Top Kenyans to face Hague trial

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23 January 2012 Last updated at 12:28 GMT Some 1,200 people were killed in violence after the 2007 elections Two presidential candidates in Kenya are to stand trial over crimes against humanity following post-poll violence in 2007, the International Criminal Court has ruled.

Finance Minister Uhuru Kenyatta and former minister William Ruto will both face charges.

They are among four prominent Kenyans - all of whom deny the accusations - who will stand trial.

Charges against a further two officials were not confirmed by the Hague court.

Mr Kenyatta will stand trial with cabinet secretary Francis Mutaura.

The pair are accused of crimes against humanity, including murder and persecution.

Former Education Minister William Ruto and radio presenter Joshua arap Sang will stand trial in a separate case, as they were on opposite sides during the 2007 election.

More than 1,200 people were killed in weeks of unrest and some 600,000 people were forced to flee their homes. Many still remain homeless.

'Break with impunity'

The violence began as clashes between supporters of the two rival presidential candidates - Raila Odinga and Mwai Kibaki - but it snowballed into a bloody round of score-settling and communal violence.

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Kibaki allies in 2007

Uhuru Kenyatta, deputy PM and finance ministerFrancis Kirimi Muthaura, secretary to the cabinetMohammed Hussein Ali, former police chief - charges not confirmed

Odinga allies in 2007

William Ruto, former education ministerJoshua Arap Sang, radio executiveHenry Kosgey, former minister for industrialisation - charges not confirmed"It is our utmost desire that the decisions issued by this chamber today bring peace to the people of the Republic of Kenya and prevent any sort of hostilities," ICC presiding judge Ekaterina Trendafilova said.

Kenyans are due to head to the polls in fresh elections early next year.

Ms Trendafilova stressed that the decisions do not mean guilty verdicts against the suspects, only that there is sufficient evidence to send them to trial.

"We are not passing judgment on the guilt or innocence of the individuals," she said before a public hearing held in The Hague.

The news of the trials was welcomed by international campaign group Human Rights Watch.

"The ICC trials will break with decades of impunity in Kenya for political violence," the group said in a statement.

"But Kenya should act to widen accountability by carrying out prosecutions at home."

Chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo had asked to bring two separate cases, reflecting the political and ethnic divisions behind Kenya's post-election violence.

Mr Kenyatta, a supporter of President Kibaki, is accused of organising a campaign of violence including murder and rape against Odinga supporters.

Prosecutors say he met members of a secretive criminal organisation known as Mungiki at a shopping centre in Nairobi before the election in 2007 to arrange some of the attacks.

Continue reading the main story December 2007: Violence explodes after disputed poll. 1,200 people killed, thousands displaced by fighting.April 2008: Power-sharing deal is signedNovember 2009: ICC chief prosecutor says will seek to investigate post-poll violenceAugust 2010: New Kenyan constitution agreedDecember 2010: ICC names suspectsMay 2011: ICC rejects Kenya's bid to halt election probe January 2012: ICC confirms charges against four suspectsHe denied the accusation at a preliminary hearing at the ICC last September.

Mr Kenyatta, son of the country's first President Jomo Kenyatta, is hoping to stand in next year's presidential poll, with analysts suggesting that he has a realistic chance of winning.

Mr Ruto, a former education minister, described the charges against him as "strange" and emphasised that he still intends to put himself forward for the presidency.

"I am firmly still in the presidential race, the charges confirmed against me will not affect it," Mr Ruto said from Nairobi.

He and Mr Sang backed Mr Odinga in 2007 and are accused of organising attacks on members of ethnic groups seen as Kibaki supporters.

Mr Sang said the news of the trial had come as a "big disappointment" but said he would contest the charges.

Kenya's government has been lobbying for the cases to be dropped - a position endorsed last year by the African Union.

Mr Kibaki was eventually declared the winner of the 2007 election, and is serving his second and final term as president.

Mr Odinga was installed as prime minister under a power-sharing deal brokered by Kofi Annan to end the violence.

Mr Ruto and Mr Odinga have since fallen out and are expected to face each in the elections.

Source BBC

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Trial of Massachusetts man accused of aiding terrorism begins

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By Lauren Keiper

BOSTON | Thu Oct 27, 2011 5:54pm EDT

BOSTON (Reuters) - A Massachusetts man accused of supporting militants traveled to Yemen for terrorism training and translated Arabic messages to help further al Qaeda's cause, prosecutors said in Boston federal court on Thursday.

During opening statements in the jury trial of Tarek Mehanna, prosecutors said the defendant answered a call to action from Osama bin Laden to fight and kill American soldiers.

Mehanna, they said, translated videos and texts from Arabic to English from his "cushy bedroom" in the Boston suburbs and widely distributed al Qaeda's message of jihad over the internet.

Although he failed to obtain terrorism training during a 2004 trip to Yemen, prosecutors said he viewed himself as part of the media wing of al Qaeda and conspired with others to support the organization.

Mehanna, 29, of Sudbury, Massachusetts has been charged with "providing material support to terrorists" and other crimes, including conspiracy to kill in a foreign country and lying to law enforcement officers.

If convicted, he faces a possible sentence of life in prison on the most serious charge.

Prosecutors said Mehanna provided vital skills and services to al Qaeda, a known terrorist organization.

They said witnesses who will testify against him include Mehanna's friend Daniel Maldonado, a New Hampshire man now serving a 10-year sentence for getting al Qaeda military training.

The defense said Mehanna was an American citizen guilty of nothing more than trying to explore his Muslim background and Islam.

He studied Islamic law and on his own initiative translated classical texts from Arabic to English. He traveled to Yemen to visit schools where he one day hoped to continue his studies, defense attorneys said.

He also spoke openly and often about his belief that the United States military should not be in Iraq and even expressed admiration for Osama bin Laden's efforts to get foreign powers out of Muslim countries, the defense said.

"He didn't hide his beliefs, he wore them on his sleeve," said defense attorney J.W. Carney, Jr.

Mehanna was not hired, ordered, directed or paid by al Qaeda, Carney said.

He was born in Pennsylvania but grew up in Sudbury, a suburb west of Boston, and graduated with a doctorate from the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences.

Prosecutors showed video clips with images of Osama bin Laden that Mehanna translated with English subtitles as part of their opening statement.

The defense displayed family photos of a younger Mehanna, a typical American kid playing baseball and sitting on Santa's lap.

Mehanna had been living at home with his parents when he was arrested in 2008. The trial was expected to continue for six or seven weeks.

(Editing by Barbara Goldberg and Greg McCune)

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Knox trial judge says she may be guilty but no proof

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Amanda Knox pauses while speaking during a news conference at Sea-Tac International Airport, Washington after landing there on a flight from Italy October 4, 2011.

Credit: Reuters/Anthony Bolante

By Deepa Babington

ROME | Thu Oct 6, 2011 12:38pm EDT

ROME (Reuters) - The Italian judge who presided over Amanda Knox's murder appeal has told local media the American student may have been guilty but had to be acquitted because of doubts over evidence linking her to the killing of Meredith Kercher in 2007.

Knox, 24, flew home to a hero's welcome in Seattle on the U.S. west coast on Tuesday after an appeals court in the Italian city of Perugia overturned her 2009 conviction for the murder of her British roommate.

"They're free for not having committed the crime," Judge Claudio Pratillo Hellmann told the daily La Stampa.

"But this is the truth in court, not the real truth. And that could be different."

He told the daily Corriere della Sera: "They could have been responsible but there is no proof. Perhaps they knew what happened that night. We do not know."

Hellmann was one of an eight-member panel of lay and professional judges who on Monday acquitted Knox and her Italian ex-boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, of the murder.

The acquittal raised more questions than answers about who committed the crime, and prosecutors have said they will appeal to reverse the verdict.

Rudy Guede, an Ivorian drifter who was found guilty and sentenced to 16 years in a separate trial, is now the only person serving time for the murder, although prosecutors say he could not have killed Kercher by himself.

Her half-naked body was found with over 40 wounds and a deep gash in the throat, and prosecutors say the lack of signs of struggle on her body show her assailants pinned her down while another stabbed her in the neck.

"Certainly Rudy knows what happened and hasn't said it," Hellmann said. "Perhaps the other two defendants also know, because, I repeat, our decision to acquit was the result of truth determined by the trial."

A MYSTERY FOREVER?

Hellmann said a forensics review that cast doubt on police evidence that traces of DNA belonging to Kercher and Knox were found on a kitchen knife and Sollecito's DNA was on the victim's bra clasp was crucial in undermining the prosecution's case.

"The law says that a small doubt, as long as it is reasonable, is enough to acquit," he told La Stampa. "And we were coherent with our convictions."

A report by the panel of judges on the reasons behind the acquittal is due in the coming weeks.

Knox was initially sentenced to 26 years in prison and Sollecito to 25 years in a case that drew attention the world over.

In the United States, a massive public relations effort by the Seattle student's family aided her image and cast her as an innocent victim of a convoluted judicial system in a distant foreign country.

The grieving family of Kercher, a Leeds University student from Coulsdon, south of London, said after the acquittal that they felt they were "back to square one" and have asked who killed their beloved "Mez" if Knox and Sollecito were innocent.

Hellmann said that the family may never find out.

"Unfortunately the truth will remain unsolved, from the court process point of view," he told La Stampa. "We cannot find someone guilty without proof."

(Editing by Mark heinrich)

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Jackson doctor trial to begin

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27 September 2011 Last updated at 00:28 GMT By Peter Bowes BBC News, Los Angeles The high profile trial in Los Angeles has attracted supporters of both Dr Conrad Murray and Michael Jackson More than two years after Michael Jackson's sudden death, the singer's personal physician is to stand trial on Tuesday. Dr Conrad Murray, 58, has pleaded not guilty to a charge of involuntary manslaughter. If convicted, the maximum sentence is four years in prison.

It was a hot midsummer day in Los Angeles on 25 June, 2009. Hollywood was mourning the loss of the actress Farrah Fawcett, as fans and celebrities paid tribute to the TV star, who had died from cancer, aged 62.

But that day will be remembered for another, altogether unexpected death and for the extraordinary outpouring of grief it provoked.

Pop star Michael Jackson, a month shy of his 51st birthday, was rushed to hospital and pronounced dead, his brother Jermaine confirming the news to stunned fans in a hastily-arranged press conference.

Jackson had recently stepped back into the limelight. He was rehearsing at the Staples Centre arena in Los Angeles for This Is It, his hugely anticipated concert series, which was due to start at the O2 in London on 13 July.

The night before his death, he worked until after midnight. The next day, shortly after noon, he was discovered unconscious in his bedroom by his physician Dr Conrad Murray.

Dr Conrad Murray faces up to four years in prison if convicted

What happened in the time between those two events remains a mystery.

At a preliminary hearing, several witnesses gave detailed accounts of the frenzied activity at Jackson's home after the singer was found to be unresponsive.

The singer's death, according to the Los Angeles County Coroner, was a homicide caused by "acute Propofol intoxication." Propofol is a sedative that is normally used in hospitals to induce or maintain anaesthesia during surgical procedures.

But it will be up to a jury to decide whether the actions of Dr Murray, during the frantic efforts to revive the singer and in the hours before, caused his death.

"We're finally going to get a full airing of all the facts," says Steven Cron, a legal analyst.

"In order to be guilty of a crime one has to be grossly negligent, not just minimally negligent, and that's what they're trying to prove," says Mr Cron.

Dr Murray has strongly defended himself against the charge of involuntary manslaughter. He has insisted that nothing he did should have killed Jackson.

"I think the forensic evidence is going to be really important," says Mr Cron.

"There were only two people in the room and one of them is no longer with us. The other is accused."

Media interest

The jury will hear testimony from dozens of witnesses, including some of those who were first on the scene, such as Jackson's security guards and paramedics. Experts will also be called upon to answer questions about Propofol, which will be at the heart of the case.

It has been suggested by Dr Murray's lawyers that the publicity surrounding the case could rise to the levels seen during the murder trial of the former American footballer-turned movie actor OJ Simpson in 1995.

But the judge has refused a request to have the jury sequestered, or confined to a hotel, to shield them from outside influences, as they were during the Simpson trial.

Jermaine Jackson said he is prepared for a media "circus"

Instead, Judge Michael Pastor has advised them not to "read, listen to or watch any news report or any other commentary about this case from any source" and to "keep an open mind throughout".

"I think the Conrad Murray trial will be the trial of the year [but] it will not be the trial of the century," says Linda Deutsch, a special correspondent with the Associated Press, and a veteran reporter at high profile cases in California.

While the defendant, Dr Murray, is not a celebrity, the trial will receive global attention because the alleged victim is Jackson, the superstar who is still worshipped by fans around the world.

The proceedings, like the Simpson trial, will be televised.

Media outlets from around the world have already set up makeshift studios near the court building. Jackson fans are expected to line the street. There will be a lottery every morning to allocate seats in the public gallery.

"The fact that it is Michael Jackson puts an entirely different profile on this case… Michael Jackson was a fascinating man and he still fascinates even in death," says Ms Deutsch.

The singer's parents and famous siblings are all expected to make an appearance at LA's Criminal Court building, taking it in turns to fill the eight seats the family has been allocated in the courtroom.

Jackson's three children will not attend the trial.

"We're ready," says his brother Jermaine Jackson, "We're always ready for whatever. We've been raised and taught to take it as it comes."

"I'll be strong. Very, very strong - because I know when the system works for you and I know when it works against you," he adds.

"I know the truth and I'm prepared for a circus."

Judge Pastor has estimated that the trial, up to the point that the jury starts its deliberations, will last for five weeks.

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Imprisoned polygamists sect Leader Jeffs seeks new trial Texas

Published September 07, 2011| Associated Press

SALT LAKE CITY - imprisoned polygamous sect leader Warren Jeffs filed a motion in writing to hand seeking a new trial in Texas after that he was convicted he and sentenced to imprisonment to life imprisonment on charges of sexual assault child.

Jeffs, who heads the base Utah fundamentalist church of Jesus Christ of latter-day Saints, says that his religious freedoms have been raped by the courts - an argument, he also tried to do everything by defending himself during his trial.

"The constitutional protection for religious faith and the freedom of practice is not of full protection in the previous trial... is legal ground to decide in favour of the defendant allowed a new trial...". "the Chief religious 55, wrote in his motion.

Written on lined notebook paper in uneven calligraphy of Jeffs, a page request was dated August 23, about two weeks after a jury found guilty of sexually assaulting two girls between the ages of 12 and 15 FLDS, that he married in religious ceremonies.

Schleicher County Court Clerk Peggy Williams, said that a representative Jeffs filed the motion on Friday at the Palace of justice, Eldorado, Texas.

Lauren Bean, Deputy Director of communication for Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott, on Wednesday, said the Office expected the jury decision to condemn Jeffs withstand any legal challenge.

"Just as each criminal attempts sentenced to overturn their convictions by pursuing the calls they are offered under Texas law, Warren Jeffs will have the opportunity to appeal," Bean said in a statement e-mailed to the Associated Press. "But a new trial is simply not warranted in this case."

Jeffs filing also seeks a rehearing on the Suppression of the evidence of a raid of 2008 on the FLDS ranch Zion desire in the Eldorado. Churches and family documents gathered in the raid are the basis for the case against Jeffs and other men of sect.

An appeal by Michael Emack, the first of men sect would be pursued by the authorities in Texas, has been confirmed by 3rd District Court of appeals the State last month. Emack, who is serving a seven year sentence for assaulting a 16-year-old daughter, argued that the raid was unconstitutional. A panel of three judges in Austin said authorities had sufficient grounds for probable cause.

Jeffs had taken place in the prison of Huntsville, Texas, immediately after his trial, but ill after days of fasting. He was taken to a hospital and said that in the coma medically induced before moved to Galveston.

Spokesman for the Department of Criminal Justice of the Texas Jason Clark said Jeffs remains in a hospital in Galveston prison and was listed in stable condition. Details were not provided.

Jeffs are not eligible for parole until he is 100.

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