Iran's Rouhani: Khashoggi murder unthinkable 'without US backing'

Tehran - Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi's "heinous murder" would have been unthinkable "without US backing," Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on yesterday.

"I don't think that any country would dare do such a thing without US backing," Rouhani said in remarks to cabinet broadcast on state television.

Rouhani said that before Khashoggi's murder "it would have been unthinkable that in this day and age we would witness such an organised felony.

"It is extremely significant that an institution planned such a heinous murder.

"The tribal group that is ruling that nation (Saudi Arabia) has a security margin. That security margin is that it relies on US backing. It is this superpower that is backing them."


Khashoggi, a government critic who was living in self-imposed exile in the United States, was murdered inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2 as he organised the paperwork for his marriage to his Turkish fiancee.

The case has triggered an international outcry against Saudi Arabia. US President Donald Trump on Tuesday ridiculed Riyadh's response as "one of the worst cover-ups" in history.

Iran had been silent about the Khashoggi case until Monday when its judiciary chief slammed Saudi Arabia over his death.

"This heinous murder further revealed the nature of Saudis, their kingdom and that young man who is seeking fame and murdering innocent people," Sadegh Amoli Larijani was quoted as saying by the judiciary's news agency Mizan Online, apparently referring to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman.

- 'Child-killing regime' -
Iran has closely followed the backlash its regional rival Saudi Arabia has faced over the Khashoggi murder.

On Tuesday, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain designated Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and three of its officers, including Quds Force commander Major General Qasem Soleimani, as terrorist sponsors.

"The House of Saud is seeking to divert international and regional public opinion away from the murder of Jamal Khashoggi," Brigadier General Esmail Kowsari of the Guards said in reaction to decision, quoted by Mehr news agency.

"Saudi Arabia is stuck in a quagmire they can't get out of," Kowsari said, adding that the designation was an attempt to utilise the tactic of attack being the best form of defence.

"The murder of this journalist is one of the thousands of villainies committed by this child-killing regime, but they want to revolve the world’s attention away from themselves onto Iran," said Kowsari.

source: philstar.com

US boy, 8, beats crying baby to death, is charged with murder

MIAMI -- An eight-year-old boy beat a baby girl to death to stop her crying while her mother was out partying at a nightclub, US police said Wednesday, charging him with murder.

The boy was one of several children left alone for hours in a Birmingham, Alabama home last month, in what experts said was a rare case of a child so young being prosecuted.

"Since becoming a police officer over 22 years ago, this is by far one of the saddest cases I have witnessed in my career," Birmingham police spokesman Lieutenant Sean Edwards told AFP.

The incident happened at the home of a friend of the baby's mother, whom police have identified as 26-year-old Katerra Lewis.

She has been charged with manslaughter over what Edwards called "reckless" actions.

Police said Lewis left her one-year-old, Kelci, together with several children aged two to eight, while she and her friend went out clubbing.

The children -- six in total, according to local media -- were left unsupervised while Lewis and the friend were gone from roughly 11:00 pm until 2:00 am.

"It is believed that while the mother and friend were at the club, the eight-year-old viciously attacked the one-year-old because the one-year-old would not stop crying," police said in a statement.

"The one-year-old suffered from severe head trauma as well as major internal organ damage which ultimately led to her death."

The mother told police on the morning of October 11, a Sunday, that she found the baby unresponsive in her crib.

The girl was treated at the scene by first responders and was later pronounced dead at a children's hospital.

"This type of behavior, this type of irresponsibility on behalf of a parent is totally unacceptable," Edwards said of Lewis.

"No education, no school, no degree, no training can really prepare you for an eight-year-old committing a heinous crime like this."

The mother was released on $15,000 bail. The Department of Human Resources said it had no prior complaints concerning Lewis or her daughter.

The DHR is holding the boy and won't release his name.

'Very, very unusual'
The age at which minors can be held criminally accountable varies from state to state in the US, but Alabama has no set minimum age for prosecution in juvenile court.

"It is very, very unusual for somebody as young as eight to be prosecuted," Tobie Smith, a lawyer who specializes in the defense of minors in Alabama, told AFP.

The boy will be tried in juvenile court and risks being sentenced to juvenile prison until up to age 21 if found guilty, Smith said.

However, prosecutors must demonstrate that the boy is competent to stand trial and participate in his own defense, Smith said.

"That requires a level of intellectual development and coordinative functioning that is less and less common the younger you go."

Prosecutors could also technically file for the boy to be tried as an adult under Alabama law, although it is extremely unlikely that they would do so.

"I would be stunned and shocked and appalled if they did and I also cannot imagine that the judge would transfer him to an adult court if they asked," said Smith.

Last month, an 11-year-old boy from Tennessee was charged with first degree murder after he shot and killed his eight-year-old neighbor following an argument over a puppy.

source: interaksyon.com

US teen held in Bali suitcase killing assaulted in custody - lawyer

DENPASAR - An American teenager suspected of killing her mother, whose body was found in a suitcase in Bali, has revealed she is pregnant and claims she has been assaulted in custody, her lawyer said.

Heather Mack, 19, who denies any involvement in her mother's death, also alleges police on the Indonesian resort island have threatened to deprive her of food and water if she does not speak to them, her US-based lawyer Michael Elkin said in a statement.

He added that she was around two months pregnant.

However Bali police rejected the claims, insisting that all detainees were treated well.

The half-naked, battered body of Sheila von Wiese Mack, 62, was discovered on Tuesday last week stuffed in a blood-stained suitcase in the boot of a taxi outside the exclusive St. Regis hotel in the upscale Nusa Dua resort area.

Her daughter and her daughter's boyfriend, Tommy Schaefer, 21, who had been on holiday with the victim, were arrested a day later after fleeing the hotel.

Police say they have strong evidence against the pair, and are leaning towards charging them with premeditated murder, which carries a maximum penalty of death in Indonesia.

However, Elkin has insisted claims that Heather Mack was involved in her mother's death are false.

"Said allegations and reports are not true and will be disproven as the investigation continues or at the conclusion of trial, if formal charges are indeed filed," he said in a statement.

The daughter and her boyfriend have been named suspects in the case, but under the Indonesian legal system would only be formally charged in court at the start of a trial.

In a statement sent to AFP late Saturday, Elkin said his client "has been seriously physically assaulted while in custody", without giving further details, adding that she has been "pregnant for approximately two months".

"Heather was told that if she does not speak to the police she will be deprived of food and water," the statement went on.

"Heather was told that unless her attorney arrives within days she will be deprived of food and water and that he will be denied access to meet with her," it added.

The suspected killers have refused to talk to Indonesian investigators and insisted on having American legal representation. Elkin said he plans to head to Bali soon. He said that he was not representing Schaefer.

But Djoko Hari Utomo, police chief in the Balinese capital Denpasar, insisted: "All those detained here are well treated."

"I do not want to comment on something which doesn't even exist."

An FBI agent has travelled to Bali to help in the investigation, police on the resort island said Saturday. A doctor also revealed new details of the killing, including that the victim's neck had been broken.

source: interaksyon.com

Pinay in Texas gets 20 years for attempted murder of lover's wife

HOUSTON — A furor erupted this week over a plea deal that resulted in a 20-year prison sentence for a murderous Texas mistress with the victim and her lawyer calling the deal “corrupt” and “laughable.”

Prosecutors fired back questioning the “integrity and ethics” of the lawyer representing the victim of the attempted murder.

Michelle Gaiser, 39, a Filipina, pleaded guilty to solicitation of capital murder for the 2010 attempts to kill Yvonne Stern, 54.

Gaiser claimed to have plotted the murders with her lover, Jeffrey Stern, Yvonne Stern’s husband.

Yvonne Stern has since reconciled with her husband and earlier this week prosecutors dropped all charges against Jeffrey Stern because Gaiser’s claims could not be corroborated.

Gaiser must serve at least half of her sentence before being eligible for parole, and with credit for time served she will be eligible in about eight years.

At the end of her sentence, she will be deported to her native Philippines.

Yvonne Stern wanted Gaiser sentenced to 40 years and read a scathing victim’s impact statement in court, accusing prosecutor Kari Allen of treating “this killer like her best friend.”

“This corrupt plea deal would be more understandable if she had not lived her adult life lying, cheating, stealing and trying to kill anyone who crossed her or stood in her way,” Yvonne Stern said.

“I feel completely betrayed by Kari Allen and Pat Lykos for making this crooked deal.”

Stern’s attorney, Chip Lewis, accused Lykos, the Harris County district attorney, of pacifying Gaiser’s lawyers by giving her a “laughable” sentence.

Lykos released a blistering statement in response to Lewis’ comments.

“Chip Lewis has once again demonstrated that he and the truth are strangers, and calumny is his constant companion. Defamation spews from his lips as naturally as breathing,” Lykos wrote.

She noted that Lewis, who used to be employed by the District Attorney’s Office, left “under a cloud.”

During his time with the District Attorney’s Office, Lewis was prosecuting a sexual assault case involving three defendants who were charged with raping an unconscious woman, Lykos said.

Without notifying the victim, Lewis had charges against two of the men dismissed, and had the charges of the third defendant reduced to a non-sexual offense, she said.

“Shortly thereafter Lewis resigned from the District Attorney’s Office and went to work for one of the defense attorneys involved,” she said.

“This is the man who proposes to stand in judgment of Kari Allen’s ethics and integrity. Were he capable of it, he should be ashamed.”

The sentencing capped a tumultuous investigation of the case.

“It is near impossible for me to put into words the pain and suffering this animal has caused me and my family,” Yvonne Stern said.

“I have suffered for two years due to this animal and remain scarred for life.”

“It is clear that this monster is very unstable and she should spend the rest of her existence behind bars where she cannot attempt to kill anyone else,” she said.

In exchange for her guilty plea and cooperation with the government, prosecutors had initially agreed to reduce her possible life sentence to a maximum of 25 years in prison.

The status of Gaiser’s previous deal was questioned after last Tuesday’s announcement that charges were dropped against Jeffrey Stern.

Last month, Jeffrey Stern’s attorneys held a press conference to state they had information that Gaiser was trying to have Jeffrey Stern killed from behind bars.

Paul Nugent read from a jailhouse letter Gaiser allegedly wrote in which the attorney said she ordered a hit on Jeffrey Stern.

“Michelle Gaiser — from her jail cell — has plotted yet another murder,” Nugent said.

“She has solicited an inmate to murder Jeffrey Stern for $20,000.”

Nugent said Gaiser wrote that the hit should happen near the Sterns’ vacation home in Aspen.

According to Nugent, the letter also said that if Stern was killed near the Aspen residence, “people will think the wife did the planning to kill him as revenge.”

Nugent said he turned the note over to the district attorney, who declined to bring Gaiser up on any new charges.

Prosecutors originally alleged that Stern, a prominent Houston lawyer, and his former mistress planned three failed attempts to kill Yvonne Stern.

In the third alleged attempt on her life in May 2010 she was shot in the stomach while sitting in her car.

Since the shooting Yvonne Stern has launched a civil suit against Gaiser.

Yvonne Stern initially filed for divorce after learning of her husband’s infidelity, but took him back.

She has said she does not believe he was responsible for the attempts on her life.

She told ABC News that the sloppiness of the attempts to murder her made her confident that her husband could not have been involved.

“Is this the plot of a mastermind? My husband is brilliant. He’s smart. He’s talented. He would never be capable of doing such a terrible job,” she said. - Filipino Reporter

source: gmanetwork.com