Tag: jailed

Russian prison watchdog claims jailed US journalist ‘cheerful’ and doing well

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MOSCOW — Jailed Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich is “cheerful” and doing well as he sits in pre-trial detention, a Russian prison watchdog claimed Monday — the first report on his condition since his arrest on espionage charges.
“At the time of my visit, he was cheerful, there were a lot of jokes during our conversation,” Alexei Melnikov, a member of the Moscow Public Monitoring Commission (ONK), wrote in a post on Telegram late Monday.
Melnikov is the first outsider to have been granted access to the American journalist since his arrest last Wednesday while on an assignment in Yekaterinburg, accused of collecting classified information on a defense company for “the American side.”
No other foreign journalist has been arrested in Russia since the Cold War, and Gershkovich’s case marks a new low for the increasingly fraught relationship between Russia and the United States. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has claimed without evidence that Gershkovich was “caught red-handed,” while the White House has dismissed the case as “ridiculous.” Gershkovich’s employer, the Wall Street Journal, has called the allegations “utter nonsense.”
If found guilty of spying, Gershkovich faces a sentence of 20 years in a penal colony.
The journalist is currently being held alone in a two-person cell while undergoing a period of quarantine to rule out coronavirus infection, according to Melnikov, whose ONK was set up as an independent prison monitoring group, though in recent years it has been purged of its most vocal and Kremlin-critical members.
Melnikov said the cell contains a television with 20 channels, as well as a radio and a fridge. “Meals meet the established standards. Yesterday, for example, for lunch there was cabbage soup, potatoes and chicken, and for breakfast there was porridge,” Melnikov said.
Gershkovich has also been allowed to go for daily walks, according to Melnikov, adding that the journalist had not expressed any complaints and was reading Vasily Grossman’s novel “Life and Fate” from the prison’s library.

The reporter is set to be held in Moscow’s high-security Lefortovo prison pending trial until May 29.
Cases of espionage and treason, their domestic equivalent, are conducted under a veil of secrecy, sheltering them from public scrutiny.
But the general assumption among independent Russia experts is that Gershkovich is being used to boost Russia’s negotiating position in a possible future prisoner swap for Russian citizens jailed in the United States.
In December, American basketball player Brittney Griner, jailed in Russia on drug charges, was exchanged for arms dealer Viktor Bout. Though hailed by Griner’s supporters, the deal brokered by Joe Biden’s administration also drew criticism for potentially encouraging Russia to use American citizens as a negotiating tool.
Earlier on Monday, U.S. National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said the government was “pushing hard” for Gershkovich’s release and was following the case closely.

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( With inputs from : www.politico.eu )

April 1, 2023
Russian father jailed after daughter made anti-war drawing goes on the run

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A man sentenced to two years in prison in a case launched against him after his daughter drew an anti-war picture at school is on the run from the authorities, a spokeswoman for a provincial court told journalists.
Earlier Tuesday, a judge in the town of Yefremov in Russia’s Tula region, south of Moscow, found Alexei Moskalyov guilty of discrediting the Russian army on social media and sentenced him to two years in a penal colony.
Moskalyov was not present at the hearing.
Once the proceedings were over, a court spokeswoman, responding to inquiries as to Moskalyov’s whereabouts, said: “The defendant, Mr. Moskalyov, was not present when the verdict was announced because he fled house arrest last night.”
Her words were met with applause and several cries of “Bravo!” from some of those in attendance.
Formally, Moskalyov was sentenced for two comments he made on social media in which he described Russian soldiers as rapists and Russia’s leadership as “terrorists.”
But Moskalyov’s defense team and rights activists have argued his persecution is in fact retribution for a drawing made by his daughter Masha at school in April last year, when she was 12.
In the drawing, a woman and child stand next to a flag reading “Glory to Ukraine” in the path of a rocket shower coming from the direction of a Russian tricolor flag labeled: “No to war.”

According to an interview given by Moskalyov to independent media before his arrest, Masha’s teacher informed the director of the school, who then got the police involved, triggering a chain of interrogations that he claimed involved threats and beatings.
Moskalyov was eventually detained in early March and his daughter, now 13, taken into state care. While Moskalyov was soon released under house arrest, Masha remains in what the authorities call “a social rehabilitation center” and has been denied any communication with the outside world.
The ruling on Tuesday, though not a surprise, has been decried as a further crackdown on those who oppose Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine and described by some as a return to the Stalinist practice of targeting the children of “enemies of the state.” А petition calling for Masha’s release has received more than 140,000 signatures.
Speaking to journalists outside the court on Tuesday, Moskalyov’s lawyer Vladimir Biliyenko said he had been unaware of his client’s plan to flee. He said the last time they saw each other was at a court hearing a day earlier.
In another development, Moskalyov’s supporters on Tuesday attempted to visit Masha at the so-called social rehabilitation institution where she is supposedly being held, only to be told that she was not there.
According to comments from the center’s director cited by independent Russian media, Masha was attending a “culinary tournament” out of town, fueling speculation about her actual location.

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( With inputs from : www.politico.eu )

March 28, 2023
Jailed in Elgar Parishad case, Dr Hany Babu to get honorary doctorate

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Nagpur: Former Delhi University associate professor Dr Hany Babu, an accused in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case and currently lodged in a jail in Navi Mumbai, is set to get an honorary doctorate degree from a university in Belgium, his wife has said.
In a release issued on Thursday, Hany Babu’s wife Jenny Rowena said he will be awarded the honorary doctorate from the faculty of Arts and Philosophy of Ghent University, Belgium on Friday.
Hany Babu was arrested in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case in July 2020. He was the 12th person to be arrested in the case. The case relates to the Elgar Parishad conclave held in Pune on December 31, 2017.
Pune police had alleged that provocative speeches there led to caste violence at Bhima Koregaon war memorial located near Pune city the next day, and the Parishad itself was backed by Maoists.
“The faculty of Arts and Philosophy of Ghent University, which nominated Dr Hany Babu’s name to the executive committee, justified its nomination by pointing at his efforts to safeguard the importance of academic freedom and his commitment to language rights and equal access to education for minorities,” his wife stated in the release.
The diploma and the epitoga will be given during a ceremony on the university’s ‘Dies Natalis’ or Anniversary Day on March 24, she said.
Dr Hany Babu’s promoter Dr Anne Breitbarth, Associate Professor of Historical Linguistics at the German section of the Linguistics Department at Ghent University will receive the badges of honour in place of Hany Babu and the same will be handed over to him as soon as circumstances permit, she said quoting a university representative.
Apart from Hany Babu, six other researchers and scholars from the US, the UK, Canada, Austria and Netherlands are also being awarded honorary degrees on the same day by Ghent University, it said.

Hany Babu is currently lodged in Taloja jail in Navi Mumbai.
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( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 24, 2023
Noida: Brother-in-law jailed for kidnapping, raping teenager in 2011

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Noida: A 43-year-old man was sentenced to seven years of rigorous imprisonment by a court in Gautam Buddh Nagar district of Uttar Pradesh on Friday for kidnapping and raping a teenager related to him in 2011, a government lawyer said.
The convict has also been slapped with a penalty of Rs 40,000.
The convict is the husband of a cousin of the victim, who was 16 years of age at the time of the incident and was lured by him on the promise of marriage, the lawyer said.
The man was convicted under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 363 (kidnapping), 366 (kidnapping to compel for marriage) and 376 (rape) by Additional Sessions Judge (POCSO Court) Chandra Mohan Srivastava, Additional District Government Counsellor Dharmendra Jaint said.
The girl had gone missing on June 30, 2011 and an FIR was lodged on the basis of a complaint from her family members the next day, with her father raising suspicion on her brother-in-law after someone known to them told them that he had seen the duo on a motorcycle near the Khurja junction, Jaint said.
Also, while the girl was missing, the convict had also not returned to his home since June 30, the government lawyer added.
Police arrested the convict from Punjab while the girl was also rescued, he said.
During the trial, the convict’s counsel pleaded leniency, saying the convict was young at the time of the incident and the sole breadwinner of his family. He said the convict had already spent some time in jail, which should be taken into consideration.

However, the prosecution succeeded in proving that the convict had taken the victim with him by luring her and raped her, after which the court passed the order, Jaint said.
The court sentenced the convict to three years in jail under IPC section 363, five years in jail under section 366 and seven years of rigorous imprisonment under section 376. The sentences will run concurrently.
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#Noida #Brotherinlaw #jailed #kidnapping #raping #teenager
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 10, 2023
House Republicans are working on setting up a trip to visit individuals jailed for alleged criminal behavior on Jan. 6.

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House Republicans are working on setting up a trip to visit individuals jailed for alleged criminal behavior on Jan. 6.

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#House #Republicans #working #setting #trip #visit #individuals #jailed #alleged #criminal #behavior #Jan
( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

March 7, 2023
USA: 31-yr-old woman who birthed 13-yr-old’s baby to not be jailed

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A 31-year-old woman from the US state of Colorado who confessed to having sexual relations with a 13-year-old last year will not go to jail.
The Fountain Police Department charged Andrea Serrano with sexual assault on a child by one in a position of trust, as well as sexual assault on a minor.
Upon her arrest in 2022, she was charged with sexual assault. Her attorneys, however, reached a plea agreement with prosecutors that requires her to register as a sex offender but keeps her out of jail. According to sources, Andrea Serrano has accepted the contract.
Andrea Serrano was also pregnant with the teen’s child when she was arrested last year and gave birth to a baby boy.
The survivor’s mother, who is now 14, is dissatisfied with the bargain. “My son has been robbed of his childhood, in my opinion. He now has to be a father. He’s a victim, and he’ll have to deal with that for the rest of his life,” KKTV spoke with the mother.
The mother also claims that if the genders in the case were reversed, the accused would face harsher punishment.
“I feel like if she was a man and he was a little girl, it would definitely be different. They would be seeking more. I feel like because he is not a woman, they are not. They are having compassion for her,” said the survivor’s mother to KKTV.
Incest is a class four felony in Colorado, thus it was reduced to a lower charge in this case. According to sources, Andrea Serrano might be sentenced to ten years to life in ‘sex offender intense supervised probation’ by the judge, which will be determined by a hearing in May.

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#USA #31yrold #woman #birthed #13yrolds #baby #jailed
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

March 5, 2023
Indian-origin businessman jailed for COVID loan abuse in UK

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London: An Indian-origin businessman in south east England has been sentenced to 12 months’ imprisonment after admitting abuse of an interest-free loan offered by the UK government to businesses to cope with the Covid-19 lockdown.
Kulwinder Singh Sidhu, 58, from Stanwell in Surrey, pleaded guilty to offences under the UK Companies Act and the Fraud Act for having abused the Bounce Back Loan financial support scheme in 2020.
He was director of Wavylane Ltd, a haulage company based in Stanwell trading since 2010, and was found to have dissolved it soon after receiving a 50,000-pound taxpayer-funded loan and transferring the funds to a personal account.
“Our action has ensured repayment of the loan money and taxpayers have not been left out of pocket,” said Julie Barnes, Chief Investigator at the UK’s Insolvency Service.
“Any other company directors who might be tempted into dissolving their business to try to keep public money they are not entitled to, should be aware they are risking a lengthy prison term,” she said.
Under the UK government’s Bounce Back Loan scheme, genuine businesses impacted by the pandemic could take out interest-free taxpayer-backed loans of up to a maximum of 50,000 pounds.
Sidhu applied on behalf of his business on June 9, 2020, and it was paid into his company bank account.
On 26 June 2020, Sidhu filed paperwork with the UK’s Companies House to have the business dissolved.

The striking-off application to dissolve the company was explicit that interested parties and creditors, such as a bank with an outstanding loan, must be notified within seven days of making an application to dissolve a company.
The form also highlighted that failure to notify interested parties is a criminal offence, however, the Insolvency Service found Sidhu did not follow these rules.
The company was ultimately dissolved in October 2020 and went on to be identified as likely Bounce Back Loan fraud by the Insolvency Service and cross-government counter-fraud systems.
Their investigation found that Sidhu had “fraudulently” overstated the company turnover in the Bounce Back Loan application, and within two days of receiving the money he had transferred it to his personal account before dispersing the funds to his son and another company.
Sidhu went on to plead guilty at Guildford Crown Court in December last year and was sentenced this week at the same court, which also imposed a confiscation order for 50,000 pounds which has been paid in full.
In addition to the custodial sentence, Sidhu is disqualified as a company director for six years.
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#Indianorigin #businessman #jailed #COVID #loan #abuse
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

February 15, 2023
Raj: SC asks govt to consider jailed couple’s request for IVF treatment to conceive child

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New Delhi: The Supreme Court has asked Rajasthan authorities to “sympathetically” consider a couple’s parole request for undergoing medical treatment to conceive a child.
A bench of Justices Surya Kant and J.K. Maheshwari said: “As regard to parole, liberty is granted to the petitioners to apply for the same. The concerned authorities are directed to consider such a request made by the petitioners sympathetically and as per their policy and grant parole to them if there is no legal impediment. Needful shall be done within two weeks from the date of submission of such an application.”
The couple is serving life term in an open jail in Rajasthan.
The bench noted that the issue that arises for consideration is whether the petitioners are entitled to be released on parole as the first petitioner is required to take medical treatment to conceive a child. She is stated to be 45 years old and her present husband – petitioner No.2 is around 40 years old, noted the bench.
“It is an open jail. Since petitioner No.1 is getting treatment from Geetanjali Medical College and Hospital, Udaipur, the authorities are ready and willing to shift the petitioners to open jail at Udaipur. It goes without saying that if the petitioners pray for such transfer, appropriate orders shall be passed within two weeks,” noted the bench, in its order passed on February 10.
The couple had moved the apex court challenging the order passed in May last year by Rajasthan High Court, which dismissed their plea. The couple approached the high court seeking parole for having IVF (in virto fertilisation) treatment.
The high court, in its order, had noted that the woman already has two children from the previous marriage and petitioners entered into a wedlock while on parole.
Citing that the woman already has two children, the high court had observed that having a child through IVF cannot be considered as an emergent case for release on parole.

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#Raj #asks #govt #jailed #couples #request #IVF #treatment #conceive #child
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

February 14, 2023
Raj: SC asks govt to consider jailed couple’s request for IVF treatment to conceive child

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New Delhi: The Supreme Court has asked Rajasthan authorities to “sympathetically” consider a couple’s parole request for undergoing medical treatment to conceive a child.
A bench of Justices Surya Kant and J.K. Maheshwari said: “As regard to parole, liberty is granted to the petitioners to apply for the same. The concerned authorities are directed to consider such a request made by the petitioners sympathetically and as per their policy and grant parole to them if there is no legal impediment. Needful shall be done within two weeks from the date of submission of such an application.”
The couple is serving life term in an open jail in Rajasthan.
The bench noted that the issue that arises for consideration is whether the petitioners are entitled to be released on parole as the first petitioner is required to take medical treatment to conceive a child. She is stated to be 45 years old and her present husband – petitioner No.2 is around 40 years old, noted the bench.
“It is an open jail. Since petitioner No.1 is getting treatment from Geetanjali Medical College and Hospital, Udaipur, the authorities are ready and willing to shift the petitioners to open jail at Udaipur. It goes without saying that if the petitioners pray for such transfer, appropriate orders shall be passed within two weeks,” noted the bench, in its order passed on February 10.
The couple had moved the apex court challenging the order passed in May last year by Rajasthan High Court, which dismissed their plea. The couple approached the high court seeking parole for having IVF (in virto fertilisation) treatment.
The high court, in its order, had noted that the woman already has two children from the previous marriage and petitioners entered into a wedlock while on parole.
Citing that the woman already has two children, the high court had observed that having a child through IVF cannot be considered as an emergent case for release on parole.

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#Raj #asks #govt #jailed #couples #request #IVF #treatment #conceive #child
( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

February 14, 2023
Jailed For Raising National Flag In Kashmir Once: Anurag Thakur

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SRINAGAR: Asserting that there is no restriction in Kashmir to hoist the national flag after the abrogation of Article 370, Union Youth Affairs and Sports Minister Anurag Thakur on Tuesday said that he was once jailed for raising the national flag in the Union Territory.
“I was longest serving BJP Youth Wing President, from 2010 to 2017. I took a yatra from Kolkata to Kashmir to hoist the national flag. I was put in jail to hoist the national flag in Jammu and Kashmir. Today, I see Jammu and Kashmir is a different state with no such restrictions,” Thakur said while speaking at the first Y20 meeting under G20 India at IIT Guwahati.
The minister further said that after August 2019, when the article was ruled out by the Central government there are no such restrictions in the territory.
“In Jammu and Kashmir, it was difficult to even hoist the national flag. But after the abrogation of Article 370, you could see last year during the ‘Har Ghar Tiranga’ program, there was a Tiranga hoisted on each and every house in Kashmir,” Thakur said.
The first Y20 meeting in 2023, under G20 India, began in Guwahati on February 6.
The deliberations at the Youth20 were aimed at reaching out to the youth and holding consultations with them for ideas “for a better tomorrow”.
More than 150 Youth delegates from G20 countries are participating in the three-day meeting.
Over 12,000 college and university students are also expected to participate in these events.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma will also present research papers from students and academicians of Assam.
The state government, along with the Ministry of Youth Affairs, has taken up several initiatives to make the youth aware of Y20 and involve them in the process of nation-building. (ANI)

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#Jailed #Raising #National #Flag #Kashmir #Anurag #Thakur
( With inputs from : kashmirlife.net )

February 8, 2023