Lubna Ahmed Hussein, was found guilty of “dressing indecently” under article 152 of Sudanese criminal law. She was given a choice: Pay 500 Sudanese pounds ($209) or go to jail for a month.She chose to go to jail.
Lubna was not accused of being scantly or even provocatively dressed. She was accused of wearing pants. The normal penalty for this crime is a fine of 250 Sudanese pounds (about $100) and 40 lashes. For all the details of the Lubna Ahmed Hussein case click here.
"She's in jail now," said her lawyer, Nabil Adib.
"She thinks she was unfairly tried and convicted and was not given a proper chance to put her defence case," Mr Adib said.
They intend to file an appeal within the next three days, “but we do not know how long it will take the court of appeals to decide on the case,” said Adib. He said Lubna could be in jail for a month unless her verdict is overturned.
Brandon Huntley, 31, an unemployed water-sprinkler salesman, said he had to flee South Africa after he was attacked in Mowbray seven times — and stabbed in three of those incidents — by blacks who called him a “white dog” and “settler”. Testifying before an Immigration Board in Ottawa, Canada, he argued his life would be in danger if he returned home because of the color of his skin.
Huntley came to Canada on a visa in 2004 to work as a carnival worker. He returned in 2005 on a one-year visa and stayed for a second year illegally. He went back to South Africa, then entered Canada a third time, and filed his refugee claim in 2008.
Russell Kaplan, a human rights lawyer,who left South Africa 20 years ago, represented Brandon Huntley. He said that not only was he harassed and attacked by black South Africans, he was unable to find work under new legislation that seeks to "empower" black Africans in the work force. Newspaper clippings were presented as evidence of life in South Africa during the August 18 hearing.
Mr Huntley admitted he did not report any of the alleged crimes to the police, saying there was no point because as a white person they would not be interested in pursuing the crimes.
The Immigration and Refugee Board agreed with Huntley and granted him refugee status. William Davis, the board’s chairman, said:
Mr Huntley was “a victim because of his race rather than a victim of criminality” and would “stick out like a sore thumb” in any part of the country because of his skin color. He also said that there was "a picture of indifference and inability or unwillingness" by South Africa to protect "white South Africans from persecution by African South Africans"
He ruled that Huntley's fears of persecution are justified based on the evidence he submitted.
Clive Levin, 40, a white South African, and freelance film cameraman, who lives in Mowbray, has a very different story to tell than the one portrayed by Huntley.
“I just love it here, I fell in love with Mowbray the moment I discovered it. It is this eclectic mix between suburbia and the city. It is a great community, very mixed,” he said.
“This guy was feeding off the paranoia people have about crime. He made it up and it fed into people’s perceptions because he wanted to stay there. Crime is an issue, it is everywhere in this country, but whites are not more in danger here from it than blacks or anyone else,” he said.
Luke Mills, an Englishman who has lived in Mowbray for seven years, agreed the country was getting a “bad rap”.
“The idea that as a white person in South Africa you have somehow drawn the short straw is ludicrous, when you look at the average white person’s life-style and the opportunities which come their way it is laughable... This guy is a con man,” he added.
It is far from the hell hole painted by Mr Huntley. His former white neighbors don’t believe a word of his tale and — strangely, they say — no one seems to have heard of him, not even the owner of the biggest water irrigation business who claims to know “every salesman in the area”.
Anesh Maistry, head of the political section at the South African High Commission in Canada, said board's decision is wrong and belies the reality of South Africa. Maistry also said the board never asked for South Africa's views on Huntley's claims nor did it seek to confirm his allegations of repeated attacks.
"This decision is incorrect, it is not factual, it does not represent the facts on the ground. It portrays South Africa in a negative light and it misrepresents the work that has been done in the last 15 years to build a nonracial society in the country," Maistry said.
Deepak Obrai, Canada's parliamentary secretary to the minister of Foreign Affairs and a Conservative lawmaker in Prime Minister Stephen Harper's government, expressed outrage over the board's decision in a statement and said it shows a serious lack of judgment.
"Having grown up in Africa and witnessed the devastating effects of apartheid, in this case against blacks and Indians, it is beyond my understanding how a Canadian institution makes a decision on a racial basis," said Obrai, who was born in Tanzania.
In South Africa, the case has infuriated the ruling African National Congress. Both government and the ANC slammed Canada’s decision as racist, saying it perpetuated false stereotypes that black people attacked white people, whereas both were victims of crime which newly elected President Jacob Zuma has pledged to reduce.
“We find the claim by Huntley to have been attacked seven times by Africans due to his skin colour without any police intervention sensational and alarming,” said the ANC’s Brian Sokutu. “Canada’s reasoning for granting Huntley a refugee status can only serve to perpetuate racism.”
Ronnie Mamoepa, spokesman for the Home Affairs Ministry, slammed the Canadian move as preposterous.
“It would have been courteous for the Canadian authorities to contact the South African government to verify this case,” he told reporters. “The allegations are as preposterous as they are laughable.”
The Canadian government, under pressure from South Africa, said it would challenge the ruling of the immigration board's decision in court.
"The government felt that because this is a fairly unique claim, it's something we felt would be wise to put before a higher authority, in this case the Federal Court," said Alykhan Velshi, a spokesman for Immigration Minister Jason Kenney.
"It usually takes four to six months to learn if the Federal Court will hear the case, and several months after that for a decision. If the Federal Court agrees with the government's position, it will ask that the case be re-determined," she said.
Abraham Nkomo, South Africa's High Commissioner to Canada, said he had been told of the Canadian government's decision and that the court would take between 30 and 90 days to review the asylum ruling.
"They have understood our case and submission, and want to place on record that they have a very high regard for South Africa's track record, its inter-racial harmony and democracy that have been observed in our country," he said.
"They also take into regard the bilateral relations between our two countries, which are very strong."
On September 4th 2009, at 6:45 PM Investigators with the Glynn County Police Department sought and received arrest warrants for Guy Heinze Jr., age 22 in connection with the murders and criminal attempt to commit murder that occurred at lot 147, New Hope Mobile Home Park in Glynn County, in the early morning hours of August 29th.
He has now been charged with 8 counts of first degree murder in the deaths of eight people, including seven family members. He is also charged with the attempted murder of a 3-year old child, Byron Jimmerson, the only survivor of the massacre at Lot 147, New Hope Mobile Home Park, Brunswick, Glynn County, Ga. The child is still recovering at a Savannah hospital.
"Mr. Heinze denies playing any role in these murders and he's been cooperating with police and will continue to cooperate." said Ron Harrison, Heinze's attorney.
3-year-old Byron Jimmerson, Chrissy Toler's son, survived the attack. He is still recovering at a Savannah hospital.
"We did not suspect him all along. It's the most heinous crime in our community, I think we all know that" said Glynn County Police Department, Chief Matt Doering. "I can assure you that this person is responsible, and that's the best information I can give you." said the chief. "I know the community wants answers, but I'm not prepared to give much more than that," he added.
Police Chief Matt Doerring, at a news conference Friday night, said a judge revoked Heinze’s bond after police consulted with him on new evidence. He said law enforcement received two pieces of information Friday that led them to re-arrest Heinze, Jr. but he cannot comment on any specific information or evidence that led to the arrest. Doering also will not reveal the official causes of death.
A news release on the Glynn County Police web site indicates the arrest was made both on physical and, what they term testimonial evidence. Doerring says he must protect the integrity of the investigation and that the probe is very much ongoing.
Glynn County Coroner Jimmy Darden said that police found the murder victims in beds and on the floor of the home. He said the victims had been there overnight Friday before Guy Heinze, Jr. made the 911 call on Saturday morning.
It is not unusual to hear in the news about victims of brutal attacks. This story however shows the depths of depravity and inhumanity that some people are capable of perpetrating on others. The various acts of torture, abuse and forced sexual activity are in themselves cause to recoil; but the realization that neither the victims nor the attackers had even reached puberty should make each and every one of us pause and say --- WTF!!?!
Two brothers in Britain aged 10 and 12, from the town of Edlington, near Doncaster, pleaded guilty to luring two young boys, aged 9 and 10, into a secluded area of woodland and ravines to see some animals — and then torturing them in an attack so violent it left one of the victims pleading to be left alone to die.
The two young boys were robbed, beaten with sticks and stones, stabbed, burned with cigarettes, forced to eat nettles, had their genitals stomped on, forced to have sex with each other and told to commit suicide as part of their grotesque torture.
Prosecutors charged the two aggressors with attempted murder but, so as to spare the two young victims the further trauma of having to testify in court, accepted lesser charges of robbery, intentionally causing grievous bodily harm and causing a child to engage in sexual activity.
This was not the first time the brothers had been in trouble. They in fact both had a history of violence. The 12-year-old had already appeared in court four times for acts of violence. His younger brother had been reprimanded for a variety of crimes, including assault.
The names of all the boys involved have been withheld due to their ages. However, in my opinion, the crimes that the two brothers committed were so horrible and adult-like that their names and addresses should be made public and published so that the world can be wary of two monsters that walk among us.
Below is a copy the news report widely distributed in the media.
9/3/2009, 9:20 p.m. EDT
RAPHAEL G. SATTER
The Associated Press
(AP) — LONDON - A pair of British brothers pleaded guilty Thursday to luring two young boys into a clearing to see some animals-and then torturing them in an attack so violent it left one of the victims pleading to be left alone to die.
The attackers, aged 10 and 11 at the time, robbed, beat, and stabbed their victims with sticks and bricks. One child, aged 10, had a sink thrown on to his head, while his nephew, aged 9, was forced to eat nettles. At one point the young tormentors tried to force the victims to have sex with each another.
None of the children can be named for legal reasons.
So violent was the attack that prosecutors charged the aggressors with attempted murder-making them some of the youngest ever accused of such a crime in Britain. Media here compared the case to the shocking death of James Bulger, a 2-year-old abducted from a shopping center near Liverpool in 1993 by two 10-year-olds who punched him, beat him with bricks and hit him with an iron bar before leaving his body on a railroad track.
Britain's prime minister weighed in, calling the case "disturbing."
The pair denied attempted murder, but admitted lesser charges of robbery, intentionally causing grievous bodily harm and causing a child to engage in sexual activity. Prosecutors at Sheffield Crown Court, in northern England, said they would accept the pleas, in part to spare the young victims the ordeal of a trial.
The April 4 assault came to light when a group of girls in the former English mining town of Edlington found the 9-year-old stumbling around, spattered in blood, with a cut on his arm which went down to the bone. His uncle was later found unconscious, naked from the waist down, with a large cut to the head and bruising around his neck.
Prosecutor Graham Measures told an earlier hearing that the younger boy said he and his uncle went to a secluded area of woodland and ravines with the brothers, who said they wanted to show them some toads and foxes.
It was then that the brothers turned on their victims, stealing a small amount of cash and a cell phone. They then began beating them with sticks and bricks, at one point stabbing the younger child in the arm and then jamming cigarettes into the gaping wound. His genitals were stamped on, and his eyelids were burned with cigarettes. He was forced to smoke, eat nettles and then ordered to commit suicide.
He said he then picked up a stick and put it into his mouth to convince his attackers he was harming himself.
The uncle received even harsher treatment, having a broken sink smashed against his head and a noose rung around his neck. The younger brother told police that his uncle pleaded with the attackers, saying: "Leave me, I can't see. Leave me to die."
The 9-year-old said the attack only ended when the brothers said they had to go to meet their stepfather-although one brother warned his sibling that they should not leave before killing their victims.
The brothers had a history of violence. The 11-year-old, now 12, had already appeared in court four times for acts of violence. His younger brother had been reprimanded for a variety of crimes, including assault.
They lived with five other male siblings and their 36-year-old mother in a run-down home on a different part of town before being moved to a foster home in Edlington about a month before the attack.
Cameron Marchiori, 17, and Nicholas Evanoff, 18,are in a lot of trouble. The two teens from Fraser, Mi. face felony charges of theft, alcohol possession, resisting arrest and destruction of police property after crashing into a police cruiser with a lawnmower.
According to the Fraser police, an officer was investigating a number of 911 calls from concerned citizens about two teens on a lawnmower. He ran into them, or rather they ran into him, near the intersection of 15 Mile and Utica roads.
Cameron Marchiori, 17, who was high after inhaling from aerosol cans he and his friend, Nicholas Evanoff, 18, had bought at the local Meijer, was driving a stolen lawnmower. He was so intent on controlling the lawnmower that he did not notice the police car until it was too late to stop. The collision between the lawnmower and police cruiser was caught on the police car dashcam video.
Nicholas Evanoff attempted to run after the accident occured but was quickly caught. Both teens were charged with receiving and concealing stolen property and possession of alcohol. Marchiori also was charged with malicious destruction of property. Evanoff was charged with resisting and obstructing police. Both were arraigned in 39B District Court in Fraser. Marchiori was ordered held on 10% of a $10,000 bond. Evanoff was ordered held on 10% of a $5,000 bond, said Lt. Dan Kolke of the Fraser Police Department.
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Tuesday, September 8, 2009 at 2:57AM 
