Latest news with #CriminalCourt
Mint
3 days ago
- Politics
- Mint
Slovakias Fico excoriates judge over central banker bribery conviction
May 30 (Reuters) - Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico lambasted a judge who fined central bank Governor Petr Kazimir for corruption on Thursday, saying the judge might be politically motivated and should be probed for criminal behaviour. Specialised Criminal Court judge Milan Cisarik imposed a 200,000 euro ($227,680) fine on Kazimir for bribing a tax authority chief when he was finance minister in Fico's previous government, before he took on the central bank job and a seat on the European Central Bank's policymaking council in 2019. Kazimir denied any wrongdoing. "The judge's decision raises the question whether it should have served political aims of the opposition to damage the ruling parties, because even a law faculty student must see fatal nonsense in the verdict," Fico said late Thursday. "I cannot shake off the feeling that it is justified to look at potential suspicion that the judge committed multiple criminal acts and at what the ruling was supposed to serve." The court declined to comment. Fico regularly accused prosecutors and judges of improperly targeting him and his allies when he was in opposition in 2020-2023. The ruling is not final, as Kazimir flagged he would appeal to a higher court, and so it does not force him to stand down from the central bank. His term ends on June 1, but he will stay on until a replacement is appointed. There has been no political agreement for a process involving the government, parliament and president. Nationalist European leaders like Fico and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban have often attacked the judiciary and clashed with the European Union over the rule of law. In February, thousands of Hungarian judges, court staff and supporters marched to the ministry of justice to demand judicial independence, freedom of expression and better pay. ($1 = 0.8823 euros) (Reporting by Jan Lopatka in Prague. Editing by Mark Potter)
Daily Tribune
5 days ago
- Daily Tribune
Two face human trafficking charges
The Deputy Chief Prosecutor for Human Trafficking announced that the Public Prosecution has concluded its investigation into a human trafficking case involving two Asian nationals, who have now been referred to the Criminal Court. The first hearing is scheduled for June 3, 2025. The case originated from a report submitted by the Anti-Human Trafficking Department, which alleged that the defendants had trafficked a female victim by coercing her into illegal and immoral acts for financial gain. Upon receiving the report, the Public Prosecution promptly launched an investigation. Testimony Authorities took the victim's testimony and placed her in a shelter operated by the National Committee to Combat Trafficking in Persons, as part of protective measures routinely applied in such cases. The accused were interrogated, and legal actions were initiated against them. Police investigations were also requested and corroborated the victim's account. Investigators involved in the case provided further testimony supporting the charges. All investigative procedures have been reviewed.
BreakingNews.ie
6 days ago
- General
- BreakingNews.ie
Man who started fire on Luas during Dublin riots to be sentenced in October
A man who started a fire on a Luas during the Dublin riots has been remanded in custody pending sentence next October. Evan Moore (20) of Grangemore Road, Donaghmede, Dublin 13, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to rioting, damaging a Luas by fire and damaging the windows of a Luas tram on November 23rd, 2025. Moore was spotted by gardaí at another anti-immigration protest the following May and admitted immediately that he had been at the Dublin riots. Advertisement The riot broke out after a five-year-old girl was severely wounded in a stabbing at Parnell Square earlier that day, where two other children and a crèche worker were also injured The court heard that the Luas service was suspended for 24 hours and the damage to the tram was estimated at just under €5 million after seats and wiring was damaged. The estimated cost of the clean up by council workers in the days after the riot was €159,000 and €115,000 worth of damaged had been caused to property in the area. CCTV A 12 minute long video – a compilation of CCTV footage and videos on social media from the day – was played to the court. This demonstrated that Moore's involvement in the riot lasted from 7.05pm to 7.40pm that evening. Advertisement He could be seen on the footage moving a bin that was alight and bringing it onto the Luas before damage windows on the tram. Detective Inspector Ken Hoare accepted in cross-examination by Seoirse Ó Dúnlaing SC, defending, that subsequent analysis of Moore's phone found conversations with his mother in which she was asking her son to return home from town. 'Scumbags wrecking their own city,' Moore's mother messaged following by a message a minute later: 'Get out before it is too late and something happens.' Then finally she messaged him: 'Please, please leave Evan….my heart is racing'. Advertisement Det Insp Hoare agreed with Mr Ó Dúnlaing that Moore's parents found it 'abhorrent' that their son was in the city centre that day and the messages found on his phone 'were reflective of his family's attitude to him being there'. Det Insp Hoare told Stephen Montgomery BL, prosecuting, that a group of anti-immigrant protestors had gathered at the Garden of Remembrance around 3.30pm following the earlier incident at Parnell Square. A hostile crowd gathered around 4pm at Cavendish Row, at the bottom of O'Connell Street and the Luas line was blocked there by the gathering. A total of 600 gardaí were deployed to deal with the riot and it was estimated that at its height, 500 rioters were involved. Advertisement Det Insp Hoare confirmed that the riot began with the burning of a garda vehicle. A Luas tram was initially blocked at 4.40pm by around 10 protestors preventing it from passing onto O'Connell Street. The passengers got off the Luas but the driver remained on it until the violence escalated. He was then removed for his own safety and the tram was locked. Det Insp Hoare said the footage showed Moore damaging widows on the Luas around 7.30pm before he and others brought materials from a bin that had been set on fire onto the tram. 17,000 hours footage Gardaí viewed 17,000 hours of CCTV footage and identified over 100 suspect rioters. Advertisement In May the following year during another anti-immigration protest, Moore was spotted by officers. He was stopped and admitted that he had been in the city centre the previous November during the riots. His home was later searched and his phone seized for analysis. He was arrested on May 14th, 2024 and during interview Moore identified himself on footage. He agreed that he had got 'caught up in the moment' and that he was ashamed of his behaviour and regretted his involvement. Det Insp Hoare confirmed that Moore has no previous convictions and was 18 years old at the time of the riots. He agreed with Mr Ó Dúnlaing that the riot was 'one of the most shameful acts in Irish history'. He acknowledged that Moore made immediate admissions when he was stopped by gardaí during the May protest. Det Insp Hoare agreed that there were different levels of criminality involved in the riot that day which had started on the back of 'a horrific attack on a child'. He acknowledged that many young people had 'been whipped up into a frenzy' by ill-informed 'malignant narcissists' and 'horrific racist commentary' on social media following the attack. Det Insp Hoare accepted that Moore was one of those people that fell into the category of being 'whipped up' and influenced by others. Moore's mother, Karen Moore, told Mr Ó Dúnlaing that she had pleaded with her son to come home once she had learned he had gone into the city. She said she was disgusted, embarrassed and ashamed by his behaviour. 'He was always raised to respect the law and the gardaí,' she said. She agreed that he has since completed an anti-racism course online and is an apprentice electrician. Mr Ó Dúnlaing submitted that his client is from a stable family and has positive employment and is someone who could engage positively in society. A letter of apology was handed to the court. Counsel said Moore was also involved with his local GAA club. 'He can be a force for good,' Mr Ó Dúnlaing submitted. He said his client was a 'very impressionable young person' at the time that had been 'swept up in anti-immigrant sentiment'. He asked for the case to be adjourned to allow for the preparation of a probation report. Judge Orla Crowe said a probation report would be of assistance adding that there were 'particularly troubling aspects in the case'. She revoked Moore's bail and remanded him in custody until October 13th next for sentence and ordered the preparation of a report from the Probation Service.
Irish Times
6 days ago
- General
- Irish Times
Richard Satchwell trial: Jury to resume considering verdict on Wednesday
A Central Criminal Court jury will on Wednesday resume considering its verdict in the trial of Richard Satchwell, who denies the murder of his wife at their Co Cork home. The skeletal remains of Tina Satchwell were found under the couple's home in October 2023, more than six years after her husband reported her missing. Mr Satchwell (58), a lorry driver, has pleaded not guilty to the murder of his 45-year-old wife Tina at their home at No 3 Grattan Street, Youghal, on March 19th and 20th, 2017. The trial, now in its fifth week, heard evidence from more than 50 witnesses before the jury heard closing speeches on behalf of the prosecution and defence. READ MORE On Tuesday, Mr Justice Paul McDermott completed his directions to the jury on the evidence and law. At 3.05pm, he asked the seven women and five men to begin their deliberations. Just before 4pm, the jury were, at their request, sent home. The judge asked them to return to court at 10.30am on Wednesday to resume considering their verdict. The jury has been told there are three possible verdicts open to them – not guilty of murder; guilty of murder; and not guilty of murder but guilty of manslaughter. It is also open to them to consider, depending on their view of the evidence, a defence of partial self-defence and a defence of full self-defence, the judge said. The trial heard Mr Satchwell went to Fermoy garda station on March 24th, 2017, where he told a garda his wife had disappeared from their home four days later. He believed she had left him and had taken €26,000 cash savings. He told a garda he was not concerned about her safety. After gardaí interviewed him in early May 2017, he formally reported his wife as a missing person about a week later. Gardaí, increasingly concerned something untoward had happened to Ms Satchwell, obtained a warrant search the couple's home in June 2017 when devices were seized. In October 2023, gardaí carried out a full invasive search of the property, using a cadaver dog. Skeletal remains identified as Ms Satchwell were found on October 11th, 2023, buried in a grave site about one metre deep in an area under the stairs in the sitting room. Mr Satchwell, who had been arrested but released before the remains were found, was rearrested and, during another interview with gardaí, told them his wife had flown at him with a chisel on the morning of March 20th 2017. He said he fell and she came on top of him trying to stab him with the chisel. He said, while fending her off with the belt of her dressing gown robe which was up around her neck, she went limp and died. He told gardaí there was 'no premeditation' and he had not called emergency services due to 'panic and shame'. A post-mortem examination of the remains was, due to lapse of time, unable to establish a cause of death. The jury heard there was no evidence of fractures to the bones, including the hyoid bone in the neck.
Irish Times
6 days ago
- General
- Irish Times
‘Get out before it is too late': Mother of man who started Luas fire during Dublin riots pleaded with him to leave
A man who started a fire on a Luas during the Dublin riots has been remanded in custody pending sentence next October. Evan Moore (20) of Grangemore Road, Donaghmede, Dublin 13, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to rioting, damaging a Luas by fire and damaging the windows of a Luas tram on November 23rd, 2025. Moore was spotted by gardaí at another anti-immigration protest the following May and admitted immediately that he had been at the Dublin riots. The riot broke out after a five-year-old girl was severely wounded in a stabbing at Parnell Square earlier that day, where two other children and a crèche worker were also injured The court heard that the Luas service was suspended for 24 hours and the damage to the tram was estimated at just under €5 million after seats and wiring was damaged. READ MORE The estimated cost of the clean up by council workers in the days after the riot was €159,000 and €115,000 worth of damaged had been caused to property in the area. A 12 minute long video – a compilation of CCTV footage and videos on social media from the day – was played to the court. This demonstrated that Moore's involvement in the riot lasted from 7.05pm to 7.40pm that evening. He could be seen on the footage moving a bin that was alight and bringing it onto the Luas before damage windows on the tram. Detective Inspector Ken Hoare accepted in cross-examination by Seoirse Ó Dúnlaing SC, defending, that subsequent analysis of Moore's phone found conversations with his mother in which she was asking her son to return home from town. 'Scumbags wrecking their own city,' Moore's mother messaged following by a message a minute later: 'Get out before it is too late and something happens.' Then finally she messaged him: 'Please, please leave Evan….my heart is racing'. Det Insp Hoare agreed with Mr Ó Dúnlaing that Moore's parents found it 'abhorrent' that their son was in the city centre that day and the messages found on his phone 'were reflective of his family's attitude to him being there'. Det Insp Hoare told Stephen Montgomery BL, prosecuting, that a group of anti-immigrant protestors had gathered at the Garden of Remembrance around 3.30pm following the earlier incident at Parnell Square. A hostile crowd gathered around 4pm at Cavendish Row, at the bottom of O'Connell Street and the Luas line was blocked there by the gathering. A total of 600 gardaí were deployed to deal with the riot and it was estimated that at its height, 500 rioters were involved. Det Insp Hoare confirmed that the riot began with the burning of a garda vehicle. A Luas tram was initially blocked at 4.40pm by around 10 protestors preventing it from passing onto O'Connell Street. The passengers got off the Luas but the driver remained on it until the violence escalated. He was then removed for his own safety and the tram was locked. Det Insp Hoare said the footage showed Moore damaging widows on the Luas around 7.30pm before he and others brought materials from a bin that had been set on fire onto the tram. Gardaí viewed 17,000 hours of CCTV footage and identified over 100 suspect rioters. In May the following year during another anti-immigration protest, Moore was spotted by officers. He was stopped and admitted that he had been in the city centre the previous November during the riots. His home was later searched and his phone seized for analysis. He was arrested on May 14th, 2024 and during interview Moore identified himself on footage. He agreed that he had got 'caught up in the moment' and that he was ashamed of his behaviour and regretted his involvement. Det Insp Hoare confirmed that Moore has no previous convictions and was 18 years old at the time of the riots. He agreed with Mr Ó Dúnlaing that the riot was 'one of the most shameful acts in Irish history'. He acknowledged that Moore made immediate admissions when he was stopped by gardaí during the May protest. Det Insp Hoare agreed that there were different levels of criminality involved in the riot that day which had started on the back of 'a horrific attack on a child'. He acknowledged that many young people had 'been whipped up into a frenzy' by ill-informed 'malignant narcissists' and 'horrific racist commentary' on social media following the attack. Moore's mother, Karen Moore, told Mr Ó Dúnlaing that she had pleaded with her son to come home once she had learned he had gone into the city. She said she was disgusted, embarrassed and ashamed by his behaviour. ' He was always raised to respect the law and the gardaí,' she said. She agreed that he has since completed an anti-racism course online and is an apprentice electrician. Mr Ó Dúnlaing submitted that his client is from a stable family and has positive employment and is someone who could engage positively in society. A letter of apology was handed to the court. Judge Orla Crowe remanded him in custody until October 13th next for sentence and ordered the preparation of a report from the Probation Service.
