Tag: jail

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-Top News USA

22 years in jail for woman sending ricin letters to Trump

Trump hit with 34 serious criminal charges after historic arrest; denies them

Ferrier also admitted sending similarly tainted letters to eight Texas law enforcement officials…reports Asian Lite News

A US court has sentenced a Canadian woman to 22 years in jail for sending letters laced with ricin poison to former President Donald Trump when he was in office.

On Thursday, District Judge Dabney Friedrich sentenced 56-year-old Pascale Ferrier to 262 months in prison, the BBC reported.

She will be deported from the US after serving her sentence and faces supervision for life if she ever returns.

Judge Friedrich told Ferrier her actions were “potentially deadly” and “harmful to you, harmful to society, harmful to the potential victims”.

Ferrier, a dual citizen of France and Canada, told the court that she regretted that her plan had failed and that she “couldn’t stop Trump”.

In her address, she also said that she saw herself as an activist not a terrorist.

“I want to find peaceful means to achieve my goals,” Ferrier added.

The FBI found her fingerprints on the letter to Trump, which urged him to drop out of the presidential race, the BBC reported.

“I found a new name for you: ‘The Ugly Tyrant Clown’,” she wrote in the letter, according to FBI charging documents.

Ferrier also admitted sending similarly tainted letters to eight Texas law enforcement officials.

In 2019, she was detained in the state for about 10 weeks for unlawfully carrying a weapon and driving without a valid licence, and she blamed those officials for that detention, according to a US Justice Department.

Ferrier was arrested crossing the border into Buffalo, New York in September 2020. She was carrying a gun, knife and rounds of ammunition.

She later admitted to making the ricin — a poison made from the waste material left over from castor beans processing — at her Quebec home, and placing it into an envelope with the letter.

She had agreed to the sentence in January after pleading guilty to biological weapons charges, reports the BBC.

There is no known antidote to ricin.

Depending on the dose, it can cause death within 36 to 72 hours, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In 2014, a Mississippi man was sentenced to 25 years in prison after sending ricin laced letters to then President Barack Obama and other officials.

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Health Lite Blogs

Ramirez glad to give chance to people to exhale

Ramirez remembers many would just jump if she touched their ankles. Perhaps ‘touch’ brought back many memories…reports Sukant Deepak

When she told the women jail inmates to scream as hard as they could, there was a stunned silence.

Most were apprehensive, the guards tensed up. But they finally screamed — at the top of their voices. After a few minutes of doing that, many started wailing, some laughed hard. And that was the point Marta Ramirez knew she had ‘touched’ them.

Every Saturday, Chandigarh-based Ramirez, originally from Spain, takes time off from her restaurant and pizzeria to go to Model Jail (Burail jail) in the city and teach Yoga to women inmates voluntarily. She may not be able to completely decipher what the inmates say, but the yoga teacher feels in many moments, words and language become redundant.

Back in 2022, it took her six months and paperwork to get permission to start the classes in the jail. For someone who moved to India in 2002 to work with Missionaries of Charity in Kolkata, she calls meeting her yoga teacher in Manali an act of faith. And it was in his class that she met her husband too, and finally settled in Chandigarh.

The first day at the Model Jail was about meeting women who were extremely suspicious. “Many thought I was an undercover cop. What is this foreigner doing here? Why does she want us to learn yoga,” Marta, whose mother worked with jail inmates in Barcelona smiles.

And it was on the first day itself that Ramirez, a qualified yoga teacher from different institutes in the country and abroad realised that the techniques she used in the outside world will not work here. She remembers feeling an invisible barrier between the inmate and her. “How do you break that? How do you ensure that these women who have been through so much, trust you enough to get on the path of healing?”

Ramirez remembers many would just jump if she touched their ankles. Perhaps ‘touch’ brought back many memories.

Out of the more than 50 inmates, only a few approached her. In the course of time, some more joined the group, but there were always those who would look from a distance. For some, healing always remains a distant mirage.

“There are several techniques, and breathwork that facilitates the release of emotions. I am not looking at making their bodies flexible. The aim is to allow them to contact an inner part which they think has left them.”

Now many inmates look forward to her visits, and not just for Yoga. There are long conversations, and she feels nothing is lost in translation. Some tell her they would not be in jail “next Saturday”. Ramirez knows captivity can make time go in circles. Those inmates are still there, every time. “I never ask them why they are here. The focus is on what they will do when they are out. The whole effort is directed towards the fact that the time they have in jail is an ‘opportunity’ to release bruised emotions.”

And yes, now that she has been allowed to bring an audio speaker inside, the inmates are learning Salsa and the instructor – Indian dance moves. “Well, I am getting better every week.”

She talks about the trauma stored in the bodies of those who have acted against the law – either for survival or intentionally. “Most are still waiting for bail and many do not even know if they will be released. They are curious about things, they are open to talking about everything. Maybe, the Yoga class is also an excuse to speak to a neutral party who will not judge them. And for the children who live with inmates there, who join us for chanting, it can be an adventure.”

Ramirez has also been approached to teach Yoga to police personnel there and male inmates too. “I do not know when or if that would happen. But I am glad that I have been able to give a chance to some people to exhale,” she concludes.

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India News

6-month jail for bursting Diwali firecrackers in Delhi

The Delhi Police has set up 210 teams under assistant commissioners of police, while the Revenue Department has constituted 165 teams and the Delhi Pollution Control Committee 33…reports Asian Lite News

People bursting firecrackers on Diwali in Delhi will face a jail term of up to six months and a fine of Rs 200, Environment Minister Gopal Rai in the Kejriwal government said today.

“The purchase and bursting of firecrackers in Delhi will be punishable with a fine of  Rs 200 and six months in jail under the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Manufacturing, storing, firecrackers in is Delhi punishable with fine up to Rs 5,000 and three years in jail,” Gopal Rai said at a press conference.

To ensure the ban on firecrackers is maintained so that the air quality doesn’t get worse during the festival and the winter season, the Delhi government has sent up a total of 408 teams to implement the ban in Delhi.

The Delhi Police has set up 210 teams under assistant commissioners of police, while the Revenue Department has constituted 165 teams and the Delhi Pollution Control Committee 33.

The minister said 188 cases of violations have been detected and 2,917 kg firecrackers seized till October 16.  The air quality in Delhi and neighbouring areas start worsening in October due to unfavourable meteorological factors such as low temperatures and wind speed, which do not allow dispersion of pollutants.

A cocktail of emissions from firecrackers and stubble burning in neighbouring states further dent the air quality.  “Pollution levels rise around Diwali every year. The major reason is the bursting of firecrackers. Emissions from firecrackers are extremely dangerous especially for kids, women and the elderly.

“Therefore, the Delhi government has imposed a complete ban on the production, sale and use of all types of firecrackers this year too. The ban covers online delivery of firecrackers,” the minister said.

Mr Rai urged Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav to ensure the ban on firecrackers is strictly implemented in the entire NCR “as the smoke from firecrackers burst in the region impacts the people in Delhi also”.

Besides Delhi, Haryana had also imposed a ban on the sale and use of all kinds of firecrackers in 14 of its districts in the National Capital Region last year, while Uttar Pradesh had allowed the use of green crackers on Diwali just for two hours in areas with moderate or better air quality.

However, despite the restrictions, people burst firecrackers till late night in Delhi, Noida, Faridabad and Gurugram.

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India News Politics

2 SP candidates to contest from jail

The other SP leader, who will be contesting from behind the bars is Nahid Hasan from Kairana in Shamli district…reports Asian Lite News

Two Samajwadi Party candidates — Mohd Azam Khan and Nahid Hasan — will contest the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections from jail.

Mohd Azam Khan, SP MP, has been named as the party candidate form Rampur. Azam Khan has been in jail since February 2020 after multiple cases were lodged against him.

He has applied for bail in the Supreme Court and is awaiting decision. In the meantime, his wife Tanzeen Fatima and son Abdullah Azam will campaign for him in Rampur.

Abdullah Azam is himself a candidate from the Suar Assembly seat and is presently out on bail.

“There is tremendous sympathy now for Azam Khan and his family, especially after the manner in which the Yogi Adityanath government went overboard in booking him in frivolous cases like buffalo theft, book theft, statue theft, goat theft, etc. While his family will lead the campaign for him, senior party leaders will also join him to ensure his victory,” said a senior SP leader.

The other SP leader, who will be contesting from behind the bars is Nahid Hasan from Kairana in Shamli district.

His nomination was accepted by the returning officer on Monday. The candidature of Nahid’s sister Iqra Hasan, who was tipped to contest if Nahid is not allowed, has also been accepted.

Nahid, the sitting MLA from Kairana, was arrested on January 15 by the UP Police. He was wanted in a case in which police had slapped the Gangster and Anti-Social Activities Prevention) Act on him for an incident that took place in February 2021.

He was produced in the MP/MLA court of Shamli and sent to jail for 14 days.

Soon after Nahid’s arrest, his London-returned sister, Iqra Hasan, started campaigning on her brother’s behalf.

Also, apprehending that ‘unfavourable circumstances’ might lead to rejection of his candidature, Iqra too had filed her nomination papers as an independent candidate.

“My mother and former MP Tabassum Hasan and brother Nahid were framed in false cases,” said Iqra who will continue campaigning for her brother.

Voting in Kairana will be held in the first phase of elections in Uttar Pradesh, on February 10.

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-Top News India News

Life imprisonment means rigorous imprisonment for life, rules SC

In Singh’s case, the top court noted that one of the points argued by the petitioner relates to sentence of imprisonment for life not to be equated to rigorous imprisonment for life…reports Asian Lite News.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday reiterated that a sentence of imprisonment for life means rigorous imprisonment for life.

A bench of Justices L. Nageswara Rao and B.R. Gavai declined to reopen the debate whether a life sentence should be treated as rigorous imprisonment for life.

“In view of the authoritative pronouncements of this court on the issues that arise for consideration in these SLPs, there is no need to re-examine the limited point for which notice was issued. Therefore, the Special Leave Petitions are dismissed,” it said.

The top court judgment came on two separate appeals, where questions were raised whether life sentence awarded to them would be treated as rigorous imprisonment for life.

The bench said the issue raised has been authoritatively decided in various verdicts including the one involving younger brother of Nathuram Godse, convicted in the Mahatma Gandhi assassination case. The appeals were filed challenging two high courts judgments which upheld the conviction and sentence of petitioners for the offence of murder under Section 302 of the IPC.

The top court said it had relied upon on earlier judgements –1945 Privy Council case of Pandit Kishori Lal versus King Emperor and 1961 case of Gopal Vinayak Godse versus Maharashtra – while dealing with same question of law in 1985 case of Naib Singh versus Punjab, and held that “the sentence of imprisonment for life has to be equated to rigorous imprisonment for life”.

In Singh’s case, the top court noted that one of the points argued by the petitioner relates to sentence of imprisonment for life not to be equated to rigorous imprisonment for life. “The law laid down by this Court in Naib Singh was followed by this Court in three judgments – Dilpesh Balchandra Panchal v State of Gujarat, Sat Pal alias Sadhu v State of Haryana and Mohd. Munna v Union of India,” it said.

The top court junked the appeal filed by Md Alfaz Ali, who was convicted under Section 302 of the IPC and was sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for life. In 2016, the Gauhati High Court had dismissed his appeal against the conviction and sentence. In July 2018, the top court had agreed to hear his appeal restricted to the question of propriety of specifying rigorous imprisonment while imposing life sentence.

The top court also dismissed another appeal against the Himachal Pradesh High Court verdict, which upheld a man’s conviction and sentence under Section 302 of the IPC.

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Jailed father meets daughter for first time in 33 yrs

Since then he had tried four times to escape the prison cell, but each time he was caught and put behind the bars…reports Asian Lite News.

Even as Covid-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc across India, but the distressful situation has turned out to be a succour to the rarest of the rare reunion between a father and his daughter in Kerala, for the first time after 33 years.

The 65-year-old man Sivaji has been cooling his heels at the central prison in the state capital, while his 33-year-old daughter R. Ajitha decided to meet her father, whom she had never seen as he went underground, month after she was born in 1988. Later, he was arrested for murder in the same year.

Since then he had tried four times to escape the prison cell, but each time he was caught and put behind the bars.

Ajitha, who is an active CPI-M worker, recalled the sequence of events and is really excited that her efforts paid off and she was able to meet her father.

“My father while living in Alappuzha district had a tiff with a local Congress worker, in which the former sustained critical injuries. But, in 1985, a fight again ensued between the two, that resulted in the death of the Congressman and my father evaded the spot,” said Ajitha.

“After the murder, my father went underground and married my mother. But in 1988, he was arrested on the murder charge and I was then just a month old. Since then he attempted to escape four times from the jail and each time he was caught,” she added.

Following Sivaji’s arrest, his wife had committed suicide after one year, and by that time their she grew up in the company of her maternal grandmother who is presently 90-year-old.

As time passed by, Ajitha heard about Sivaji’s name from her relatives and much later she realised it was her father and is currently lodged in a jail.

“The first time when I decided to meet my father was after a TV programme telecast inside the jail premise and then I found out that my father was lodged at the central jail in the state capital. I had then started planning to meet him and got in touch with the local CPI-M leaders at Palakkad, where I live with my husband (who works in a food unit at Kozhikode) and three children,” Ajitha said.

Although officials did their best to help her, but the only hurdle according to Ajitha was the son of that slain Congress leader, who is now a police official.

“Even though the maximum sentence for a crime of this nature is 14 years and even when the extension is applied for each jail break, he ought to be free after 16 years, but what I was told is that the report against him inside the jail premise is bad and hence he continues to be there,” added Ajitha.

She said a glimmer of hope emerged last year, when the court decided to give parole for prisoners on account of Covid, but her father failed to get that benefit.

“But this time, when the apex court ruled again to give parole, my father got it and I came from Palakkad on Wednesday and met my father for the first time. We took the night train and reached home on Thursday morning.

My three kids and we are all happy, that we could finally get to see my father. We are all really delighted and the parole is now for three months, after which he will have to go back. Meanwhile, we will also try to see if he can get remission,” added Ajitha.

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