Latest news with #2ndCircuitU.S.CourtofAppeals
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
ICE ordered to return Tufts student Rumeysa Ozturk to Vermont
President Donald Trump's administration must return detained Tufts University student Rumeysa Ozturk to Vermont, an appeals court ruled Wednesday. Ozturk, a 30-year-old doctoral student originally from Turkey, has been held for weeks in an immigration jail in Louisiana while her case was argued in multiple courts. But the 2nd Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals gave ICE until May 14 to bring her back to Vermont. Vermont 'is likely the proper venue to adjudicate Ozturk's habeas petition because, at the time she filed, she was physically in Vermont,' the court wrote in its 45-page decision. Plainclothes federal agents arrested Ozturk on a Boston street on March 25, and her detainment was captured on video. She's one of several international students who have been detained for supporting pro-Palestine movements. Lawyers for Ozturk quickly filed a habeas corpus petition, arguing the government had denied Ozturk her rights to due process under the U.S. Constitution. She was being held in Vermont when the petition was filed. On May 1, a federal district judge in Vermont ruled that Ozturk should be returned to the state, but the Trump administration immediately appealed. On Wednesday, the 2nd Circuit Court rejected that appeal. 'No one should be arrested and locked up for their political views,' American Civil Liberties Union deputy director Esha Bhandari said in a press release. 'We're grateful the court refused the government's attempt to keep her isolated from her community and her legal counsel.' ____
Express Tribune
09-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Express Tribune
R. Kelly claims he wrote 25 albums while serving 30-year prison sentence for sex trafficking and racketeering
R&B singer R. Kelly, currently serving a 30-year sentence for sex trafficking and racketeering, claims to have written 25 albums since his incarceration. The 58-year-old artist made the revelation during a phone call to the Inmate Tea With A&P podcast, as reported by Billboard on March 7, 2025. Speaking through a monitored prison line, Kelly said he was asked to sing 'Happy Birthday' to someone on the show. The hosts, who referred to him as the 'King of R&B' and his former title, 'the Pied Piper of R&B,' reacted enthusiastically as he performed a snippet of his 1998 song When a Woman's Fed Up. When asked about his creative output in prison, Kelly described his musical talent as a 'beautiful disease that's uncurable.' He stated that despite his circumstances, he continues to write music and has completed approximately 25 albums. Kelly, whose real name is Robert Sylvester Kelly, was sentenced in 2021 after being convicted on federal charges in New York, including racketeering and sex trafficking. In 2022, he received additional convictions in Chicago related to child exploitation and coercion of minors. His convictions followed decades of allegations, including an illegal marriage to 15-year-old Aaliyah in 1994 and accusations of holding women in a 'cult-like' environment. Kelly remains hopeful for an early release, saying he wishes to resume his music career. However, last month, the 2nd Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals rejected his appeal of his New York conviction, meaning he could remain behind bars into his 80s if he serves his full sentence. Before his conviction, Kelly was known for his prolific career, releasing 18 studio albums and creating the Trapped in the Closet series. His legal team has denied the allegations made against him.
Yahoo
08-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Disgraced Singer R. Kelly Gives Interview From Behind Bars
R. Kelly, who is serving a decadeslong prison term on charges related to sexual abuse, has given a rare public interview. In a monitored phone call on Sunday with the podcast 'Inmate Tea with A&P,' the disgraced R&B singer claimed that he 'has written over 25 albums' since his incarceration began. Kelly began the interview, in which he expressed no contrition for his crimes, with an a capella rendition of his 1998 song 'When a Woman's Fed Up.' He was sentenced to 30 years behind bars in 2022 for racketeering and transporting minors across state lines for sexual activity. Later that year, he was convicted of multiple child pornography and sex abuse charges. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison on those charges, but was told he could serve all but one year concurrently with his prior 30-year sentence. In a documentary that aired last year, Kelly's daughter, Buku Abi, accused the artist of sexually abusing her during her childhood. 'I just remember waking up to him touching me,' Abi, born Joann Kelly, said in the two-part series, 'R. Kelly's Karma: A Daughter's Journey.' 'And I didn't know what to do, so I just kind of laid there, and I pretended to be asleep.' The singer's lawyer, Jennifer Bonjean, dismissed the allegations made by his daughter. During his interview with the podcast, the convicted sex criminal said that 'singing is a beautiful disease that's incurable.' Kelly, 58, continued by saying he is 'working on getting out and getting back to getting back to what it is God' gave him his talents for. He added that he is 'using patience as a tactic.' Before Kelly's first sentencing in 2022, victim witnesses Angela, Addie, Lizzette Martinez, Stephanie, Kitti Jones, Faith Rodgers and Sonja stepped up to the court podium to share their statements. Angela, who witnessed Kelly assault R&B singer Aaliyah and was also a victim of sexual assault herself in the early '90s, addressed her statement to Kelly directly. 'We are no longer the preyed upon individuals that we once were,' she read aloud. 'I am a representation of every woman, boy, child, man that you have ever afflicted with your deplorable, despicable acts. And with that I leave you with yourself, Robert Sylvester Kelly.' Last month, the 2nd Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in Manhattan denied Kelly's attempt to appeal his sex trafficking and racketeering charges, the Associated Press reported. Given his age, this ruling could result in him remaining incarcerated until his 80s if he serves the entirety of his sentence. R. Kelly's Daughter Accuses Him Of Sexually Abusing Her R. Kelly Sues YouTube Personality, Prison Bureau Over Alleged Leak Of Private Info R. Kelly Sentenced To 30 Years In Prison In Racketeering, Sex Trafficking Case
