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Crown doesn't need to prove crew member meant to kill missing passengers: judge

The Canadian PressMay 7, 2013 22:40
VANCOUVER - The judge overseeing the trial into the Queen of the North ferry sinking has told jurors they don't need to read Karl Lilgert's mind to find him guilty of criminal negligence causing death, if they find he should have recognized the risk his actions posed to people on board the ship. Lilgert is on trial for the deaths of two passengers, Gerald Foisy and Shirley Rosette, who haven't been seen since the ferry struck an island and sank off British Columbia's north coast in March 2006. The judge continued her instructions to the jury Tuesday for the second day.

Teenager accused of lying in Boston bomb case can be released

May 7, 2013 14:00
BOSTON (Reuters) - U.S. prosecutors have agreed that a teenager suspected of lying to FBI agents in the Boston Marathon bombing investigation can be released under strict conditions, according to a court filing on Monday. Prosecutors and the defense team for Robel Phillipos plan to ask U.S. Magistrate Judge Marianne Bowler to grant the 19-year-old suspect a pretrial release under strict conditions. (Reporting by Tim McLaughlin; Editing by Eric Beech)

Boston bomber friend released on bail

Agence France-PresseMay 6, 2013 18:31
A 19-year-old friend of accused Boston bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was ordered free on $100,000 bail Monday as he awaits trial for allegedly lying to investigators probing the attack. Robel Phillipos, whose family emigrated from Ethiopia, was placed under house arrest, where he will be under the custody of his mother. He must also wear an electronic monitoring bracelet.

Maryland becomes 18th U.S. state to abolish death penalty

Kyodo News InternationalMay 2, 2013 18:00
Maryland on Thursday became the 18th U.S. state to repeal the death penalty after Gov. Martin O'Malley signed the legislation, leaving life without the possibility of parole for the most serious offenders. "Evidence shows that the death penalty is not a deterrent, it cannot be administered without racial bias, and it costs three times as much as life in prison without parole," a press release by the governor's office said. The legislation goes into effect Oct. 1.

Sinking of B.C. ferry 'honest mistake,' not criminal action: defence

The Canadian PressMay 2, 2013 15:30
VANCOUVER - Karl Lilgert acknowledges he was in charge of the Queen of the North passenger ferry in the dying minutes of its final voyage seven years ago. Lilgert even admits it may have been his own mistakes that caused the ferry to miss a scheduled turn and sail into a remote island, sending the ship sinking to the bottom of the ocean and leaving two passengers missing. But none of that makes Lilgert a criminal, his lawyer told a jury Thursday, as the defence presented its closing arguments at his criminal negligence trial.

Former Kelowna Mountie handed suspended sentence for kicking man during arrest

The Canadian PressMay 2, 2013 14:15
KELOWNA, B.C. - A former RCMP officer who kicked a suspect in the face while the man was on his knees has been handed a suspended sentence and 18 months probation by a judge. Geoff Mantler pleaded guilty to assault causing bodily harm for kicking Buddy Tavares during an arrest in the Okanagan city two years ago. The arrest, which was caught on video by a bystander, showed Mantler kicking the man as he was complying with police orders to get down on the ground. Judge Greg Koturbash also ordered that Mantler have no contact with Tavares.

Kenya grants bails to Venezuelan diplomat on murder charge

Agence France-PresseMay 2, 2013 09:30
A Venezuelan diplomat in Kenya charged with the murder of his ambassador was granted bail Thursday after nine months in custody, court officials said. Acting ambassador Olga Fonseca Gimenez was found strangled in her Nairobi home in July 2012. Dwight Sagaray, who was serving as first secretary at the embassy, is one of seven charged with Fonseca's murder. Judge Roseline Korir granted Sagaray a bail of two million Kenyan shillings ($23,900, 18,100 euros), as well as the guarantee of two sureties each for the same amount, a court official confirmed.

Russian court denies parole to Pussy Riot punk

Agence France-PresseApril 26, 2013 13:01
A Russian court ruled to keep Pussy Riot punk Nadezhda Tolokonnikova in jail on Friday, denying her request for parole from her two-year sentence for the band's performance against President Vladimir Putin last year. Judge Lidiya Yakovleva sided with prison officials, who said that 23-year-old Tolokonnikova does not deserve parole because she has not repented for her actions and has had reprimands while serving out her two-year term in a prison colony in Mordovia.

Pussy Riot punk pleads for release from prison camp

Agence France-PresseApril 26, 2013 05:30
Jailed Pussy Riot punk Nadezhda Tolokonnikova on Friday pleaded to be released on parole from her two-year sentence, arguing that she had already spent enough time in prison camp for their protest against President Vladimir Putin. "I have spent enough time in the prison camp, I've had enough of studying it: six months is time enough," Tolokonnikova told the judge at her parole hearing, the RAPSI legal news agency reported.

Serbia president apologises for Srebrenica massacre

Agence France-PresseApril 25, 2013 06:16
Serbia's nationalist President Tomislav Nikolic on Thursday personally apologised for the first time for the 1995 Srebrenica massacre of 8,000 Muslims, but stopped short of calling it genocide. "I kneel and ask for forgiveness for Serbia for the crime committed in Srebrenica," Nikolic said in an interview to be aired on Bosnian national television, parts of which have already been disseminated on You Tube. Nikolic's office confirmed to AFP authenticity of the statement. rus-an/ks/mfp
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