Israel is on the edge. As Israeli officials believe that the International Criminal Court is preparing to issue arrest warrants. Reportedly, the warrants will be issued for senior government officials on charges related to the conflict with Hamas.The Israeli officials believe that PM Benjamin Netanyahu is among those who might be named in a warrant.

Israeli officials express concern over impending ICC arrest warrant for Benjamin Netanyahu

A Saudi court on Tuesday sentenced 15 people to death for spying for the kingdom&#39;s arch-enemy, Iran, Saudi-owned media reported, in a ruling that could further stoke tension between the two rival powers.

The Specialised Criminal Court in Riyadh sentenced 15 other suspects to prison terms ranging from six months to 25 years, and acquitted two, the Arabic-language al-Riyadh newspaper said on its website.

The suspects, comprising 30 Saudi Shi&#39;ite Muslims, one Iranian and an Afghan, were detained in 2013 on charges of spying for Iran and went on trial in February. The rulings are subject to appeal, and death sentences must go to the king for ratification.

The trial is the first in recent memory in which Saudi citizens have been accused of spying. It comes at a time of high tension between Saudi Arabia, the regional Sunni powerhouse, and Iran, a non-Arab Shi&#39;ite theocracy, over influence in the Middle East.

In January, Saudi Arabia executed a prominent Shi&#39;ite cleric convicted of involvement in the killing of policemen, prompting protesters to storm the Saudi embassy in Tehran. Riyadh then broke off diplomatic ties.

Many of the suspects are former employees of the Saudi defence and interior ministries, Saudi media said. They were accused of setting up a spy ring and passing sensitive military and security information to Iran, seeking to sabotage Saudi economic interests, undermining community cohesion and inciting sectarian strife.

The charges also included supporting protests in the Shi&#39;ite-majority region of Qatif in Eastern Province, recruiting others for espionage, sending encrypted reports to Iranian intelligence via email and committing high treason against the king.

Among those arrested in 2013 were an elderly university professor, a paediatrician, a banker and two clerics.

Most were from al-Ahsa, a mixed Shi&#39;ite and Sunni region that is home to around half the members of the kingdom&#39;s minority Shi&#39;ite community.

Saudi Arabia has blamed sporadic unrest among Shi&#39;ites in Qatif on Iran, but has never publicly presented evidence of a direct link between Tehran and those who took part in protests between 2011 and 2013. Iran denies any involvement.

Shi&#39;ites in Eastern Province say they face persistent discrimination affecting their ability to work, study and worship freely, charges Riyadh denies.

Relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran soured after the latter&#39;s 1979 revolution, which brought Shi&#39;ite clerics to power. Saudi Arabia follows the rigid Wahhabi school of Sunni Islam in which Shi&#39;ism is seen as heretical.

(Reuters)

The suspects, comprising 30 Saudi Shi'ite Muslims, were detained in 2013 on charges of spying for Iran and went on trial in February

A Saudi court on Tuesday sentenced 15 people to death for spying for the kingdom's arch-enemy, Iran, Saudi-owned media reported, in a ruling that could further stoke tension between the two rival powers. The Specialised Criminal Court in Riyadh sentenced 15 other suspects to prison terms ranging from six months to 25 years, and acquitted two, the Arabic-language al-Riyadh newspaper said on its website. The suspects, comprising 30 Saudi Shi'ite Muslims, one Iranian and an Afghan, were detained in 2013 on charges of spying for Iran and went on trial in February. The rulings are subject to appeal, and death sentences must go to the king for ratification. The trial is the first in recent memory in which Saudi citizens have been accused of spying. It comes at a time of high tension between Saudi Arabia, the regional Sunni powerhouse, and Iran, a non-Arab Shi'ite theocracy, over influence in the Middle East. In January, Saudi Arabia executed a prominent Shi'ite cleric convicted of involvement in the killing of policemen, prompting protesters to storm the Saudi embassy in Tehran. Riyadh then broke off diplomatic ties. Many of the suspects are former employees of the Saudi defence and interior ministries, Saudi media said. They were accused of setting up a spy ring and passing sensitive military and security information to Iran, seeking to sabotage Saudi economic interests, undermining community cohesion and inciting sectarian strife. The charges also included supporting protests in the Shi'ite-majority region of Qatif in Eastern Province, recruiting others for espionage, sending encrypted reports to Iranian intelligence via email and committing high treason against the king. Among those arrested in 2013 were an elderly university professor, a paediatrician, a banker and two clerics. Most were from al-Ahsa, a mixed Shi'ite and Sunni region that is home to around half the members of the kingdom's minority Shi'ite community. Saudi Arabia has blamed sporadic unrest among Shi'ites in Qatif on Iran, but has never publicly presented evidence of a direct link between Tehran and those who took part in protests between 2011 and 2013. Iran denies any involvement. Shi'ites in Eastern Province say they face persistent discrimination affecting their ability to work, study and worship freely, charges Riyadh denies. Relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran soured after the latter's 1979 revolution, which brought Shi'ite clerics to power. Saudi Arabia follows the rigid Wahhabi school of Sunni Islam in which Shi'ism is seen as heretical. (Reuters)

Saudi court sentences 15 to death for spying for Iran

Judges at the International Criminal Court on Tuesday sentenced former Congolese vice-president Jean-Pierre Bemba to 18 years in jail for a series of brutal rapes and murders in Central African Republic (CAR) over a decade ago. 
 
&quot;The chamber sentences Mr Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo to a total of 18 years of imprisonment,&quot; said judge Sylvia Steiner, passing the tribunal`s toughest term to date. 
 
In justifying the stiff ruling, she said the former militia leader had failed to exercise control over his private army sent into CAR in late October 2002 where they carried out a series of &quot;sadistic&quot; rapes, murders and pillaging of &quot;particular cruelty.&quot; 
 
Bemba is the highest-level official to be sentenced by the ICC after being convicted in March on five charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity. And he is the only the third person to be sentenced at the ICC since it began work in 2002. 
 
The atrocities were carried out by Bemba&#39;s private army, the Congolese Liberation Movement (MLC), when he sent them into neighbouring CAR in late October 2002 to put down a coup against then president Ange-Felix Patasse. 
 
The 1,500 troops unleashed a five-month campaign of terror, during which the judges said &quot;entire families were victimised&quot; and which was aimed at squashing any resistance to Patasse&rsquo;s rule. 
 
Prosecutors had called for a sentence of at least 25 years imprisonment at the end of Bemba&#39;s lengthy trial which opened in November 2010. 
 
The case however is likely to drag on for a few more years, as his defence team has already filed notice that it intends to appeal the conviction, and argued that Bemba should be released immediately as he has been behind bars since his arrest in 2008. 
 
But the three-judge bench said it had &quot;not found any mitigating circumstances&quot; to allow a reduction in sentence. 
 
Reading out their findings at the world&#39;s only permanent war crimes court, based in The Hague, judge Steiner said Bemba had done &quot;more than tolerate the crimes as a commander&quot;. 
 
&quot;Mr Bemba&#39;s failure to take action was deliberately aimed at encouraging the attacks directed against the civilian population,&quot; she said.Bemba, a rich businessman who became one of the vice presidents of the Democratic Republic of Congo, was arrested in Brussels in 2008 after losing a bid for his country&#39;s presidency. 
 
His case was the first at the ICC to focus on rape as a weapon of war and the first to highlight a military commander&#39;s responsibility for the conduct of the troops under his control. 
 
In a swift reaction, Human Rights Watch said in a statement on Twitter that it welcomed the sentence saying it &quot;offers a measure of justice for victims of sexual violence&quot; and serves as a warning to &quot;other commanders that they too can be held accountable for rapes and other serious abuses committed by troops under their control.&quot; 
 
But his defence has argued that &quot;the whole trial process was flawed and unfair and that Mr Bemba`s rights as an accused were violated throughout,&quot; his lawyer Peter Haynes said in a filing late Monday to the court. 
 
&quot;No reasonable trial chamber could have convicted him of the charges he faced,&quot; Haynes argued. 
 
He said Bemba was &quot;convicted of a case in which in material respects he was ignorant&quot; and that the former leader of the Democratic Republic of Congo was &quot;not liable as a superior for the actions of the MLC&quot; in CAR. 
 
In different cases, the ICC has previously sentenced two other Congolese warlords to 14 and 12 years respectively. 
 
?(AFP)

Bemba has become the highest-level official to be sentenced by the International Criminal Court which began work in 2002

Judges at the International Criminal Court on Tuesday sentenced former Congolese vice-president Jean-Pierre Bemba to 18 years in jail for a series of brutal rapes and murders in Central African Republic (CAR) over a decade ago. "The chamber sentences Mr Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo to a total of 18 years of imprisonment," said judge Sylvia Steiner, passing the tribunal`s toughest term to date. In justifying the stiff ruling, she said the former militia leader had failed to exercise control over his private army sent into CAR in late October 2002 where they carried out a series of "sadistic" rapes, murders and pillaging of "particular cruelty." Bemba is the highest-level official to be sentenced by the ICC after being convicted in March on five charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity. And he is the only the third person to be sentenced at the ICC since it began work in 2002. The atrocities were carried out by Bemba's private army, the Congolese Liberation Movement (MLC), when he sent them into neighbouring CAR in late October 2002 to put down a coup against then president Ange-Felix Patasse. The 1,500 troops unleashed a five-month campaign of terror, during which the judges said "entire families were victimised" and which was aimed at squashing any resistance to Patasse’s rule. Prosecutors had called for a sentence of at least 25 years imprisonment at the end of Bemba's lengthy trial which opened in November 2010. The case however is likely to drag on for a few more years, as his defence team has already filed notice that it intends to appeal the conviction, and argued that Bemba should be released immediately as he has been behind bars since his arrest in 2008. But the three-judge bench said it had "not found any mitigating circumstances" to allow a reduction in sentence. Reading out their findings at the world's only permanent war crimes court, based in The Hague, judge Steiner said Bemba had done "more than tolerate the crimes as a commander". "Mr Bemba's failure to take action was deliberately aimed at encouraging the attacks directed against the civilian population," she said.Bemba, a rich businessman who became one of the vice presidents of the Democratic Republic of Congo, was arrested in Brussels in 2008 after losing a bid for his country's presidency. His case was the first at the ICC to focus on rape as a weapon of war and the first to highlight a military commander's responsibility for the conduct of the troops under his control. In a swift reaction, Human Rights Watch said in a statement on Twitter that it welcomed the sentence saying it "offers a measure of justice for victims of sexual violence" and serves as a warning to "other commanders that they too can be held accountable for rapes and other serious abuses committed by troops under their control." But his defence has argued that "the whole trial process was flawed and unfair and that Mr Bemba`s rights as an accused were violated throughout," his lawyer Peter Haynes said in a filing late Monday to the court. "No reasonable trial chamber could have convicted him of the charges he faced," Haynes argued. He said Bemba was "convicted of a case in which in material respects he was ignorant" and that the former leader of the Democratic Republic of Congo was "not liable as a superior for the actions of the MLC" in CAR. In different cases, the ICC has previously sentenced two other Congolese warlords to 14 and 12 years respectively. ?(AFP)

Former Congolese vice-president Jean-Pierre Bemba sentenced to 18 years in jail

Thailand on Wednesday jailed a country singer and political activist for 7-1/2 years, on grounds of insulting the monarchy in a public speech made three years ago. 
 
The conviction swells a list of prosecutions pushed by Thailand`s military - the self-designated protectors of the monarchy - after it seized power in a coup two years ago. 
 
The junta has a zero-tolerance approach to criticism of the monarchy, making use of a draconian lese-majeste law that prescribes a prison term of up to 15 years for each offence. 
 
Thanat Thanawatcharanon, known by his stage name of Tom Dundee, gave waiting media the thumbs-up as he arrived at court on Wednesday, wearing an orange prison uniform. 
 
&quot;The sentence is much longer than we expected,&quot; said his lawyer, Saovalux Po-Ngam. &quot;We can lodge an appeal within a month but have to discuss first whether we will. In my personal view, the law should be scrapped, because the sentences are too long.&quot; 
 
Sentences for royal insults have become increasingly harsh under the junta, and one offender was jailed for a record 30 years in 2015. 
Thanat, who has been in prison since his arrest in 2014, had previously denied the charges but confessed in a sudden about-face in court on Monday. 
 
Confessing to a lese-majeste crime is routine practice in Thailand, where the accused often plead guilty in hopes of a more lenient sentence. 
 
Prosecutors said Thanat made defamatory comments against the monarchy during a 2013 speech to `red shirt` activists at a political rally in the capital, Bangkok. 
 
He was arrested and charged in July 2014, following pressure by an ultra royalist group on Thailand`s Department of Special Investigation to prosecute Thanat. 
 
For much of the past decade, Thailand has been divided along political lines between the mostly rural-based red shirt movement and the royalist-military establishment in the capital and south. 
 
Ailing King Bhumibol Adulyadej, 88, is revered by Thais who see him as a keystone of Thailand`s identity.

Thailand on Wednesday jailed a country singer and political activist for 7-1/2 years, on grounds of insulting the monarchy in a public speech made three years ago.

Thailand on Wednesday jailed a country singer and political activist for 7-1/2 years, on grounds of insulting the monarchy in a public speech made three years ago. The conviction swells a list of prosecutions pushed by Thailand`s military - the self-designated protectors of the monarchy - after it seized power in a coup two years ago. The junta has a zero-tolerance approach to criticism of the monarchy, making use of a draconian lese-majeste law that prescribes a prison term of up to 15 years for each offence. Thanat Thanawatcharanon, known by his stage name of Tom Dundee, gave waiting media the thumbs-up as he arrived at court on Wednesday, wearing an orange prison uniform. "The sentence is much longer than we expected," said his lawyer, Saovalux Po-Ngam. "We can lodge an appeal within a month but have to discuss first whether we will. In my personal view, the law should be scrapped, because the sentences are too long." Sentences for royal insults have become increasingly harsh under the junta, and one offender was jailed for a record 30 years in 2015. Thanat, who has been in prison since his arrest in 2014, had previously denied the charges but confessed in a sudden about-face in court on Monday. Confessing to a lese-majeste crime is routine practice in Thailand, where the accused often plead guilty in hopes of a more lenient sentence. Prosecutors said Thanat made defamatory comments against the monarchy during a 2013 speech to `red shirt` activists at a political rally in the capital, Bangkok. He was arrested and charged in July 2014, following pressure by an ultra royalist group on Thailand`s Department of Special Investigation to prosecute Thanat. For much of the past decade, Thailand has been divided along political lines between the mostly rural-based red shirt movement and the royalist-military establishment in the capital and south. Ailing King Bhumibol Adulyadej, 88, is revered by Thais who see him as a keystone of Thailand`s identity.

Thailand jails country singer for seven years in royal insult case

criminal-court

Criminal Court, News on Criminal Court, stories on Criminal Court, articles on Criminal Court, Criminal Court stories at Wion, Criminal Court news, Criminal Court latest news

criminal court

Israeli officials express concern over impending ICC arrest warrant for Benjamin Netanyahu

Saudi court sentences 15 to death for spying for Iran

Former Congolese vice-president Jean-Pierre Bemba sentenced to 18 years in jail

Thailand jails country singer for seven years in royal insult case