Assault prison sentence

John Worboys, the serial sex attacker known as the black cab rapist, has lost his appeal against his life sentences for drugging lone female passengers in order to sexually assault them. Worboys , who changed his name in prison to John Radford, targeted women while working as a London cabbie, claiming to have scooped a windfall on the lottery or at the horses. He was first jailed in 2009 for 19 sex offences against 12 women between 2006 and 2008 and was handed two life sentences in December 2019 when new victims came forward, as a judge found he posed an ongoing danger to women. Police believe the 63-year-old former male stripper committed offences against more than 100 women before he was caught. In 2018, the Parole Board controversially said Worboys could be freed from prison, but the decision was reversed after a landmark legal challenge by two of his victims. Advertisement Three senior judges, including the Lord Chief Justice Lord Burnett, … [Read more...] about Black cab rapist John Worboys loses appeal against life sentences for drugging women

A court in the northern German city of Celle has convicted a radical Islamist preacher and three co-defendants for recruiting and radicalizing young people in Germany for the "Islamic State" terrorist group. He has been sentenced to 10 and a half years in prison. Prosecutors sought a sentence of 11.5 years for Abu Walaa, who is believed to be the "Islamic State" jihadist group's de facto leader in Germany . The defense, however, demanded an acquittal, with Walaa himself declining to make a closing statement last week. What did the court say? The court pronounced Walaa guilty of supporting and being a member of the terrorist organization. The judges said the Islamist preacher and his network radicalized young people — mainly in the country's Ruhr region and the state of Lower Saxony — and sent them to the IS combat zones. Three co-defendants received prison sentences of between four and eight years. Who is Abu Walaa? Walaa, 37, was born in Iraq and came to … [Read more...] about German court convicts ‘IS recruiter’ Abu Walaa

What awaits those facing hotel quarantine? Great British Getaways: your ultimate holiday planner Travel experts predict overseas holidays will return by early summer Our blueprint for getting holidays back to normal ​ Sign up to the Telegraph Travel newsletter T he UK’s airports and airlines are battling to survive in the face of blanket travel restrictions, aviation chiefs have warned – after new, tighter border restrictions were announced by Matt Hancock this afternoon. The Health Secretary laid out the new legislation for arrivals into England – including £10,000 fines for those trying to evade quarantine, and prison sentences of up to 10 years for anyone trying to conceal their arrival from a red list country . Scotland, meanwhile, plans to make hotel quarantine mandatory for all arriving travellers. But Karen Dee, chief executive of the Airport Operators Association and Tim Alderslade, chief executive of Airlines UK, are calling for an exit … [Read more...] about Airlines face ‘battle to survive’ under UK’s tough new rules

Clubhouse is an invite-only audio app that is surging in popularity in Thailand as a youthful protest movement continues to demand reforms of the government and monarchy. Launched in April 2020, Clubhouse recently gained traction among Thai protest circles after Pavin Chachavalpongpun, a self-exiled academic and prominent long-time critic of the Thai monarchy, joined the platform on February 12. Pavin told DW that the police crackdown on political protests in Thailand has contributed to Clubhouse's sudden popularity. "There are no open discussions … so when a new venue is introduced, people jump in to discuss politics," Pavin said. Pavin has already added nearly 300,000 followers in less than two weeks, and he said he noticed that people in many of the chat rooms on the voice-based app discuss the royal family. The app allows anonymous conversation about taboo topics "It's as if the app were created for conversations about the monarchy," Pavin joked. Thaksin … [Read more...] about Clubhouse app lets Thailand pro-democracy protesters speak freely

A former member of Syrian president Bashar al Assad's secret police has been sentenced by a German court to four and a half years in jail for facilitating the torture of prisoners. Human rights activists hope the landmark ruling will set a precedent for other cases connected to the 10-year-old Syrian civil war. Eyad al Gharib was convicted of accessory to crimes against humanity and sentenced by the Koblenz state court. It was the first time a court outside Syria had ruled in a case alleging Syrian government officials committed crimes against humanity. The court heard Gharib had arrested at least 30 anti-government protesters at the start of the conflict in 2011 and sent them to an intelligence facility where he knew detainees were tortured. Advertisement The verdict gives hope to the 800,000 Syrians in Germany who say they were tortured in government facilities after attempts to establish an international tribunal for Syria failed. … [Read more...] about Ex-Syrian agent convicted by German court in landmark torture trial