicial investigation into the incident was opened in November, the same month Dylan was awarded France’s highest honour, the Légion d’honneur.

The case was dismissed Tuesday on the grounds that Dylan, 72, had not given his consent for his remarks to be published in the French-language edition of Rolling Stone.

Instead, the judge presiding over the case ordered the director of the magazine’s French edition to stand trial over the charges.

If convicted, Dylan would have faced a maximum sentence of one year in prison and a fine of up to 45,000 euros ($62,000).

Ethnic Croats and Serbs were involved in bitter fighting following the breakup of Yugoslavia during the 1991-1995 war, which claimed the lives of an estimated 20,000 people.

Nazi-related topics are also highly sensitive in Croatia, where the pro-Nazi Ustasha regime killed hundreds of thousands of Serbs, Jews, Roma and anti-fascist Croatians during World War II.

Since Croatia declared independence in 1991, some groups have attempted to rehabilitate aspects of the Ustasha regime.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP)

New York police disband Muslim 'eavesdropping' unit

The New York Police Department has disbanded a secret programme designed to eavesdrop on Muslims to identify potential terrorism threats.

The Demographics Unit had dispatched plainclothes detectives to listen to conversations and build files on places frequented by Muslims, US media say.

The squad had been the subject of two federal lawsuits in the past, and drew ire from civil rights groups.

It is also said to have sowed Muslim mistrust for law enforcement.

"This reform is a critical step forward in easing tensions between the police and the communities they serve, so that our cops and our citizens can help one another go after the real bad guys," the office of New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio wrote in a statement.

'Psychological warfare'

The decision to stop the programme was reportedly made by new Police Commissioner William Bratton, and is viewed as a moving away from past intelligence gathering practices instituted after the 9/11 attacks.

The unit - in operation since 2003 and later renamed the Zone Assessment Unit - logged where Muslims worked, shopped, ate and prayed.

"The Demographics Unit created psychological warfare in our community," Linda Sarsour of the Arab American Association of New York told the New York Times newspaper.

"Those documents, they showed where we live," she added. "They were able to see their entire lives on those maps. And it completely messed with the psyche of the community."

Ms Sarsour along with several advocates reportedly met Mr Bratton and other police officials last week to discuss the shutting down of the covert unit.

The squad's detectives have since been reassigned, a police department spokesman said.

The head of the New York Civil Liberties Union, Donna Lieberman, told the Associated Press the surveillance had harmed community relations.

"We hope this means an end to the dragnet approach to policing... and a commitment to going after criminal suspicion, rather than innocent New Yorkers,'' she told AP.

BBC News:

Court revises order on Mokiwa 300m/- case

BISHOP Valentino Mokiwa has moved the Kisutu Resident Magistrate’s Court in Dar es Salaam to revise its order, allowing his opponents to prove their alleged 300m/- dehumanising case in his absence.

The order sought to be challenged was issued by Senior Resident Magistrate Devota Kisoka on August 13, last year, in favour of three plaintiffs, Erasto Mhagama, Christopher Njavike and George Mwafalo, who are suing Bishop Mokiwa.

Through advocate Heavenlight Bethuel, the bishop has filed an application, seeking extension of time within which to apply for an order to set aside the order in question and allow the counsel to cross-examine one of the plaintiffs, who has started giving evidence in the matter.

In the main suit, the three plaintiffs are demanding the said 300m/- being damages for allegedly dehumanisation and abuse of dignity after being threatened by the bishop with a pistol.

They are also seeking for an order directing the bishop to surrender the gun he allegedly used for the dehumanisation.

“(Bishop Mokiwa) be further ordered to use the Holy Bible instead of the pistol,’ reads one of the players by the plaintiffs in the plaint of the suit.

In his affidavit to support the application, advocate Bathuel, for the bishop, stated that after they were instructed to represent him, in lieu of his former counsel Dennis Msafiri, they asked for copies of pleadings and applied perusal of court case file to ascertain the status of the case.

On perusal, he learnt that on August 13, last year, the court ordered the matter to proceed ex-parte for non-appearance of the bishop and Mr Mhagama started testifying on October 19, last year, in a bid to prove the claims contained in the plaint of the suit.

He stated that the records show that advocate Msafiri had already prepared all the necessary pleadings and had actually appeared in court for the bishop severally, but for the reasons not very clear to him, he did not enter appearance on the subsequent dates before their engagement in the suit.

“No official communications were made on reading the court file which indicates that the applicant (Bishop Mokiwa) was notified either by his advocate or the court of the status of his case to enable him attends in his personal capacity,” advocate Batuel narrated in the affidavit.

Daily News:

Rwanda ex-convicts, freed suspects stuck in Arusha

Arusha. 

Several Rwandans acquitted or released after serving sentences imposed by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) are stuck in Arusha because no country is ready to accept them.

They have nowhere else to go because they fear returning to their home country.

This despite the Rwandan government having stated last year that the ten men who had either been acquitted by the ICRT or completed their sentences were free to return home if no other country was ready to take them in.

Those still stuck in Arusha are former Transport minister Andre Ntagerura, former Rwandan army general Gratien Kabiligi, former Health minister Casmir Bizimungu and businessman Protais Zigiranyirazo.

Others are former Foreign Affairs minister Jerome Bicamumpaka, former Commerce minister Justin Mugenzi, former Civil Servants minister Prosper Mugiraneza, former Rwandan army general Augustine Ndindiliyimana and former commander of the Reconnaissance Battalion Francis Xavier Nzuwonemeye.

The group also includes ex-convicts Anatole Ngesiyumva and Tharcisse Muvunyi, both former senior officers in the Rwandan army.

Rwandan Justice minister Tharcisse Karugarama last year met with the ICTR Registrar Bongani Majola and discussed the possible relocation of prisoners from Arusha to Rwanda as part of the residual mechanism of the tribunal.

Kigali said it would willingly take back the suspects because “they remain Rwandan citizens”. But this drew an agry reaction from a section of genocide survivors.

The UN tribunal is now having problems relocating the Rwandans because countries which had initially agreed to host them have apparently made a U-turn.

Mr Majola said there were seven acquitted persons and three ex-convicts who remain in safe houses in Arusha under the tribunal’s care.

He said Benin, Mali, France, Senegal, Sweden and Swaziland gad initially indicated their readiness to take in the ten men, but so far only two countries were ready to receive the acquitted persons.

Mr Majola said the tribunal was incurring huge expenses to keep the ex-convicts and the acquitted in safe houses in Arusha, adding that Tanzania has not been a preferred country for relocation for the former suspects of the 1994 genocide.

The Citizen:

Articles of Union made public

THE State House on Monday acknowledged the presence of the Articles of the Union and vowed to bring it to the Constituent Assembly (CA) as proof.

A statement issued by the Directorate of Presidential Communications in Dar es Salaam said that apart from bringing the document to the assembly based on a special request, the government will also arrange for the same to be put in the National Museum for the public to see.

The statement was released shortly after the Chief Secretary, Ambassador Ombeni Sefue, had met the press over the matter. For quite some time, some CA members have used the absence of the Articles of the Union to question the legitimacy of the Union.

“It is so sad that today, more than 50 years since we united as one republic, some people are coming with arguments that the Union is illegitimate simply because there is no Articles of the Union,” read the statement, adding:

“If the CA Chairman asks for this document to be brought before the Assembly, I am sure President Jakaya Kikwete will be willing so that this chapter can now be closed once and for all.”

According to the statement, “the document will be displayed at the National Museum to enable the people of this generation as well as the future generation in the next 50 years to see it.”

The statement added: “It is absurd that there are people who still question the act by the two founder fathers of the Union to sign the Articles of the Union on April 22, 1964, in addition to insinuating that the two had cheated simply because the document was nowhere to be easily seen.”

It admitted, however, that it is true there are very sensitive national documents that stand as symbols of the country’s sovereignty, free republic and free union that must be confidentially stored and thus not easily reached.

“Such documents are Articles of the Tanganyika of 1961, Articles of the Tanganyikan Republic of 1962 and the Articles of the Union of 1964.

These documents are well safeguarded in a very safe place,” it reads further. “But due to the current situation, whereby a number of allegations keep on coming from all corners on the legitimacy of the articles, it is prudent that they are now brought openly for public scrutiny,” the statement pointed out.

The original documents, which were signed by the Union’s founders, Mwalimu Julius Kambarage Nyerere and his Zanzibar counterpart, Mzee Abeid Amani Karume, were also displayed to the media at a press conference yesterday. But according to the State House statement, President Kikwete was approached and in principle agreed for the documents to be made public.

“This document has been there ever since. It has been well kept by leaders in all phases of the nation’s administration. It has been inherited by the all past phases and will be kept in safe custody forever,” the State House maintained.

Allegations on the legality of the Articles of the Unions have created unnecessary tension, in addition to the dismay of many Tanzanians who have over the years cherished the Union as a model for unity in Africa.

The State House statement appealed to the people to now direct their attention to other important nation building issues and avoid apportioning blame on the Union’s founders “over the Articles that are after all there for everybody to see.”

Daily News:

Soccer match-fixer Sapina gets reduced sentence in retrial

A German court has reduced the sentence of a soccer match-fixer by six months following a retrial. Ante Sapina, who has admitted fixing dozens of matches, now faces five years behind bars.
.......................
The court in the western German city of Bochum was forced to put the 38-year-old Sapina on trial for a second time, after his defense lawyers successfully appealed his May 2011 conviction and jail sentence of five and a half years for manipulating soccer matches across Europe. Germany's top appeals court quashed part of his original conviction and referred the case back to Bochum.

Sapina, a Croatian national who resides in Berlin, was among six men charged with fixing matches across Europe. Sapina and an accomplice each confessed to bribing players, referees and soccer functionaries to fix matches. Sapina said they had each earned more than 2.3 million euros ($3.28 million) by placing bets on the fixed matches, mainly in Asian establishments. A total of 51 matches were reportedly manipulated, including some in the European Champions League and World Cup qualifying.

In Monday's ruling, presiding Judge Carsten Schwadrat said the court had decided to reduce Sapina's sentence by six months due to his testimony in which he helped shed light on previously unknown details about match-fixing.

Repeat offender

At the same time, though, Judge Schwadrat noted that Sapina was a repeat offender, having been sentenced to two years and 11 months in 2005 for his part in a similar match-fixing scandal, in which former Bundesliga referee Robert Hoyzer was also involved.

Neither the defense, nor the prosecution, which had asked for a seven-year sentence, has said whether they intend to appeal Monday's ruling.

pfd/jr (dpa, SID) DW

Uganda: Six women jailed for husband killing

Lira, Uganda. 

Six women have been convicted by the High Court in Lira for killing their husbands.

The state prosecutor, Ms Sarah Amony ,asked for deterrent sentences against the convicts on account that the offences are brutal and caused painful death to the victims.

However, trial judge, Ms Winfred Nabisinde, observed that all the crimes, committed as a result of domestic violence, were not intended by the offenders.

“The circumstance was grave but the mitigation overrides the graveness. I find the maximum sentence of death too harsh and a custodial sentence of 35 years also too harsh,” the judge ruled and sentenced the convicts to custodial sentences ranging from two to eight years.

The women were convicted on their own plea of guilty after the Judiciary organised a mini session of 11 mothers.

The convicts and their jail sentences

Margaret Atim, 40, of Dokolo. On September 21, 2012, hit her husband Simon Ocen twice on the head with a pestle and he died instantly. She was sentenced to five years.

Christine Atim, 32, of Alebtong District. On July 6, 2013 hit her husband Jimmy Ogwang with a hammer after a disagreement. She was sentenced to five years. 

Florence Angwec of Dokolo. Driven by jealousy, she killed Moses Icil on November 29, 2012, and hid the body in the bush. She was sentenced to six years.

Santa Akwar, 48, of Kole District. On September 8, 2012, killed her husband Francis Odur for selling two cups of simsim and using the proceeds to buy local gin. She was sentenced to eight years.

Aumu Milla, 45, of Kole District. On November 26, 2012, killed her husband John Aber. The couple sold their cow for Shs390, 000 to settle a debt. At night, the husband came back drunk and demanded the money. During the quarrel, Auma picked a hoe and hit her husband on the chest, killing him instantly. She was sentenced to three years in jail.

Evaline Aceng. Pleaded to killing her husband Michael Adar but prosecution declined to amend the charge of manslaughter, forcing the judge to adjourn the case to the next criminal session. 

Christine Adongo of Otuke on April 24, 2013, killed her brother Ocen Angelo when she found him fighting their father John Akaca on a village path. She was sentenced to two years.

Others: Four other mothers - Florence Anabo Anna, Awelo Maratine, Aceng Molly and Ejang Lucia are yet to take their plea.

Saturday Monitor:

Germany court rejects bishop's appeal of Holocaust denial conviction

[JURIST] A German court in Nuremberg on Friday rejected the appeal of bishop Richard Williamson, who was convicted of denying the Holocaust during a TV interview, finding him €1,800. The conviction [JURIST report] stemmed from an interview to Swedish TV channel SVT1, broadcast in January 2009, in which Williamson said he doubted [Die Zeit report, in German] that six million Jews were killed in gas chambers. The interview was rebroadcast over the Internet in Germany, where Holocaust denial is a crime [text, in German]. The appeal was Williamson's second as he had previously been convicted and had that conviction thrown out on procedural grounds.

Anti-semitism and the freedom of expression in relation to the Holocaust continue to be controversial topics internationally. A French court upheld the ban [JURIST report] on a performance by French comedian Dieudonne M'Bala M'Bala that was deemed anti-semitic in January, generating much discussion [JURIST op-ed]. In November 2012, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) [official website] upheld an injunction preventing the activist group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) [advocacy website] from using Holocaust [USHMM backgrounder] images in an animal rights poster campaign. A Canadian report in February 2010 found [JURIST report] that anti-semitism was rising in the population.

Court upholds ruling against SeaWorld over trainer safety

(Reuters) - A U.S. appeals court on Friday upheld a federal occupational safety agency's finding against SeaWorld Entertainment Inc following the workplace death of one of its killer whale trainers.

By a vote of 2-1, the three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit held that SeaWorld had violated its duties as an employer by exposing trainers to "recognized hazards" when working with killer whales. The ruling means the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) can require SeaWorld to limit the interactions trainers have with killer whales.

The federal agency had fined the company $75,000, a sum later reduced to $12,000, after trainer Dawn Brancheau died in February 2010. She drowned after being pulled underwater by Tilikum, a 12,000-pound (5,400-kg) bull orca at the SeaWorld site in Orlando, Florida.

OSHA, which is part of the U.S. Department of Labor, had told SeaWorld it could resolve the problem by requiring trainers to be protected by physical barriers or by adopting other abatement measures.

SeaWorld, which operates 11 parks around the United States, said in a statement that it already has introduced new safety procedures, including removing trainers from the water during shows. Even after the court's ruling, "there will still be human interactions and performances with killer whales," the statement said.

The company said it had yet to decide on whether to appeal the decision.

The Labor Department said in a statement that courts have "consistently upheld our position that killer whales pose a danger to employees who are not adequately protected."

"BLACKFISH"

Human-orca interaction has long been filled with controversy, revisited last year with the release of the movie "Blackfish" about Brancheau's death and Tilikum's career as an entertainer and stud for other captive whales. SeaWorld has criticized the film as "inaccurate and misleading."

Rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) welcomed the court decision. Jared Goodman, the group's director of animal law, said it "brings to an end the days of trainers standing and riding on orcas for human amusement."

SeaWorld had appealed over the federal agency's application of federal safety law to an unusual workplace situation it had not regulated before.

The appeals court concluded that OSHA did not overstep its authority in bringing the action against SeaWorld.

"Statements by SeaWorld managers do not indicate that SeaWorld's safety protocols and training made the killer whales safe; rather, they demonstrate SeaWorld's recognition that the killer whales interacting with trainers are dangerous," Judge Judith Rogers wrote on behalf of the court.

She played down SeaWorld's concerns about the impact on its operations, saying that improved safety "does not change the essential nature of the business."

Judge Brett Kavanaugh wrote a dissenting opinion noting that people who work in dangerous fields in the sports and entertainment context are aware of the risks.

OSHA has "departed from tradition and stormed headlong into a new regulatory arena," he said.

The case is SeaWorld v. Dept. of Labor, 12-1375.

(Reporting by Lawrence Hurley. Additional reporting by Carlyn Kolker.; Editing by Howard Goller, Tom Brown and Jonathan Oatis)

China court rejects appeal of legal activist Xu Zhiyong

[JURIST] The Beijing Supreme People's Court on Friday upheld the four-year prison sentence of legal activist Xu Zhiyong [JURIST news archive] for "gathering a crowd to disturb public order." Xu, a legal scholar, is the founder of the New Citizens' Movement [WSJ backgrounder], a grass-roots organization which seeks to draw attention to matters of public discontent, including equal access to education and disclosure of Chinese officials' personal assets to combat corruption. Though Xu insisted that all activism was done within the limits of the law, the court held that there was enough clear and sufficient evidence to find the January sentence [JURIST report] was administered properly. Many activist organizations, including Human Rights Watch [advocacy website], have condemned the prosecutions. Amnesty International [advocacy website] has stated [press release] that the rejection of Xu's appeal makes a "mockery of justice."

The detainment of anti-corruption activists has been a recurrent human rights issue in China. Xu was formally indicted in December, after Beijing prosecutors received a letter from Chinese police officials urging [JURIST reports] the government to bring charges against Xu in early December. Last August Chinese writer, lawyer and human rights advocate Yang Maodong, commonly known by his pen-name Guo Feixiong [HRIC profile], became the second leader, following Xu, of the New Citizens movement to be arrested [JURIST report] on suspicion of disrupting the peace.

Kenyan woman jailed in US for marriage fraud

A US federal court has sentenced a Kenyan woman to one year in prison and a three year probation for her role in an inter-state fake marriage scheme.

Margaret Kimani of Worcester, Massachusetts, appeared before U S District Judge John Woodcock in Bangor, Maine, for the sentencing on Tuesday.

She had been found guilty of what the judge described as “one of the most sophisticated marriage frauds in the country” in December last year.

Ms Kimani, 30, was one of 28 defendants convicted in the state of Maine for being part of a scam which saw American citizens getting paid to marry immigrants so they could easily obtain permanent residency status, popularly known as a green card.

“The key idea was to achieve citizenship more easily,” said Maine’s US Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty II at a press conference after the sentencing.

Court documents seen by the Nation indicate that the defendant entered the United States on a visitor's visa which expired in 2003.

“She married an American man on Dec. 30, 2003, nearly two years after her visitor’s visa expired in order to gain US citizenship more easily,” a prosecutor’s affidavit filed with the court states.

However, the judge heard, when the man backed out of the scheme, she filed a petition under the Violence Against Women Act, alleging abuse by her spouse.

“Kimani had been awarded lawful permanent residency in March 2010 based on the false information that her husband sexually, physically and emotionally abused her,” the prosecutor told the jury.

Court documents show that she was indicted by a federal grand jury in August 2012 and was arrested 13 months later when she returned from a visit to Kenya. She has been held without bail since her arrest on Sept. 5, 2013, at JFK International Airport in New York City.

A jury found her guilty of one count of conspiracy to defraud the US government in December 2013.

On Tuesday, tough talking US government officials sent a warning to would-be perpetrators.

“America’s legal immigration system is not for sale and we will move aggressively against those who willfully compromise the integrity of that system simply to enrich themselves,” said Bruce Foucart, special agent in charge for US Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations in Boston, whose office headed the investigation that led to the prosecutions.

And during a press conference outside the courthouse Tuesday, the prosecutor warned that the US government would be ruthless on scammers.

“ If you commit marriage fraud, there isn’t going to be a honeymoon,” said US Attorney Delahanty.

SHAM MARRIAGES

The sentencing of Margaret Kimani brings to a close a joint investigation which identified over 40 sham marriages between US citizens and nationals from Kenya, Uganda, Zambia and Cameroon.

The court heard that the scheme was hatched by a man named James Mbugua, 53, and his friend Rashid Kakande, 41. “ Immigrants seeking an American spouse would pay Mr Kakande or Mr Mbugua between $1,000 and $1,500.

Spouses who provided false information, such as joint bank accounts, rent receipts and utility bills to show that the couple was living together, and attended interviews with immigration officials received further payments,” said Mr Delahanty.

Assistant US Attorney Gail Malone, who prosecuted all of the cases, said at the press conference that Kakande and Mbugua targeted the state of Maine “because there is no waiting period for marriage in the state as is the case in many other states.”

In addition to prison time, Judge Woodcock sentenced Margaret Kimani to three years of supervised release. Ms Kimani, who is a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) and has a daughter who is a US citizen, is expected to be deported upon completion of her jail term.

Daily Nation:

Cambodia court sentences 13 men for treason

[JURIST] A Cambodian court on Friday sentenced 13 men, all members of the self-styled Khmer National Liberation Front [official website], to prison for plotting to overthrow Prime Minister Hun Sen's [JURIST news archive] government. The government accused the men of plotting insurrection and "opposing the nation" by calling for Sen's removal, primarily through anti-government leaflets and internet postings. While the defendants denied their guilt and endorsement of violence in the one-day trial, the judge held that the group's organizational documents were sufficient evidence for conviction. The prison terms range from five to nine years. Seven of the defendants, who were arrested in Thailand in 2013 and subsequently deported to Cambodia, received their conviction in court, while six others were sentenced in absentia. A lawyer for the defendants has already announced his plans to appeal.

The political atmosphere in Cambodia has been tense since last year's elections, resulting in a crackdown on protesters. A Cambodian appeals court in February refused the release [JURIST report] of 21 people arrested in January in connection with anti-government protests, a series of demonstrations comprised mostly of garment workers and rights activists. Also in January the International Labour Organization (ILO) [official website] called for cooperation amongst all parties involved in escalating violence in Cambodia, demanding a release of detained union strikers and a government probe into anti-protest police tactics [JURIST report]. Earlier that month the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights urged [JURIST report] Cambodian authorities to exercise restraint when dealing with protestors. Days beforehand, Cambodia banned rallies and marches [Al Jazeera report] in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh, and authorities removed more than 1,000 anti-government protesters [BBC report] from the capital the same day.

Turkey's top court strikes down part of Erdogan's judiciary reform law

Turkey’s constitutional court has struck down parts of a new law designed to tighten government control of the judiciary. This follows a court decision last week to lift a government-imposed ban on Twitter.
...................

A statement released by the Constitutional Court on Friday said it had cancelled articles within the judicial reform law, which had granted the justice minister powers of the High Council of Judges and Prosecutors, (HSYK), an independent body, responsible for judicial appointments.

The ruling came after a parliamentarian from the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) had filed a complaint against the judicial reform, arguing that it violated the principle of separation of powers and the independence of the courts.

The CHP praised the court for Friday's decision.

"With its recent decisions, the Constitutional Court has turned into a body championing freedoms, which unsettles the regime," said the CHP's deputy chairman, Sezgin Tanrikulu, also referring to the court's earlier decision to lift a ban on Twitter.

"This law includes so many unconstitutional elements that it would be strange if (the court) gave another decision," Tankrikulu told the AFP news agency.

The government was critical of the court's decision.

"The legislation was constitutional. The court's decision has not changed my opinion in that regard. But we will of course abide by the ruling," Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag said.

Corruption scandal

The judicial reform introduced by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government back in February had sparked outcry from human rights groups and concern about Turkey's democratic credentials in the West.

This legislation, as well as a ban on Twitter and YouTube, have been widely seen as an attempt by Erdogan to battle through a corruption scandal, which erupted last December after police raids targeted businessmen close to him, as well as the sons of cabinet ministers. He responded by having thousands of police and judiciary officials removed from their positions.

Despite the scandal, Erdogan's AK Party easily won last month's municipal elections.

pfd/dr (AFP, AP, dpa, Reuters) DW

Congo militia leader appeals ICC conviction

[JURIST] The International Criminal Court (ICC) announced Wednesday that Congolese militia leader Germain Katanga is appealing his recent conviction for war crimes. Katanga, the alleged commander of the Patriotic Resistance Forces in Ituri, an armed militia group from the Ituri region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), was convicted by the ICC last month on four counts of war crimes and one count of crimes against humanity. Katanga's guilty verdict stems from the militia leader's involvement in providing weapons to rebel soldiers responsible for a 2003 massacre in the village of Bogoro in the Eastern DRC. Trial prosecutors said that more than 200 people were killed in the rampage, which was carried out with guns and machetes. Katanga was cleared of related charges of rape, sexual slavery and using child soldiers for which the prosecution plans to appeal. The prosecution has also appealed the acquittals.

Congolese authorities arrested Katanga in 2005 accusing him of ordering rebel fighters in his command to wipe out the village of Bogoro. He was transferred to the detention center at The Hague in 2007 where he has remained since. Hearings to confirm Katanga's war crimes charges commenced in 2008 and the Pre-Trial Chamber of the ICC quickly found sufficient evidence to proceed with the prosecution. In September 2009, the appeals chamber of the ICC upheld the admissibility of the case after Katanga argued that his charges should be dropped and the trial commenced in November 2009. In July 2010, the ICC appeals chamber denied Katanga's request for a stay of proceedings and a declaration of unlawful detention by the DRC. In September 2012, a Dutch court granted asylum in the Netherlands to three Congolese witnesses who testified against Katanga.

Court quashes govt objection on Mbagala victims case

Dar es Salaam.

The High Court has thrown out an objection by the government against a case filed by victims of the Mbagala bomb blasts demanding compensation.

The plaintiffs Aulerian Temba, Athman Mtauka, Elovan Augustino and Catherine Isaya filed a civil suit against the permanent secretary in the ministry of Defence and National Service along with the Attorney General (AG). In the case, filed in 2011, the plaintiffs are opposing the ‘meagre’ compensation provided by the government after their houses were demolished by the bombs.

They are claiming that the payments were too small compared to the value of their houses and have asked the court, among other things, to order the respondents (the State) to pay them according to the valuation done by their private valuer.

However, the government filed an objection asking the court to dismiss the case on the ground that it was filed outside the time limits of filing a civil suit. However, the High Court in its decision yesterday agreed with the plaintiffs’ arguments through their advocate Edson Mkisi that the case had been filed in time and that the republic did not verify any law that supported their objection.

In his ruling, Judge Fauz Twaib said that the objection by the government lacked a legal basis.

The judge ordered the matter to proceed with the arbitration process in May 28, this year. The plaintiffs allege that the compensation paid to them and others was not enough to even buy a bag of cement, noting that some of the victims were paid money to buy bread only.

The bombs exploded on April 29, 2009, at the Tanzania People’s Defence Forces (TPDF) Camp KJ 671, causing the deaths of more than 25 people while hundreds of people were injured and many families made homeless after their houses were destroyed.

The Citizen:

Azam TV saga takes new twist as Yanga go to court

Dar es Salaam. 

The tug-of-war between Young Africans and the Tanzania Football Federation (TFF) over broadcasting rights took a new twist yesterday when the Jangwani team asked the High Court to temporarily block Azam Media Limited from televising their matches.

In a case they filed yesterday, the club argues that the TFF’s decision to grant Azam Media exclusive rights to broadcast the Vodacom Premier League matches without first seeking their consent was unjust and exploitative, and has put their sponsorship and revenue in jeopardy.

Sued along the TFF and Azam Media Limited is the chairman of the Tanzania Premier League Board (TPLB), Hamad Yahya.

The two sides have been embroiled in the broadcast row since August last year after the TFF awarded Azam exclusive rights to broadcast league matches.

At its annual general meeting in January, the Yanga leadership claimed that the TFF’s deal with Azam spelt doom for the club as a Sh100million package they earn per year from the latter translated to less than Sh4million per match, an amount that is meagre in light of the club’s fan base. Yesterday, the Registered Trustees of the club asked the court to temporarily bar Azam from televising their matches pending hearing of the case.

Yanga argue that if the court will not intervene and annul the deal, the club was likely to lose its sponsorship from Tanzania Breweries Limited (TBL) in the next three years because Azam Media is averse to alcohol advertisement.

“Azam may not positively project commercial advertisements of Yanga sponsors who are beer brewers,” argues the club.

Young Africans has ignored the fact that they were the owners of all original copyrights in telecast of the games they play before sealing the deal with Azam.

“Clause 4.3 of the agreement gives the TFF all the rights other than those conferred to them, hence robbing our club its copyrights in telecast of its matches,” read part of an affidavit sworn by a member of the club’s board of trustees, Francis Kifukwe.

“Yanga have proprietary interest in the matches and players who have been retained to play for the club at great expenses,” it read.

The club is accusing TFF of what it described as ‘abuse of statutory dominance in football’ to enter into contracts unjust and exploitative to them.

The Citizen:

Dar fights to save its embassy in Nairobi

Dar es Salaam. 

The government is embroiled in a case in which it risks losing one of its properties in Nairobi over a Ksh42 million (Sh756 million) debt.

The case is traceable to January 31, 2000 when the High Court of Zanzibar on January 31, 2000 ordered that Kenyan businessman J. S. Kinyanjui and Lamshore Ltd be paid Sh756 million for supplying rice to the Isles government.

The businessman moved to the Kenyan High Court and sought the execution of the judgment delivered 14 years ago after he was unable to get the money in Zanzibar.

Mr Kinyanjui filed an application for orders to attach and sell a piece of land belonging to the United Republic of Tanzania in a prime area of Nairobi as a way of recovering the money he was awarded.

Alarmed by the move and the possibility of the plot located in Upper Hill area being auctioned off, the government has asked to be joined in the case, arguing that, as owner of the property targeted for the requested auction, it is directly affected and should be part of the case.

It sought an order to stop the attachment of the land, on which Tanzania plans to build its new high commission premises, until its application is heard and determined.

Both the government and the applicant have made their submissions and are now waiting for the court to decide whether or not the land should be sold.

According to reports reaching The Citizen from Nairobi yesterday, the Tanzanian government says in its submission in the High Court that it is in conflict with the intended sale of its property because even the initial hearing in Zanzibar took place without its involvement.

The government has further sought to convince judges in Nairobi that the Zanzibar verdict cannot be enforced against the United Republic of Tanzania. It maintained that the government of Zanzibar and the government of the United Republic of Tanzania are two separate legal entities, and one cannot carry out the responsibilities of the other.

According to the submissions, the Union government wants the court and the applicant to pin the civil liability matter on the government of Zanzibar. Contacted for comment yesterday, Zanzibar Attorney General Othman Masoud Othman said he was aware of the case, but added that Mr Kinyanjui unsuccessfully filed an application, which sought the execution of the judgment delivered by the High Court of Zanzibar.

He said Lamshore Ltd had entered into an agreement with the now defunct Bizanje, a company formerly owned by the Zanzibar government, which was responsible for buying cereals and grains.

Mr Othman added that it was agreed that Lamshore Ltd supply rice to Bizanje, which had expected the Zanzibar government to provide the money, but the government made it clear that it was not ready to finance the deal.

This led to the termination of the agreement, prompting Mr Kinyanjui and Lamshore Ltd to file a lawsuit in the Zanzibar High Court, demanding compensation for breach of contract.

The court ruled in favour of the applicants, but the verdict could not be enforced because the company that terminated the contract no longer existed, according to Mr Othman.

Mr Othman added that since Lamshore Ltd was demanding that the Isles government should pay the damages, the applicant filed an application in the High Court of Zanzibar, but the plea was thrown out.

This prompted Mr Kinyanjui to take his case to Kenya, where he filed a fresh application in the country’s high court in Nairobi.

Contacted yesterday for comment, Tanzania’s High Commissioner to Kenya, Dr Batilda Burian, responded: “I can’t say anything since there is a pending court case.”

The Citizen:

Obama to sign executive actions targeting gender wage gap

[JURIST] US President Barrack Obama [official website] said [press release] Tuesday that he will be signing two executive actions aimed at helping combat pay discrimination between men and women. According to the White House's press release, US Census statistics show, "on average, full-time working women still earn 77 cents to every dollar earned by men." One of the president's actions was an executive order [White House infographic] prohibiting federal contractors from retaliating against employees who choose to discuss their compensation. The executive order is seen as a push by the Obama administration to increase support for the Paycheck Fairness Act [legislative materials] introduced in the Senate in January. The second action, a presidential memorandum, will instruct the Secretary of Labor to establish new rules for federal contractors requiring them to submit to the Department of Labor [official website] summary data on compensation paid to their employees, including data by sex and race. The president's announcement comes on Equal Pay Day [DOL backgrounder], the day according to the Department of Labor which reflects how far into the current year women must work to match what men earned in the previous year.

The campaign for equal pay for men and woman has been a continuous issue in the US since the Equal Pay Act was signed into law by President John F. Kennedy [JFK Presidential Library] in 1963. In June of last year Texas Governor Rick Perry [official website] vetoed [JURIST report] a bill [HB 950 text] intended to prevent payment discrimination and make it easier for women to obtain equal pay. In 2009 President Obama signed [JURIST report] the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009 [S.181 materials] into law extending the deadline for employees to sue their employers for unequal pay discrimination.

Kenya deports 82 Somali nationals in crackdown

Kenya has deported 82 Somali nationals to Mogadishu in the ongoing security operation on illegal immigrants

The deportation, coming a day after 69 others were charged in court, was facilitated by the Embassy of Somali. The suspects were deported through a chartered flight that departed from the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) Wednesday at 8.15am.

On Wednesday afternoon, Interior Cabinet Secretary Joseph Lenku and Inspector General of Police David Kimaiyo visited the Kasarani stadium and maintained the operation would continue until the government was convinced that there was adequate security.

Currently, 472 suspects are held in different police stations in the city pending further investigations. “We can confirm that 82 Somali citizens have been deported. They were even escorted by the Somali ambassador to Kenya,” said Mr Lenku.

Both Mr Lenku and Mr Kimaiyo denied allegations that the suspects in custody were being subjected to cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment at the stations.

They said that they would continue using the stadium, which had been gazetted as a police station, for screening even after some Muslim leaders led by leader of Majority in the National Assembly Aden Duale protested, claiming that it was inhumane and was also targeting Somali Muslims.

Section 40 of the National Police Service Act empowers the Inspector General, through a notice in the Kenya Gazette, to designate certain places to be police stations.

Both officials had visited the facility in company of journalist who were allowed to witness the vetting process. For the first time, the UNHCR officials led by the Country Representative Raouf Mazou, the media and human right crusaders were allowed inside the heavily guarded stadium where screening exercise is being carried out.

“We use the stadium for screening suspects only and they do not spend the nights here. It has also been gazette as a police station. Those suspects found innocent are released immediately,” he said.
At the stadium the suspects were put in separate cells for the children, male and female suspects, under close guard.

Regarding other allegations against the police involved in the exercise, the two maintained that the operation was being conducted professionally. “The operation will be done within the law and so far no reports of bribing or the rape allegations have been established. This is the country’s number one priority,” the cabinet secretary said.

The police boss Kimaiyo has also warned refugees who have sneaked out of the two designated camps. “We are working closely with the United Nations High Commission for Refugees and anyone found to have sneaked from the camps would be dealt with firmly,” he warned.

Daily Nation:

Court overturns ex-banker's extradition to Russia

PARIS (AP) — France's top appeals court on Wednesday overturned a decision to extradite a former Kazakh banker whose dual roles as opposition leader and fugitive from justice led to legal cases in four countries.

Mukhtar Ablyazov, a former Kazakh energy minister and onetime chairman of BTA Bank, has been jailed since police special forces seized him at a home on the French Riviera last summer.

Russia and Ukraine, which both have BTA branches, sought Ablyazov on allegations he siphoned off billions from the bank. Ablyazov, who was one of the world's richest men as BTA's chairman, had turned against his former patron, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev, and was using at least part of his wealth to bankroll the opposition against the man who has ruled since 1989.

He ultimately received asylum in Britain in 2011. The bank says there's at least $6 billion missing and accuses Ablyazov of misappropriating the money. Ablyazov denies the allegations. In his absence, BTA has won multiple judgments against him in British courts, and he fled after he was convicted of contempt of court there.

Ablyazov's lawyers appealed a French judge's decision in January approving his extradition to Russia and Ukraine. Peter Sahlas, his lawyer, said the ruling was thrown out Wednesday and the case would be sent to a different court.

"We have a fresh start," Sahlas said.
Antonin Levy, a lawyer for BTA, said Wednesday's decision was procedural.

"After British justice, it's now the turn of France to recognize the massive fraud committed by Mr. Ablyazov toward the bank," Levy said in a statement.

Kazakhstan has no extradition treaty with France. But Ablyazov's family and lawyers say they fear he will ultimately be returned to his homeland via Russia or Ukraine, which do have extradition deals with Kazakhstan.
___

Daily Mail UK

Reprieve for Mutua as court dismisses appeal

The Court of Appeal on Wednesday upheld the election of Dr Alfred Mutua as Machakos Governor.

Justice Daniel Musinga - who delivered the judgment on behalf of the three bench comprising of judges Erastus Githinji, Roselyne Nambuye and Kathurima M’inoti - for the second time dismissed former assistant minister Wavinya Ndeti’s appeal case challenging Dr Mutua’s triumph in the 2013 General Election.

It was a double on Ms Wavinya when the court ruled that she filed her election appeal case out of the required time frame which is within 30 days after delivery of the High Court ruling.

The judge attributed Ms Wavinya’s loss to not being vigilant enough to pursue the case as she moved to the Court of Appeal two months after the delivery of a judgment by High Court judge David Majanja on September 17 last year.

The judge upheld the fact that Dr Mutua and his deputy Mr Bernard Muia Kiala through lawyer Mutula Junior Kilonzo had opposed the manner in which the case had been moved to that court and hence struck out the case with costs.

“Without going to the merits of the case, the preliminary objection of Dr Mutua and Mr Katiku is upheld and therefore the appeal is struck out with costs to the respondents,” said Justice Musinga.

In the ruling, the judge said that the proceedings were ready to be collected and had been certified by the deputy registrar yet Ms Wavinya collected and filed her petition on November 22, 2013 at the Court of Appeal.

The legal battles between Dr Mutua, who garnered 257,607 votes and Ms Wavinya who got 92,644, kicked off on March 26, 2013.

Ms Wavinya alleged that alleged that the County Returning Officer never declared the gubernatorial election results as required by law by reading them out in public and hence accused Dr Mutua of declaring himself the duly elected Governor at the Machakos Bus Park contrary to the provisions of the Elections Act, 2011.

She had also alleged that Dr Mutua committed several election offences including bribery, voter intimidation, violence and undue influence of voters, ballot stuffing, and illegal voter lists all of which amount to breach of the electoral code of conduct.

Through lawyer Harrison Kinyanjui, she argued that election was not carried out in a free and fair manner since Forms 35 and 36 had discrepancies which meant that the entire election ought to be cancelled besides 17 witnesses testifying.

LOST TIME

While addressing the media after the ruling, Mutua said he was pleased with the outcome of the case and the fact that court had held that he was validly elected.

He also said that he would now use lost time to focus more on development issues for his county.

“I am happy with the ruling. We have more work now,” he said while accompanied by over five members of parliament from the Eastern region as well as Machakos County Assembly officials.

Daily Nation:

Uganda: Army court convicts 12 officers over Arrow Boys salary arrears

Mbale.

Twelve senior UPDF officers accused of embezzling Arrow Boys salary arrears have been convicted and handed sentences ranging from three to five months in prison.

A Court Martial session sitting at Bugema’s UPDF 3rd Division Infantry headquarters in Mbale on Monday convicted the 12 for embezzling more than Shs500 million.

The sentence will be served from Makindye Military Prison.

Court chaired by Col John Tumwebaze ruled the 12 were guilty of stealing more than Shs500 million, part of the Shs1.1 billion.

The money had been sent by the Ministry of Defence for payment of the 14 month salary arrears for Arrow Boys, a local militia that had helped to fight LRA rebels in the Teso sub-region.

Those convicted included Maj Francis Musana, Maj Hannington Kibula, Maj Charles Kawa, Maj Godfrey Bizibu, Maj Innocent Kamurasi and Lt Gregory Eilor.

They will each serve five months in prison.
Others are Lt Stephen Otim, Capt Govin Ogena, Sgt Lawrence Oriokot and Cpl. Richard Omeda will serve a sentence of four months.

Meanwhile Staff Sgt John Chemonges and Lt Denis Ochakacon were sentenced to three months in detention each.

The Arrow Boys militia was formed in 2003 to boost the efforts of the Uganda People’s Defense Forces – UPDF to fight an invasion by the Lord’s Resistance Army rebels in Teso sub region.

Daily Monitor: 

Russia Constitutional Court upholds 'foreign agents' law

[JURIST] The Constitutional Court of Russia [offical website] on Tuesday upheld [press release, in Russian] the constitutionality of a law requiring non-government organizations (NGOs) to register as "foreign agents" if they accept foreign funding. The law [materials, in Russian], passed in 2012, requires that all NGOs that accept foreign funding and engage in "political activity" must register as "foreign agents," or face potential fines of up to 500,000 rubles (USD $14,000). The court noted in its ruling that there are no legal grounds in which to contend that the term "foreign agents" has a negative connotation dating back to the Soviet era, when the term was resonant with espionage and treason. The court also lowered the fine to 300,000 rubles (USD $8,400). Backers of the law, including President Vladimir Putin [official website], claim that the law is in the public interest and the interest of state sovereignty. Critics believe that the law violates fundamental human rights and has the potential to lead to abuses of other basic rights due to its lack of a clear definition for "political activity".

This law and others have recently caused much controversy over human rights in Russia. In July 2012 this law was passed by the Russian Federal Council [JURIST report], causing a great deal of debate and opposition. Earlier that month the online encyclopedia Wikipedia shut down its website [JURIST report] in a one-day protest of the legislation, which it said in an article "may become the basis for real censorship on the internet." In June 2012 Putin signed into law [JURIST report] a controversial bill which greatly increased penalties for protesters who violate demonstration regulations. In May 2012 prominent Russian gay rights activist Nikolai Alekeyev became the first to be convicted [JURIST report] under a St. Petersburg city ordinance that prohibits spreading "homosexual propaganda" to minors.

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