ROME: An Italian appeals court on Wednesday upheld the convictions of two American men in the slaying of an Italian plainclothes police officer during a botched sting operation but significantly reduced their sentences.
The new verdict, ordered after Italy’s highest court threw out the original convictions, drew acceptance from the men’s families and disappointment from the officer’s widow.
Finnegan Lee Elder and Gabriel Natale-Hjorth had been found guilty in the July 2019 slaying of Carabinieri Vice Brig. Mario Cerciello Rega, and after the first trial, were both sentenced to life in prison, Italy’s harshest penalty.
Those sentences were reduced on appeal before Italy’s highest Cassation Court last year ordered a new trial altogether. On Wednesday, the appeals court convicted Finnegan and sentenced him to 15 years and 2 months in prison; it sentenced Natale-Hjorth to 11 years and four months, along with an 800 euro ($863) fine.
“I don’t think we could ask for a reasonable, better decision today,” said Ethan Elder, Finnegan Lee Elder’s father.
Teenagers at the time of the slaying, the former schoolmates from the San Francisco Bay area had met up in Rome to spend a few days vacationing. The fatal confrontation took place after they arranged to meet a small-time drug dealer, who turned out to have been a police informant, to recover money lost in a bad drug deal. Instead, they were confronted by two officers.
Cerciello Riga was stabbed 11 times with a knife brought from the hotel room.
In ordering the retrial, the Cassation Court said it hadn’t been proven beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendants, with limited Italian language skills, had understood that they were dealing with Italian police officers when they went to meet the alleged drug dealer.
The defense had argued that the defendants didn’t know they were facing law enforcement when the attack happened, an argument repeated during the new trial.
Prosecutor Bruno Giangiacomo said his office would wait to read the court’s written reasonings before deciding on a possible appeal to the Cassation. In Italy, both defendants and prosecutors can appeal at every level of judgment.
“Both aggravating factors that were increasing the penalty were excluded,” Giangiacomo said after the verdict. “This could be a delicate point where we can think about an appeal to the Cassation court.” Prosecutors had asked that Finnegan be sentenced to 23 years and nine months and Natale-Hjorth to 23 years.
Rosa Maria Esilio, the widow of Cerciello Rega, was “devastated” by the verdict, said her lawyer Massimo Ferrandino.
“For five years she has been carrying a huge pain. She was the one who closed the eyes of her husband in the morgue. You can imagine her pain today too,” he said.
The killing of the officer in the storied Carabinieri paramilitary police corps shocked Italy, and the 35-year-old Cerciello Rega was mourned as a national hero.
Prosecutors alleged Elder stabbed Cerciello Rega with a knife that he brought with him on his trip to Europe and that Natale-Hjorth helped him hide in their hotel room. Under Italian law, an accomplice in an alleged murder can also be charged with murder without carrying out the slaying.
But lawyer Francesco Petrelli, who represented Natale-Hjorth, said the appeals court clearly recognized that there was a different level of participation by his client.
“There was a reduction, mainly of the responsibility,” he said, adding that “there was a shift from intentional malice to negligence.”
Prosecutors contend that the young Americans concocted a plot involving a stolen bag and cellphone after their failed attempt to buy cocaine with 80 euros ($96) in Rome’s Trastevere nightlife district. Natale-Hjorth and Elder testified they had paid for the cocaine but didn’t receive it.
In a statement released by lawyers after the new verdicts, Leah Elder, Finnegan Elder’s mother, insisted that her son was prepared to take responsibility for his actions and move on.
“This trial is unfortunately connected to the tragedy of a person’s death, a grave fact that has marked and will forever mark the lives of all the families involved,” she said. “Bringing out the truth of the facts would help Finnegan take full responsibility for the pain he caused with his tragic reaction. I hope that, even as he pays for his mistake, he will also open up to hope for the future.”
Italy appeals court upholds conviction of 2 Americans in death of policeman but reduces sentences
https://arab.news/v5ayw
Italy appeals court upholds conviction of 2 Americans in death of policeman but reduces sentences
- The new verdict drew acceptance from the men’s families and disappointment from the officer’s widow
- Teenagers at the time of the slaying, the former schoolmates from the San Francisco Bay area had met up in Rome to spend a few days vacationing
Dutch far-right leader says will join Orban’s European parliamentary group
THE HAGUE: Dutch far-right leader Geert Wilders said Friday that his party would join a European parliamentary alliance recently formed by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
Orban announced the formation of the group on Sunday, joined by Austria’s far-right party and the Czech centrist group of ex-premier Andrej Babis.
The new alliance, “Patriots for Europe,” needs support from parties from at least four other countries to be recognized as a group in the EU parliament.
“We want to combine forces in the (European Parliament) and will proudly join Patriots for Europe!” Wilders said in a statement.
“Strong and sovereign. Resisting illegal immigration. We defend peace and freedom. And support Ukraine. We protect our Judeo-Christian heritage. And our families.”
Orban — whose country assumed the EU’s rotating presidency this week — has long railed against the “Brussels elites,” most recently accusing Brussels of fueling the war in Ukraine.
Hungary has vowed to use its EU presidency to push for its “vision of Europe” under the motto “Make Europe Great Again” — echoing the rallying cry of Orban ally former US president Donald Trump.
Wilders’ PVV (Freedom Party) has six seats in the European Parliament.
The party was the big winner of Dutch parliamentary elections in November and heads the recently formed coalition government.
Malian army and Russian mercenaries accused of killing dozens of civilians in Kidal region
- Killings took place from June 20 to 29 in the Abeibara, Kidal region, say civil society groups and residents
- Mali military denies knowledge of the killings. Mali has long battled armed groups, including many allied with the Al-Qaeda and Daesh
BAMAKO, Mali: Mali’s army and Russian mercenaries killed dozens of civilians during a military operation last month in northern Mali, civil organization and community members alleged Friday, amid a surge in violence after the ruling junta broke off a peace agreement with rebel groups.
The killings took place from June 20 to 29 in the Abeibara in the Kidal region, the civil society groups and residents said. The Malian military says it has no knowledge of the alleged killings, but says military operations are taking place throughout the country.
The region is a former stronghold of a rebellion by militants in the Tuareg ethnic group who are fighting the army in a conflict where civilians increasingly have become the main victims. Some of the militants have formerly been allied with Al-Qaeda.
Hamadine Driss Ag Mohamed, son of Abeibara’s village chief, told The Associated Press on Friday that Malian soldiers and fighters from the Russian mercenary group Wagner had killed 46 civilians.
“The Malian and Wagner soldiers executed old men and shepherds and stole everything they found in the camps such as money and valuable jewelry,” he said.
Mali and its neighbors Burkina Faso and Niger have long battled insurgencies by armed groups, including many allied with the Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State (Daesh).
Following military coups in all three nations in recent years, the ruling juntas have expelled French forces and have sought military help instead from Russia’s mercenary units, such as the private security company Wagner and its likely successor, Africa Corps.
In December 2023, a United Nations peacekeeping force created 10 years earlier and aimed at stabilizing Mali after a Tuareg rebellion in 2012, pulled out of the country at the request of the junta, which called the mission a failure.
Following last month’s violence in Abeibara, images of lifeless bodies and incinerated campsites circulated on social networks for several days. The Associated Press has not been able to verify them.
Citizen’s Observatory for Monitoring and Defending the Human Rights of the Azawad People, a civil society organization also known as Kal akal, said in a statement Friday that there were at least 60 civilians killed in the Abeibara area and that they were buried in mass graves.
The group denounced “a vast campaign of ethnic cleansing carried out by the Russians of the Wagner group, in the company of the Malian army.”
A spokesman for the Malian army, Col. Maj. Souleymane Dembélé, said the military was unaware of the alleged killings. “It’s true that there are military operations underway throughout the national territory,” Dembélé told the AP over the phone. “But I have no information on these accusations.”
More than a decade of instability has followed the Tuareg rebellion, though in 2015 the Tuareg rebel groups signed the peace deal with the government that was welcomed by the United Nations.
But following the military coup in 2020, Mali’s junta broke the peace agreement with the Tuareg rebel groups and attacked their stronghold of Kidal in 2023. Since then, Kidal has been plagued by violence, particularly against civilians.
Kenya’s president apologizes for arrogant officials and promises to act against police brutality
- Kenya experienced two weeks of unrest, leading to the death of 39 activists who stormed Parliament to protest a finance bill
- President Ruto has told Parliament to withdraw the bill and he promised to have those guilty of police brutality prosecuted
NAIROBI: Kenya’s President William Ruto on Friday apologized for the “arrogance and show of opulence” by legislators and ministers from the ruling party and promised action against “rogue” police officers who shot at unarmed civilians during deadly protests and the storming of parliament over plans to hike taxes.
Ruto, referring to what he called arrogant statements made by officials, said public speaking was “difficult” and some people make “mistakes” for which he takes responsibility and promised change in the conduct of officials.
Kenya experienced two weeks of unrest during which Parliament was stormed by protesters during a finance bill vote. The president was hosted Friday on the social media platform X by popular social media influencer Osama Otero, who said he was abducted on the night of the protests and beaten by police.
Ruto said he regretted the abduction and that he would take action, adding that “that is not right.” “You don’t deserve the kind of treatment you went through,” he said.
The president said the police are independent and not controlled by the executive branch of government but promised to ensure that those responsible would be prosecuted. “I am ultimately responsible because I am president, and that is why I said it was regrettable,” Ruto said.
During the storming of Parliament during a finance bill vote — which would have resulted in a tax increase if approved — legislators fled through an underground tunnel. Police responded by opening fire and several protesters were shot dead.
Ruto later said he would not sign the finance bill and communicated to Parliament that the proposed legislation should be withdrawn, but protests continued with calls for him to resign over poor governance.
Kenya has been plagued by corruption, with the latest case involving the sale and distribution of thousands of fake fertilizer bags worth millions of shillings by the agriculture ministry.
The president on Friday was accused of not showing empathy and not mentioning the names of those who died during the protests. He responded by saying “people are born differently.” But he added that he was scheduled to speak with the mother of a boy who was shot and killed during protests.
Ruto was accused of not acknowledging the correct number of those who died in the protests. He put the number at 25 while the Kenya National Commission for Human Rights said 39 people were killed.
An hour before the online engagement, Ruto in a televised address announced specific austerity measures that included the dissolution of “47 state corporations with overlapping and duplicative functions” to save on operation and maintenance costs.
He also “suspended” the appointment of 50 chief administrative secretaries that were challenged in court on the basis of the positions being unconstitutional.
The president also announced that the offices of the first lady and the spouses of the deputy president and prime Cabinet secretary would not be funded using public money.
The young people who spoke during Otero’s Friday engagement on X emphasized the need for the president to sack incompetent government ministers in a reorganization that he stated was “coming soon.”
Brazil issues apology for police action against diplomats’ kids
- Brazil’s Military Police also released a statement saying the body-worn camera footage of the officers involved would be reviewed “to determine if there was excess force on the part of the authorities”
RIODE JANEIRO: Brazilian officials apologized Friday after police officers were filmed in an armed confrontation with the children of ambassadors from Canada, Gabon and Burkina Faso.
Surveillance footage from the incident Thursday night in Rio de Janeiro showed police exiting a vehicle and rushing with guns drawn toward a group of four teens.
Two of the teens are then put up against a wall and frisked before being released by police, who departed minutes later.
The minors, who live in the country’s capital Brasilia, were on vacation in Rio’s affluent Ipanema neighborhood when the confrontation occurred.
“How are you going to point guns at the heads of 13-year-old boys?” said Julie-Pascale Moudoute-Bell, the wife of the Gabonese ambassador to Brazil, in an interview with Globo television.
“Even for adults: you approach me, you ask me first, and then you tell me why you’re approaching me,” she continued.
As a result of the confrontation, Brazilian officials met with the ambassadors of Gabon and Burkina Faso on Friday to formally apologize, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The ambassador from Canada was not present for the meeting.
Brazil’s Military Police also released a statement saying the body-worn camera footage of the officers involved would be reviewed “to determine if there was excess force on the part of the authorities.”
Trump denies knowing about Project 2025, his allies’ sweeping plan to transform the US government
- The 922-page plan outlines a dramatic expansion of presidential power and a plan to fire as many as 50,000 government workers to replace them with Trump loyalists
- Trump says no idea who is behind the plan and describes "some of the things they’re saying are absolutely ridiculous and abysmal."
- President Biden's campaign says the plan and the Trump campaign are part of the same “MAGA operation”
MIAMI: Donald Trump distanced himself Friday from Project 2025, a massive proposed overhaul of the federal government drafted by longtime allies and former officials in his administration, days after the head of the think tank responsible for the program suggested there would be a second American Revolution.
“I know nothing about Project 2025,” Trump posted on his social media website. “I have no idea who is behind it. I disagree with some of the things they’re saying and some of the things they’re saying are absolutely ridiculous and abysmal. Anything they do, I wish them luck, but I have nothing to do with them.”
The 922-page plan outlines a dramatic expansion of presidential power and a plan to fire as many as 50,000 government workers to replace them with Trump loyalists. President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign has worked to draw more attention to the agenda, particularly as Biden tries to keep fellow Democrats on board after his disastrous debate.
Trump has outlined his own plans to remake the government if he wins a second term, including staging the largest deportation operation in US history and imposing tariffs on potentially all imports. His campaign has previously warned outside allies not to presume to speak for the former president and suggested their transition-in-waiting efforts were unhelpful.
Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts said on Steve Bannon’s “War Room” podcast Tuesday that Republicans are “in the process of taking this country back.” Former US Rep. Dave Brat of Virginia hosted the show for Bannon, who is serving a four-month prison term.
“We are in the process of the second American Revolution, which will remain bloodless if the left allows it to be,” Roberts said.
Those comments were widely circulated online and blasted by the Biden campaign, which issued a statement saying Trump and his allies were “dreaming of a violent revolution to destroy the very idea of America.”
Some of the people involved in Project 2025 are former senior administration officials. The project’s director is Paul Dans, who served as chief of staff at the US Office of Personnel Management under Trump. Trump’s campaign spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt was featured in one of Project 2025’s videos.
John McEntee, a former director of the White House Presidential Personnel Office in the Trump administration, is a senior adviser. McEntee told the conservative news site The Daily Wire earlier this year that Project 2025’s team would integrate a lot of its work with the campaign after the summer when Trump would announce his transition team.
Trump’s comments on Project 2025 come ahead of the Republican Party’s meetings next week to begin to draft its party platform.
Project 2025 has been preparing its own 180-day agenda for the next administration that it plans to share privately, rather than as part of its public-facing book of priorities for a Republican president. A key Trump ally, Russ Vought, who contributed to Project 2025 and is drafting this final pillar, is also on the Republican National Committee’s platform writing committee.
A spokesperson for the plan said Project 2025 is not tied to a specific candidate or campaign.
“We are a coalition of more than 110 conservative groups advocating policy and personnel recommendations for the next conservative president,” a statement said. “But it is ultimately up to that president, who we believe will be President Trump, to decide which recommendations to implement.”
The Democratic National Committee said the plan and the Trump campaign are part of the same “MAGA operation.” A Biden campaign spokesperson said that Project 2025 staff members are also leading the Republican policy platform.
“Project 2025 is the extreme policy and personnel playbook for Trump’s second term that should scare the hell out of the American people,” said Ammar Moussa.
On Thursday, as the country celebrated Independence Day and Biden prepared for his television interview after his halting debate performance, the president’s campaign posted on X a shot from the dystopian TV drama “The Handmaid’s Tale” showing a group of women in the show’s red dresses and white hats standing in formation by a reflecting pool with a cross at the far end where the Washington Monument should be. The story revolves around women who are stripped of their identities and forced to give birth to children for other couples in a totalitarian regime.
“Fourth of July under Trump’s Project 2025,” the post said.
