Latest news with #courtTrial
CTV News
7 days ago
- General
- CTV News
Tow truck operator says he can't recall how he ran over a London man causing his death
Testifying in his own defence, a tow-truck operator told a London courtroom that he's not sure how it all went down almost three years ago in south London after a 56-year-old London man was run over and killed. Abdul Kazoun, 26, says he was driving his tow truck in a parking lot at Wellington Road South and Southdale Road on July 22, 2022 and said, 'I'm not sure why I didn't see him.' Garnet Prydie was getting some fast food when he was struck and killed after suffering severe head injuries. Charged with dangerous driving causing death and leaving the scene of an accident, Kazoun has plead not guilty. Throughout his testimony Kazoun has stuck to his story saying, 'I don't remember exactly what happened in those couple of seconds, if I was looking straight, right or left.' After a week long trial, the case has now been adjourned until June 30th when both the Crown and the defence are expected to give closing arguments.
South China Morning Post
30-05-2025
- Entertainment
- South China Morning Post
Comedian Russell Brand denies rape and sex assault charges in UK court
British actor and comedian Russell Brand pleaded not guilty in a London court on Friday to charges of rape and sexual assault relating to four women more than two decades ago. Advertisement Brand, once one of Britain's most high-profile broadcasters and former husband of US pop singer Katy Perry, appeared at Southwark Crown Court and denied all five criminal charges. The 49-year-old has consistently denied having non-consensual sex since allegations were first aired two years ago. British prosecutors announced in April that Brand had been charged with two counts of rape, one count of indecent assault, and two counts of sexual assault against four women between 1999 and 2005. Brand, who previously gave his address as being in England but also lives in the US, is due to stand trial in June 2026. Russell Brand (left) and his now ex-wife, US pop singer Katy Perry in 2010. Photo: AP He spoke only to confirm his name and enter his five not guilty pleas, before leaving the court with his lawyer and some companions.
ABC News
16-05-2025
- Politics
- ABC News
Hadi Matar, who stabbed Salman Rushdie in eye onstage in New York, sentenced to 25 years
The man convicted of stabbing Salman Rushdie on a New York lecture stage in 2022, leaving the prize-winning author blind in one eye, has been sentenced to 25 years in prison. A jury found Hadi Matar, 27, guilty of attempted murder and assault in February. Matar received the maximum sentence of 25 years for the attack on Mr Rushdie and seven years for assault on another attendee at the speaking event. The sentences are to run concurrently. Mr Rushdie did not return to the western New York courtroom for his assailant's sentencing but submitted a victim impact statement. During the trial, the 77-year-old author was the key witness, describing how he believed he was dying when a masked attacker plunged a knife into his head and body more than a dozen times as he was being introduced at the Chautauqua Institution to speak about writer safety. "It was a stab wound in my eye, intensely painful, after that I was screaming because of the pain," Mr Rushdie said, adding that he was left in a "lake of blood." Matar -- who shouted pro-Palestinian slogans on several occasions during the trial -- stabbed Mr Rushdie about 10 times with a six-inch blade. Before being sentenced, Matar stood and made a statement about freedom of speech in which he called Mr Rushdie a hypocrite. In requesting the maximum sentence, Chautauqua County District Attorney Jason Schmidt told the judge that Matar "chose this". "He designed this attack so that he could inflict the most amount of damage, not just upon Mr Rushdie, but upon this community, upon the 1,400 people who were there to watch it," he said. Public defender Nathaniel Barone pointed out that Matar had an otherwise clean criminal record and disputed that the people in the audience should be considered victims, suggesting that a sentence of 12 years would be appropriate. After the attack, Mr Rushdie spent 17 days at a Pennsylvania hospital and more than three weeks at a New York City rehabilitation centre. The author of Midnight's Children, The Moor's Last Sigh and Victory City detailed his recovery in his 2024 memoir, Knife. Matar next faces a federal trial on terrorism-related charges . While the first trial focused mostly on the details of the knife attack itself, the next one is expected to delve into the more complicated issue of motive. Authorities said Matar, a US citizen, was attempting to carry out a decades-old fatwa, or edict, calling for Mr Rushdie's death when he travelled from his home in Fairview, New Jersey, to target Mr Rushdie at the summer retreat about 110 kilometres south-west of Buffalo. Matar believed the fatwa, first issued in 1989, was backed by the Lebanon-based militant group Hezbollah and endorsed in a 2006 speech by the group's secretary-general, Hassan Nasrallah, according to federal prosecutors. Iranian leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini issued the fatwa after publication of Mr Rushdie's novel, "The Satanic Verses", which some Muslims consider blasphemous. Mr Rushdie spent years in hiding, but after Iran announced it would not enforce the decree he travelled freely over the past quarter century. Matar pleaded not guilty to providing material to terrorists, attempting to provide material support to Hezbollah and engaging in terrorism transcending national boundaries. Video of the assault, captured by the venue's cameras and played at trial, shows Matar approaching the seated Mr Rushdie from behind and reaching around him to stab at his torso with a knife. As the audience gasps and screams, Mr Rushdie is seen raising his arms and rising from his seat, walking and stumbling for a few steps with Matar hanging on, swinging and stabbing until they both fall and are surrounded by onlookers who rush in to separate them. Jurors in Matar's first trial delivered their verdict after less than two hours of deliberation. ABC/wires
The National
16-05-2025
- The National
Man who stabbed author Salman Rushdie jailed for 25 years
The man convicted of stabbing Salman Rushdie on a New York lecture stage in 2022, leaving the prize-winning author blind in one eye, was sentenced on Friday to serve 25 years in prison. A jury found Hadi Matar, 27, guilty of attempted murder and assault in February. Rushdie did not visit the western New York courtroom for his assailant's sentencing but submitted a victim impact statement. During the trial, the 77-year-old author was the key witness, describing how he believed he was dying when a masked attacker plunged a knife into his head and body more than a dozen times as he was being introduced at the Chautauqua Institution in New York state to speak about writer safety. Before being sentenced, Matar stood and made a statement about freedom of speech, in which he called Rushdie a hypocrite. Matar received the maximum 25-year sentence for the attempted murder of Rushdie and seven years for wounding a man who was on stage with him. The sentences must run concurrently because both victims were injured in the same event, District Attorney Jason Schmidt said. In requesting the maximum sentence, Mr Schmidt told the judge that Matar 'chose this'. 'He designed this attack so that he could inflict the most amount of damage, not just upon Mr Rushdie, but upon this community, upon the 1,400 people who were there to watch it,' he said. Public defender Nathaniel Barone pointed out that Matar had an otherwise clean criminal record and disputed that the people in the audience should be considered victims, suggesting that a sentence of 12 years would be appropriate. Rushdie spent 17 days at a Pennsylvania hospital and more than three weeks at a New York City rehabilitation centre. The author of Midnight's Children, The Moor's Last Sigh and Victory City detailed his recovery in his 2024 memoir, Knife. Matar next faces a federal trial on terrorism-related charges. While the first trial focused mostly on the details of the knife attack itself, the next one is expected to delve into the more complicated issue of motive. Authorities said Matar, a US citizen, was attempting to carry out a decades-old fatwa, or edict, calling for Rushdie's death when he travelled from his home in Fairview, New Jersey, to target Rushdie at the summer retreat about 112km south-west of Buffalo. Matar believed the fatwa, first issued in 1989, was backed by the Lebanon-based militant group Hezbollah and endorsed in a 2006 speech by the group's secretary-general, Hassan Nasrallah, according to federal prosecutors. Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini issued the fatwa after publication of Rushdie's novel, The Satanic Verses, which some Muslims consider blasphemous. Rushdie spent years in hiding, but after Iran announced it would not enforce the decree, he had travelled freely over the past 25 years. Matar pleaded not guilty to a three-count indictment charging him with providing material to terrorists, attempting to provide material support to Hezbollah and engaging in terrorism transcending national boundaries. Video of the assault, captured by the venue's cameras and played at trial, show Matar approaching the seated Rushdie from behind and reaching around him to stab at his torso with a knife. As the audience gasps and screams, Rushdie is seen raising his arms and rising from his seat, walking and stumbling for a few steps with Matar hanging on, swinging and stabbing until they both fall and are surrounded by onlookers who rush in to separate them. Jurors in Matar's first trial delivered their verdict after less than two hours of deliberation.
BBC News
14-05-2025
- BBC News
Prisoner accused of breaching Emily Maitlis restraining order
A prisoner breached a restraining order by writing to television presenter Emily Maitlis from a jail, a court has Vines is on trial at Nottingham Crown Court, accused of breaching an order barring him from contacting the former BBC presenter, imposed by the same court, in said letters sent by Mr Vines, 54, included claims Ms Maitlis had been "scornful" to him during their friendship at were told that in a letter written to Ms Maitlis, who co-hosts The News Agents podcast, the defendant claimed he "regularly" suffers depression because their friendship ended, and has done for 30 years. The court heard Mr Vines is charged with three counts of breaching a restraining order and one count of attempting to breach a restraining order. The jury heard that the defendant sent envelopes addressed to the broadcaster and her parents, which were intercepted by prison staff at HMP Lowdham Grange in Nottinghamshire, where he was serving a Fergus Malone read letters to the court, posted by Mr Vines through the prison mailing system, which included Mr Vines saying he was "distraught" about the friendship ending, three months after he told Ms Maitlis he loved her, during their time at university in jury was told, in a letter dated in July 2023, addressed to Ms Maitlis, Mr Vines wrote: "I took the audacity of writing to you despite the restraining order because I'm still distraught about what took place between us in 1990."I regularly suffer depression over it and have for 30 years. I admit I'm not sure why I suffer so, but suffer I do." In a letter addressed to her mother, Mr Vines had described Ms Maitlis as "offish and scornful", the court the prosecution's case on Wednesday, Mr Malone told the jury: "The restraining order prohibited him [Mr Vines] from contacting Emily Maitlis, Marion Maitlis and Peter Maitlis. Emily Maitlis, you may have heard of, is a well-known broadcaster."The Crown's case is that the defendant wrote, addressed and posted letters whilst in prison to all three of those people between May 2023 and February 2024."Mr Vines was a serving prisoner at the time. "In this case, all the addressed and posted letters were intercepted by prison staff at Her Majesty's Prison Lowdham Grange."The likely issue in this case is whether the defendant, Mr Vines, had a reasonable excuse in law to breach the restraining order and that is a matter for him to present to you in due course."The prosecution also alleges that Mr Vines telephoned his brother in July 2023 and asked him to contact Marion trial continues.
