Jurors shown video at ex-officer’s trial in Floyd’s death

A demonstrator blocks traffic outside Hennepin County Government Center during the first day of George Floyd trial of former police Derek Chauvin facing murder charges in Minneapolis. (REUTERS)
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Updated 30 March 2021
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Jurors shown video at ex-officer’s trial in Floyd’s death

  • “He put his knees upon his neck and his back, grinding and crushing him, until the very breath… until the very life was squeezed out of him,” said Prosecutor Jerry Blackwell
  • Derek Chauvin’s attorney Eric Nelson argued that his client did exactly what he had been trained to do over his 19-year career

MINNEAPOLIS — George Floyd’s video gasping for breath was essentially Exhibit A as the former Minneapolis police officer, who pressed his knee on the Black man’s neck, was tried for murder and manslaughter Monday.
Prosecutor Jerry Blackwell showed the jurors the footage at the earliest opportunity, during opening statements, after telling them that the number to remember was 9 minutes, 29 seconds — the amount of time officer Derek Chauvin had Floyd pinned to the pavement last May.
The white officer “didn’t let up” even after a handcuffed Floyd said 27 times that he couldn’t breathe and went limp, Blackwell said in the case that triggered worldwide protests, scattered violence and national soul-searching over racial justice.
“He put his knees upon his neck and his back, grinding and crushing him, until the very breath — no, ladies and gentlemen — until the very life was squeezed out of him,” the prosecutor said.
Chauvin attorney Eric Nelson countered by arguing: “Derek Chauvin did exactly what he had been trained to do over his 19-year career.”
Floyd was resisting arrest, and Chauvin arrived to assist other officers who were struggling to get Floyd into a squad car as the crowd around them grew larger and more hostile, Nelson said.
The defense attorney also disputed that Chauvin was to blame for Floyd’s death.
Floyd, 46, had none of the telltale signs of asphyxiation and had fentanyl and methamphetamine in his system, Nelson said. He said Floyd’s drug use combined with his heart disease and high blood pressure, as well as the adrenaline flowing through his body, to cause his death from a heart rhythm disturbance.
“There is no political or social cause in this courtroom,” Nelson said. “But the evidence is far greater than 9 minutes and 29 seconds.”
The medical examiner’s autopsy noted fentanyl and methamphetamine in Floyd’s system but listed his cause of death as “cardiopulmonary arrest, complicating law enforcement subdual, restraint, and neck compression.”
Chauvin, 45, is charged with unintentional second-degree murder, third-degree murder and manslaughter. The most serious charge, the second-degree murder count, carries up to 40 years in prison. The case is the first trial ever televised in Minnesota.
The first witness was Minneapolis police dispatcher Jena Scurry, who testified that she saw part of Floyd’s arrest unfolding via a city surveillance camera and was so disturbed that she called a duty sergeant. Scurry said she grew concerned because the officers hadn’t moved after several minutes.
“You can call me a snitch if you want to,” Scurry said in her call to the sergeant, which was played in court. She said she wouldn’t normally call the sergeant about the use of force because it was beyond the scope of her duties, but “my instincts were telling me that something is wrong.”
The video played during opening statements was posted to Facebook by a bystander who witnessed Floyd being arrested after he was accused of trying to pass a counterfeit $20 bill at a convenience store. The footage caused revulsion across the US and beyond.
It prompted calls for the country to confront racism and police brutality. Confederate statues and other symbols were pulled down around the US, and activists demanded that police department budgets be cut or overhauled.
Jurors watched intently as the video played on multiple screens, with one drawing a sharp breath as Floyd said he couldn’t breathe. Chauvin sat calmly during opening statements and took notes, looking up at the video periodically.
The prosecutor said Chauvin used excessive force against someone who was handcuffed and not resisting, and the case was “not about split-second decision-making” by a police officer.
Blackwell said the Fire Department employee who wanted to administer aid was warned off by Chauvin, who pointed Mace at her.
The timeline differs from the initial account submitted last May by prosecutors, who said Chauvin held his knee on Floyd’s neck for 8 minutes, 46 seconds. The time 8:46 soon became a rallying cry in the case. But it was revised during the investigation.
Fourteen people in the jury box are hearing the case — eight of them white, six of them Black or multiracial, according to the court.
About a dozen people chanted and carried signs outside the courthouse as Floyd family attorney Ben Crump, the Rev. Al Sharpton and members of the Floyd family went inside.
Crump said the trial would be a test of “whether America is going to live up to the Declaration of Independence,” and blasted the idea that it would be a tough test for jurors.
“We know that if George Floyd was a white American citizen, and he suffered this painful, tortuous death with a police officer’s knee on his neck, nobody, nobody, would be saying this is a hard case,” he said.
The downtown Minneapolis courthouse has been fortified with concrete barriers, fences and barbed and razor wire.
Chauvin’s trial is being livestreamed, a first in Minnesota, by order of the judge and over the objections of the prosecution. Judge Peter Cahill ordered that cameras be allowed largely because of the pandemic and the required social distancing that meant there would be almost no room for spectators in the courtroom.
The Chauvin and Floyd families are allotted one seat each in the courtroom.


Bangladesh urges EU states to expedite formal recognition of Palestine

Updated 5 sec ago
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Bangladesh urges EU states to expedite formal recognition of Palestine

  • Only 11 of 27 EU member states recognize the State of Palestine
  • Bangladesh responds to EU’s declared commitment to a two-state solution

DHAKA: Bangladesh has called on EU member states to expedite the formal recognition of the State of Palestine and use their influence to prevent permanent members of the UN Security Council from obstructing a ceasefire in Gaza.

Bangladesh’s delegation took part in a meeting of the Global Alliance for the Implementation of the Two-State Solution in Brussels on Thursday, where the EU foreign policy chief emphasized the bloc’s commitment to a two-state solution — providing Palestinians with their own nation-state — as “the only viable path to peace in the region.”

But so far, only 11 out of 27 EU member states recognize the State of Palestine, with three — Spain, Ireland and Slovenia — doing so earlier this year in the wake of Israel’s deadly onslaught in Gaza and with a genocide case against Tel Aviv ongoing in the International Court of Justice.

“The Bangladeshi delegation urged the participating member states to expedite their formal recognition of the State of Palestine, affirming this as a crucial step toward legitimizing and empowering Palestinian sovereignty and self-determination,” the Bangladeshi Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement following the meeting.

For Bangladesh, which established diplomatic ties with Palestine soon after achieving independence in 1971, formal recognition of Palestinian statehood, was key to achieving peace.

“Already 149 countries have supported the UN recognition of the Palestinian state’s membership,” said Shafiqur Rahman, director general of the Bangladeshi Foriegn Affairs Ministry’s West Asia wing, who led the delegation to Brussels.

“It’s very important to galvanize and mobilize the global community. We must continue to apply pressure, and efforts should persist in this regard. There is no room for giving up,” he told Arab News on Friday.

The Bangladeshi delegation also called on EU member states to leverage their influence to discourage any vetoes by permanent members of the UN Security Council “that could obstruct adopting a permanent ceasefire in Gaza war and resultant peace initiatives.”

The most recent UNSC resolution demanding an “immediate, unconditional and permanent” ceasefire in the Gaza Strip was voted down by the US last week, as Israel’s deadly bombardment of the Palestinian territory continues.

It was the fourth time Joe Biden’s administration has vetoed a UNSC Gaza ceasefire resolution, blocking international action to halt Israel’s war, which over the past one year killed at least 44,000 Palestinians, injured over 100,000 more and destroyed most of Gaza’s civilian infrastructure.

 


Philippines looks to boost ties with Bahrain’s tourism, hospitality sector

Tourism Secretary Christina Frasco speaks during the UN World Forum on Gastronomy Tourism in Manama on Nov. 18, 2024. (Philippin
Updated 8 min 57 sec ago
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Philippines looks to boost ties with Bahrain’s tourism, hospitality sector

  • Bahraini government is preparing to open its embassy in Manila
  • Cebu and Palawan are top destinations for Bahraini tourists in Philippines

MANILA: The Philippines is expanding collaborations with Bahrain to mutually boost tourism and hospitality expertise, Christina Frasco, the Philippine tourism secretary, said on Friday.

While other GCC countries have for years been the main overseas destination for Filipinos, relations with Bahrain started to expand only recently, with the Bahraini government preparing to open its embassy in Manila this year.

Frasco, who visited Manama earlier this month, held talks with her Bahraini counterpart Fatima Al-Sairafi on increasing tourism between the two countries.

“They’re very interested in learning from our world-renowned Filipino hospitality, as well as our brand of service excellence, and in collaborating to increase opportunities for meetings, incentives, conventions, and exhibitions,” Frasco told Arab News.

Some 57,000 Filipinos currently live in Bahrain, working mainly as accountants, engineers, construction contractors, sales associates, and business and government support staff. The tourism sector, however, remains untapped territory.

“We discussed the potential of wide-reaching collaborations between Bahrain and the Philippines, first and foremost on joint cooperation to increase tourist flows,” Frasco said.

“We also discussed how we may be able to further expand connectivity between Bahrain and the Philippines, not only with Manila, but with other places in the country, especially since, as I learned when I was in Bahrain, there are certain destinations (in the Philippines) that are very popular with the people of Bahrain, such as Cebu and Palawan.”

The number of tourists from Bahrain has been on the rise, with more than 5,500 visiting the Philippines from January to October this year — a 16-percent increase over the same period in 2023.

The Philippines has been trying to attract more visitors from Middle Eastern countries and has been encouraging the local hospitality industry to introduce standards that will make their properties and services attractive to Muslim tourists.

“We note that these countries have recovered very well (from the COVID pandemic travel shutdown) ... and we wish to be able to grow this momentum further by forging strategic collaborations with them,” Frasco said.

“Connectivity is one thing that we are continuing to focus on, as well as really ensuring that our tourist destinations are prepared to receive tourists from that region. This includes the growth of our halal and Muslim-friendly establishments.”

 


Former Kosovo rebel commander ordered to pay victims

Updated 29 November 2024
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Former Kosovo rebel commander ordered to pay victims

  • The judges “set the total reparation award for which Mr.Shala is liable at 208,000 euros” ($220,000),” Judge Mappie Veldt-Foglia told the Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague
  • Although the “responsibility to pay the compensation lies exclusively with Mr.Shala“” the judge said, “he does not appear to have the means to comply with the order“

THE HAGUE: A special international court on Friday ordered a former Kosovo rebel commander to pay $220,000 in damages to victims of abuses suffered in 1999 during the Serbian province’s struggle for independence.
Pjeter Shala, 61, also known as “Commander Wolf,” was sentenced to 18 years behind bars in July for war crimes committed during the tiny country’s 1998-99 independence conflict, when separatist KLA rebels fought forces loyal to then Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic.
The judges “set the total reparation award for which Mr.Shala is liable at 208,000 euros” ($220,000),” Judge Mappie Veldt-Foglia told the Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague.
“Mr Shala is ordered to pay (damages) as compensation for the harm inflicted” on eight victims, she said.
The total amount comprised individual payments to the eight victims ranging from 8,000 to 100,000 euros, as well as a collective sum of 50,000 euros, the judge said.
Although the “responsibility to pay the compensation lies exclusively with Mr.Shala“” the judge said, “he does not appear to have the means to comply with the order.”
Kosovo’s current Crime Victim Compensation Program “could be one way to execute the Reparation Order,” Veldt-Foglia suggested.
However, the maximum sums per victim awarded by the program would be lower than those awarded by the court, she said.
Shala faced charges of murder, torture, arbitrary detention and cruel treatment of at least 18 civilian detainees accused of working as spies or collaborating with opposing Serb forces in mid-1999.
The judges acquitted him of cruel treatment and he was sentenced on the other three counts.
The judges said Shala was part of a group of KLA soldiers who severely mistreated detainees at a metal factory serving as a KLA headquarters in Kukes, northeastern Albania, at the time.
Shala was tried before the Kosovo Specialist Chambers, a court located in The Hague to prosecute mainly former KLA fighters for war crimes.
They included former KLA political commander Hashim Thaci, who dominated Kosovo’s politics after it declared independence from Serbia in 2008 and rose to become president of the tiny country.
Thaci resigned in 2020 to face war crimes and crimes against humanity charges, and has pleaded not guilty.


Germany indicts Turkish national for spying on alleged Gulen activists

Updated 29 November 2024
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Germany indicts Turkish national for spying on alleged Gulen activists

  • Gulen built a powerful Islamic movement in Turkiye and beyond

BERLIN: German federal prosecutors on Friday said they had indicted a Turkish national for alleged spying on individuals that he associated with cleric Fethullah Gulen.
The suspect, who is not in jail and was only identified as Mehmet K., in line with German privacy laws, contacted Turkiye’s police and intelligence service via anonymous letters, prosecutors added.
Gulen built a powerful Islamic movement in Turkiye and beyond, but spent his later years in the US mired in accusations of orchestrating an attempted coup against Turkish leader Tayyip Erdogan.
Gulen died last month.


Death toll in Uganda landslides rises to 20 as search for more casualties presses on

Updated 29 November 2024
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Death toll in Uganda landslides rises to 20 as search for more casualties presses on

  • The Uganda Red Cross Society spokesperson Irene Kasiita told reporters that bodies of four more people were found on Friday while a fifth person, died at Mbale Hospital
  • Soldiers have been deployed to help with the digging

KAMPALA: More bodies buried under the mud were retrieved in eastern Uganda on Friday and an injured person died in a hospital, bringing the death toll from this week’s landslides to 20, officials said as search efforts pressed on in the stricken area.
Heavy rains had triggered the landslides that engulfed six villages in the mountainous district of Bulambuli, 280 kilometers (175 miles) east of Kampala, Uganda’s capital, on Wednesday night. Some 125 houses were destroyed.
The Uganda Red Cross Society spokesperson Irene Kasiita told reporters that bodies of four more people were found on Friday while a fifth person, one of the injured in the landslides, died at Mbale Hospital.
The society in a statement said 750 people had been displaced, with 216 of those living temporarily at a neighboring school while others were being housed by relatives.
The Bulambuli Resident District Commissioner Faheera Mpalanyi said soldiers have been deployed to help with the digging.
“More bodies are still buried under the heaps of soils and stones and we are trying as much as we can to recover them,” she said.
Local officials told a journalist in the area on Thursday that an excavator would be brought to assist in the rescue efforts, but the roads were covered in mud and rain was still falling. The impacted area is about 50 acres with homesteads and farmlands spread downhill.
Lawmaker Irene Muloni from the Bulambuli district said Thursday the government would help relocate residents from the landslide-prone area.
“Waterfalls are everywhere, and the rainfall is excessive,” she said, urging everyone who had lost their home to seek refuge with relatives and “leave this dangerous place.”