White supremacist serving life, fined for prison misconduct

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In this July 15, 2019 file photo, James Alex Fields Jr., is led out of General District Court courthouse after his sentencing on state charges in Charlottesville, Va. (AP)
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In this Aug. 12, 2017 file photo, a vehicle drives into a group of protesters demonstrating against a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Va. (AP)
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Updated 01 March 2023
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White supremacist serving life, fined for prison misconduct

  • Hundreds of white nationalists descended on Charlottesville on Aug. 11 and Aug. 12, 2017, ostensibly to protest city plans to remove a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee

RICHMOND, Virginia: A white supremacist who killed a woman when he rammed his car into a crowd of counterprotesters at the 2017 “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville has been fined for allegedly threatening a correctional officer and brandishing what an inmate disciplinary record called a “dangerous weapon” at the prison where he is serving a life sentence.
Federal prosecutors disclosed the misconduct incidents in court documents as they asked a judge to order James Alex Fields Jr. to turn over $650 from his inmate trust account to make a court-ordered payment toward restitution to the victims of his crimes.
In documents filed last week, prosecutors said the victims have not received any restitution payments in the nearly four years since Fields was sentenced. He owes a total of $81,600 in restitution and assessments in the criminal case, prosecutors wrote.
“Fields is scheduled to remain incarcerated for life. At his current payment rate of $100 per year, it would take him 816 years to pay his financial obligation. Such a payment rate effectively avoids the majority of Fields’s restitution,” US Attorney Christopher Kavanaugh and Assistant US Attorney Krista Consiglio Frith wrote. They argued that Fields should be required to turn over $650 from his account. Fields had asked in a hand-written motion that he only be required to turn over $298.
Hundreds of white nationalists descended on Charlottesville on Aug. 11 and Aug. 12, 2017, ostensibly to protest city plans to remove a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee.
Fields, of Maumee, Ohio, is serving a life sentence for murder and hate crimes for ramming his car into a crowd of people who were protesting against the white nationalists, injuring dozens and killing Heather Heyer, a 32-year-old paralegal and civil rights activist.
Fields is serving his sentence at a federal prison in Springfield, Missouri.
The documents filed by prosecutors describe a series of incidents in prison from 2019 to 2021, including Fields being “insolent” to a staff member or being disruptive, which resulted in having his phone or email privileges temporarily suspended. The incidents for which Fields was fined include: making a threatening remark to a correctional officer, $61; and being found in possession of what the inmate discipline record called a “dangerous” homemade weapon, $250.
Prosecutors wrote that because Fields has not released money from his account to pay the disciplinary fines, the Federal Bureau of Prisons has restricted Fields from using the majority of the money in his account until he agrees to release the money to pay the fines. He is only allowed to spend $25 per month at the prison commissary, with certain items excluded from the limitation, including over-the-counter medications.
Prosecutors said the restriction would not interfere with the court’s ability to order Fields to turn over $650 from his account.
“Fields’s restitution obligation was imposed in his amended judgment on October 1, 2019,” prosecutors wrote. “It, therefore, predates Fields’s institutional misconduct fines and has priority over the institutional fines that Fields has opted not to pay to date, which he had two years to pay.”
Denise Lunsford, one of Fields’ attorneys in the criminal case, did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

 


Baroness Warsi accuses UK Conservative Party of demonizing her over Islamophobia claims

Updated 4 sec ago
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Baroness Warsi accuses UK Conservative Party of demonizing her over Islamophobia claims

  • Party recently told Warsi she would not have whip restored in UK’s upper house of parliament
  • Internal inquiry clears Warsi of ‘bringing the party into disrepute’ over support for pro-Palestinian protester

LONDON: The UK’s first Muslim cabinet member has accused her Conservative Party of attempting to “demonize” her after she criticized the party over Islamophobia.

Baroness Sayeeda Warsi was told recently she was not welcome back into the Conservative Party in the UK’s upper house of parliament, where she holds a seat, The Independent reported on Wednesday.

Warsi resigned from the party in the House of Lords in September, claiming the Conservatives had moved too far to the right.

The former co-chair of the Conservative Party had also come under pressure from senior party members over language used in a tweet supporting a pro-Palestinian protester.

Warsi has now been cleared of being “divisive” and “bringing the party into disrepute” by a disciplinary panel investigating the tweet.

But the Conservatives wrote to Warsi saying that while she could remain a member of the party, they would not restore to her the party whip, meaning she could not be affiliated with the party in the Lords.

In response, Warsi said she had not asked to have the whip restored, and accused the Conservatives of playing games.

She told The Independent that the party was attempting to “demonize” her for challenging the party’s “rising levels of extremism, racism and Islamophobia.”

Warsi was appointed as the first Muslim Conservative Party chair in 2010 by Prime Minister David Cameron as he sought to modernize the party. 

But in recent years the Conservatives have shifted further right as they seek to counter the growing popularity of far-right parties. 

In March, Warsi said the party had become known as “the institutionally xenophobic and racist party.” She has also repeatedly accused it of failing to tackle Islamophobia within the party and criticized significant figures for their rhetoric over immigration.

In 2014, she resigned as a minister in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office over the government’s “morally indefensible” approach to Gaza.

Warsi’s decision to resign the whip in September was, she said: “A reflection of how far right my party has moved and the hypocrisy and double standards in its treatment of different communities.”

The move came after complaints against her for a tweet congratulating a pro-Palestinian protester acquitted of a racially aggravated public order offense. The protester had used a placard depicting Rishi Sunak, who was prime minister at the time, as a coconut.

 


Poland shuts consulate in Saint Petersburg on Russian order

Updated 08 January 2025
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Poland shuts consulate in Saint Petersburg on Russian order

  • Russia ordered the closure in December after Poland said in October it was closing Russia’s consulate in the Polish city of Poznan
  • “The Polish Consulate General in Saint Petersburg was shut down upon Russia’s withdrawal of its consent to the activity of the Polish post,” Poland’s foreign ministry said

WARSAW: Poland announced Wednesday it had shut its consulate in the Russian city of Saint Petersburg, after Russia ordered the closure in a tit-for-tat move.
Russia ordered the closure in December after Poland said in October it was closing Russia’s consulate in the Polish city of Poznan, accusing Moscow of “sabotage” attempts in the country and its allies.
“The Polish Consulate General in Saint Petersburg was shut down upon Russia’s withdrawal of its consent to the activity of the Polish post,” Poland’s foreign ministry said in a statement Wednesday.
“It is in retaliation for a decision of the Polish foreign minister to close down Russia’s Consulate General in Poznan in the aftermath of acts of sabotage committed on Polish territory and linked to Russian authorities.”
After Russia ordered the closure, Poland responded that it would close all the Russian consulates on its soil if “terrorism” it blamed on Moscow carried on.
Tensions between Russia and NATO member Poland have escalated since Moscow sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022, with both sides expelling dozens of diplomats.
Poland is a staunch ally of Kyiv and has been a key transit point for Western arms heading to the embattled country since the conflict began.
In one of the largest espionage trials, Poland in 2023 convicted 14 citizens of Russia, Belarus and Ukraine of preparing sabotage on behalf of Moscow as part of a spy ring.
They were found guilty of preparing to derail trains carrying aid to Ukraine, and monitoring military facilities and critical infrastructure in the country.


2 Russian firefighters died in blaze caused by Ukraine drone: governor

Updated 08 January 2025
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2 Russian firefighters died in blaze caused by Ukraine drone: governor

  • “As a result of the liquidation (of the fire), there are two dead,” said the governor of Saratov region

MOSCOW: Two Russian firefighters died on Wednesday fighting a blaze caused by a Ukrainian drone attack, the local governor said, after Kyiv said it hit an oil depot that supplies Russia’s air force.
“Unfortunately, as a result of the liquidation (of the fire), there are two dead — employees of the emergency situations ministry’s fire department,” Roman Busagrin, governor of the Saratov region where the strike happened, said on Telegram.


UK police investigating suspicious vehicle in central London, carry out controlled explosions

British police carried out a number of controlled explosions as a precaution in central London as they investigated vehicle.
Updated 08 January 2025
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UK police investigating suspicious vehicle in central London, carry out controlled explosions

  • Road closures are in place in the vicinity of Regent Street and New Burlington Street in central London, police said on X

LONDON: British police carried out a number of controlled explosions as a precaution in central London as they investigated a suspicious vehicle on Wednesday, the city’s police force said on social media.
Road closures are in place in the vicinity of Regent Street and New Burlington Street in central London, police said on X.


Sri Lanka vows crackdown on illegal activities by Israeli tourists

People enjoy the beach in Colombo, Sri Lanka. (File/AFP)
Updated 08 January 2025
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Sri Lanka vows crackdown on illegal activities by Israeli tourists

  • Government reacts to complaints over emergence of Israeli-run businesses and place of worship in Arugam Bay
  • Last month, Sri Lankan civil groups demanded screenings of Israeli visitors to keep out potential war criminals

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka will crack down on reported illegal activities carried out by Israeli tourists, its prime minister said on Wednesday, following a series of complaints since last year regarding their arrivals in the country.

A total of 25,514 Israelis visited Sri Lanka in 2024, according to government data. One of their favorite destinations is Arugam Bay, a small town on the southeastern coast, which is widely recognized as one of the world’s best surfing spots.

The predominantly Muslim region made international headlines in October last year, when US and Israeli authorities warned visitors of what they said was a “terrorist threat” focused on tourist areas and beaches. The alleged threat followed a series of altercations between Israelis and local residents.

Social media posts by visitors to Arugam Bay and complaints by locals themselves indicate that many of the arriving Israelis come for vacations after taking part in the ongoing deadly onslaught on Palestinians in Gaza.

Residents have also complained over the emergence of Israeli businesses in the area and the establishment of a Chabad house — a Jewish community center and place of worship.

Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya said during Wednesday’s parliament session that Sri Lankan authorities have not granted “any permission for Israeli citizens to build religious places of worship or related buildings” and “the government will take prompt action to stop it.”

Responding to questions raised by opposition lawmaker Mujibur Rahman, she also addressed reports regarding Israelis running businesses in the area.

“We have identified this as a problem. Action will be taken against this, and steps will be taken to hold talks regarding it and stop such business activities,” Amarasuriya said.

“The government has not issued any visa for Israelis to engage in business activities in Sri Lanka, especially under tourist visas. They are engaging in such activities by violating our laws.”

The government’s reaction follows last month’s protests in Sri Lanka’s capital and a petition by civil society groups demanding special screenings of Israelis arriving in the country.

The direct trigger for the protest was the identification of at least one Israeli tourist as a soldier accused of war crimes.

The man was spotted in Sri Lanka by the Hind Rajab Foundation, a nongovernmental organization based in Belgium, which pursues legal action against Israeli military personnel involved in the killing of tens of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza over the past 15 months.

Swasthika Arulingam, a human rights lawyer and leader of the People’s Struggle Movement, which helped organize the protest, slammed the former Israeli personnel.

She said those “coming here after/between service rounds, taking rest or time off from attacking Palestinians in the ongoing genocide,” and their “sympathizers who hold vigils and events for their genocidal comrades” were the most problematic groups of tourists arriving in the country and often spotted in Arugam Bay.

“We are also hearing stories of illegal tourist businesses being carried out by Israelis in Sri Lanka,” she told Arab News.

“The local economy is impacted by the factor these people are running operations in Sri Lanka making use of resources here and not paying their dues.”

The recent “terrorist threat” warning by the US has also affected the local community.

“Local residents and local tourism providers have told us that in the last couple of weeks, the advisories and threats have meant their own properties are subject to surveillance and checking from the military,” Arulingam said.

“As citizens of Sri Lanka, we are yet to know if there were actual security concerns or was this simply bullying tactics by the US to keep Sri Lanka in check. We are concerned regarding what’s transpiring in Arugam Bay.”