Latest news with #vigilantejustice
France 24
11-07-2025
- France 24
Mob lynches five alleged thieves in quake-hit Guatemalan town
The incident occurred on Thursday night in Santa Maria de Jesus, the municipality worst affected by the tremors of up to 5.7 magnitude, which began on Tuesday. "Residents detained five people who were beaten and lynched because they were accused of being thieves," police spokesman Cesar Mateo said. The men were accused of using the cover of darkness to break into homes following the earthquakes, which led people to sleep in shelters or with relatives, he told AFP. "While it's true that robbery is illegal, lynching is also a crime," Mateo said. Vigilante violence is common in Guatemala in response to impunity exploited by criminals. Videos circulating on social media showed a man being beaten on the ground by residents and then set on fire with gasoline. Santa Maria de Jesus, home to an Indigenous Mayan community, had no power and access roads were cut off by landslides, prompting the government to fly in humanitarian aid. Around half of all buildings in the municipality of 27,000 residents had some kind of damage, according to mayor Mario Perez. Between 2008 and 2020, vigilante justice left 361 people dead and 1,396 injured in the Central American country, according to Mutual Support Group, a local civil society organization.
News.com.au
09-07-2025
- News.com.au
Grindr sex pest with ‘fear of persecution in Lebanon' should be granted protection visa, tribunal rules
WARNING: Graphic content A convicted child sex pest from Lebanon who was caught in a vigilante sting attempting to meet a 15-year-old boy on Grindr should be allowed to stay in the country due to his 'low risk of reoffending' and 'contribution to the Australian community', a tribunal has ruled. The Administrative Review Tribunal (ART) on Friday set aside a decision by the Department of Home Affairs to refuse a permanent protection visa to the 37-year-old on character grounds. 'The visa was cancelled by the department, reinstated by the ART, and a file is now on its way to the Assistant Minister to consider cancellation again,' Immigration Minister Tony Burke said in a statement to The IT worker, referred to only as DJHT, first arrived in Australia as a skilled migrant at the age of 28 and was later granted a resident return visa, which was subsequently cancelled in July 2024. He was placed in immigration detention but applied for a permanent protection visa last September. In February, another delegate of the Minister found DJHT was owed protection obligations as he had a 'well founded fear of persecution' in Lebanon due to his sexual orientation. He was released on a bridging visa under strict daily reporting requirements. The man, a Shia Muslim who identifies as bisexual, said in a statement supporting his protection visa application that he has a 'strong attraction to men' and has an 'attraction to teenage boys', which he knows is wrong. In October 2020, he was caught in an amateur 'predator catcher' style sting, when an unidentified man created a fake Grindr profile using the name 'Jacob' and began exchanging messages with DJHT. The man claimed he was a virgin, that he was 'only 15' and that he had 'never done anything with people before'. DJHT then sent several sexually explicit messages to 'Jacob' and tried to arrange a meeting with him. 'You haven't hot [sic] a suck before?' he wrote in one message, court documents state. 'Did someone suck you off before?' When 'Jacob' responded 'nah never', he wrote, 'Then I'll be the first … I'm cheeky so I will be grabbing it and sucking it for you. You can f**k me as well that's for being a friend.' DJHT wrote that 'I'll help you and you will enjoy it to the maximum' and pressed 'Jacob' for a meeting, repeatedly commenting 'show me your c**k'. The man behind the 'Jacob' account arranged a meeting at a park near DJHT's home, where he confronted him and recorded him on video before handing the information to police. DJHT was arrested and released on bail. In 2022, he pleaded guilty to using a carriage service to transmit a communication to a person he believed to be under 16 with the intention of procuring that person to engage in sexual activity. He was handed a 27-month suspended sentence and placed on a two-year good behaviour bond. He complied with his reporting obligations to Sutherland Community Corrections and will remain on the child sex offender registry until 2030. In sentencing remarks, the court noted DJHT had no prior criminal history and that the offending 'was in the lower range', being 'opportunistic' and 'unsophisticated' and involving a 'fictitious victim' at the top of the age range. DJHT's application for a permanent protection visa was denied by the Minister in April. He sought a review of the decision later that month and the matter was heard by the ART in June. The government had rejected DJHT's position that there was a remote or very low risk that he would reoffend, arguing he lacked insight into his offending and had not undergone sufficient rehabilitation. In her decision, ART senior member Kim Rosser said she was 'of the view that the risk that the applicant will reoffend is low … even in stressful circumstances'. 'I accept that the applicant is genuinely remorseful and that he is ashamed of his behaviour,' she said. 'I do not consider that the fact that the applicant is seeking a visa which would allow him to remain in Australia indefinitely increases the risk of him reoffending.' She accepted evidence provided by DJHT's psychologist that 'shame was the strongest factor that would deter reoffending', as he 'comes from a conservative Middle Eastern culture, which would make such an act even more shameful'. Ms Rosser found a number of factors weighed against granting DJHT a protection visa, including both the 'protection' and 'expectations' of the Australian community. But she gave strong weight to factors in his favour, including the potential legal consequences for DJHT — most seriously the possibility of deportation from Australia to a safe third country such as Nauru. 'In my view, being indefinitely subject to BVR [bridging visa] conditions with the possibility of being removed from Australia at some unspecified time in the future are significant legal consequences of the decision,' she said. 'Overall, whether the applicant is removed to a third country at some time in the future or remains in Australia as the holder of a BVR, I consider that the legal consequences consideration weighs strongly in favour of granting the protection visa.' She also noted his recent charity and volunteer work, including 'beach litter cleaning efforts and, on occasion, setting up sound systems and cameras for community events'. Prior to committing the offence, DJHT had worked for an IT company and required a security clearance, which he lost as a result of the charges. He currently works for another IT company full-time as a senior systems engineer and runs a small consultancy, doing some pro bono work. 'The applicant came to Australia as a skilled migrant and continues to work in the area of his expertise, which represents a contribution to the Australian community, as do the applicant's pro bono and volunteer activities,' Ms Rosser said. 'I conclude that the considerations that weigh in favour of the applicant outweigh the primary considerations of the protection and the expectations of the Australian community.' Ms Rosser found that 'a decision that would result in the applicant remaining in Australia on a bridging visa potentially for the rest of his life — or possibly being removed from Australia in the future — is not an appropriate exercise of [the Minister's] discretion, particularly given the applicant's ties to the community and the contribution he makes to the community through his skilled employment and other activities'. The ART, established last year to replace the former Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT), examines rulings under around 400 Commonwealth laws, including immigration and citizenship, social security payments, child support, the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) and taxation. In cases where the ART overturns a visa cancellation or refusal, the Immigration Minister or Assistant Minister can intervene and uphold the original decision. Were that to happen, the applicant could then seek judicial review from the federal court.
The Sun
08-07-2025
- The Sun
Horror moment German Shepherd is dragged behind car to her death – before vigilantes wreak revenge on owner's house
THIS is the harrowing moment a German Shepherd is dragged to its death by its lead from a fast-moving car in Belgium. The owner's house was burned down by furious vigilantes seeking "revenge" - but he claims the whole thing was a tragic accident. 3 Footage captured by another motorist - too graphic to publish in full - shows the lifeless dog pinned against the right side of a car driving through Dalhem, eastern Belgium. It appears to be held fast by the neck, with its head up by the rear passenger window. The rest of its body hangs down and drags along the road - with damage to its lower limbs evident. The dog was dragged like this for several miles at around 50mph. The footage was posted to Facebook in a now-deleted post - and sparked a storm of anger. An online manhunt ensued and, despite the car's number plate being blurred out, sleuths were able to track down the owner. At first he was subjected only to online threats - but this escalated severely when somebody set fire to his home, with the man inside. He was able to leave the house, which was also vandalised with messages including "dog killer" and "revenge for your dog". The owner went to the police station to give his version of events. He claimed his dog's death was a complete accident, according to the Liège prosecutor's office. Tourist who kicked sniffer dog 'so hard it flew into the air' at US airport is deported after being slapped with fine He said he had left the dog in the car boot while he went to a cafe but, unbeknown to him, it had jumped through the window, which had apparently been broken. The man said he got in the car and drove off believing his pet was asleep in the back. Prosecutors reported: "He said he was alerted to the situation by a female driver flashing her headlights. "It was at that moment that he realized his dog was hanging outside the right rear window of his vehicle. "The man untied it, put it in the trunk, and drove off." The local's friends flocked to his defence, insisting that the pooch was like his son. One said: "He would never hurt his dog." Another said: "He never leaves Ares's side, whether it's to go to work or to come to the cafe." And a third vowed they had never seen the pet owner be violent towards an animal. One of his supporters said that the man was deeply upset by the death of his dog. They speculated that a passerby had broken the window out of misplaced concern for the creature left in the car. The mayor of Oupeye said he was "shocked by the dramatic turn of events in the case". Mayor Serge Fillot said: "Personally, it is the first time that I have witnessed this type of event, namely a shocking, dramatic event, which is publicized, followed by a manhunt organized on Facebook with an identification of the person, whom I know, and which leads during the night to revenge, an attempt at revenge which could also have resulted in the death of the person." Prosecutors are running two concurrent investigations: one into possible animal abuse and the other into the threats and arson against the owner. 3
Daily Mail
08-07-2025
- Daily Mail
Thug is filmed killing his dog by dragging it behind his car at 50mph for several miles - before online vigilantes track him down in Belgium and burn down his house in ‘attempted murder'
Online vigilantes set fire to a man's house after he was filmed killing his dog by dragging it behind his car for several miles. Horrific footage shows the lifeless German Shepherd hanging from its leash while being towed at 50mph across a road in Belgium. The sickening video, taken on July 4, quickly went viral after it was posted on Facebook by a shocked witness named Victoria. Although the driver's license plate was obscured, users were quickly able to identify him and find out where he lived. The thug received numerous hate messages, and a petition with over 50,000 signatures was launched demanding 'justice for the dragged dog.' But, the case took a more serious turn on Monday morning after appalled animal lovers decided to take the law into their own hands, tracking down the thug before burning his house to the ground in an 'attempted murder'. Serge Fillot, the mayor of Oupeye, the town where the dog's owner lives, said: 'I was called around 3.00 or 3.30am. 'I was told that the dog owner's house had been set on fire. Fortunately, he managed to get out on his own.' Horrific footage shows a lifeless German Shepherd hanging from its leash while being towed at 50mph across a road in Belgium He said that action against the man was 'unacceptable' even if the dog's death was 'cruel' and 'tragic'. 'If someone deliberately set fire at night while someone was in the house, that's attempted murder,' Fillot told German media outlet RTL. The residence was also spray painted with the words 'Dog killer'. 'We will secure the premises, and measures will be taken to protect this person, both at their workplace and at their home,' added the mayor. The Public Prosecutor has opened a separate investigation into the arson attack. 'An expert has been requested to determine the cause of the fire,' it stated. 'The initial investigation suggests that it was arson committed at night while people were present in the home.' The perpetrator of the arson faces a sentence of up to 30 years in prison. Both investigations are continuing, both into the animal abuse and the arson charges. According to initial findings from the investigation, the dog's owner went to the Hermalle police station on Saturday morning and claimed that his dog found itself in this position after jumping out of the window without him realizing it. Victoria, who witnessed this scene of 'unbearable cruelty' firsthand, recounted in the Facebook post that she repeatedly honked her horn to make the animal's owner stop. 'He finally stopped his vehicle and approached me, asking if I was the one honking,' she said. Victoria then asked him if he thought it was normal to treat her dog like that. 'I do what I want, it's my dog,' the man allegedly replied, before taking the animal off its leash and 'throwing it in the trunk of his car like a common thing.'
Yahoo
01-07-2025
- Yahoo
3 arrested after allegedly assaulting a man who they say tried to meet a 14-year-old for sex
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — Three people are under investigation for allegedly assaulting a Bakersfield man who they say tried to meet a 14-year-old girl for sex. The three are accused of posing as the girl online, setting a meet up and robbing a man in the process. Child predator vigilantes: a relatively new social media trend, in which regular people pose as a young boy or girl online. This type of vigilante justice was popularized by Twitch live streamers and YouTube channels. Sergeant Dennis Eddy with Bakersfield police says these operations don't help the police department or the victim. 'While the vigilantes are getting clicks on his Instagram page, the suspect is deleting his messages off of his phone. He's getting rid of the digital evidence he might have,' said Sgt. Eddy. On Thursday, one of these vigilante stings got violent. In a search warrant obtained by 17 News, the sheriff's office was called to a home on Enger Street, regarding a suspicious investigation involving an adult. When deputies arrived, 21-year-old Michael Mercure told them he used a snapchat account, posing as a 14-year-old girl, and had messaged a man, and arranged a meet-up. Inside the home was 21-year-old Jaiden Day and 18-year-old Mackenzie Munoz; both believed to have taken part of what happened next. The man appeared to have been physically assaulted, handcuffed on one hand and had his head partially shaved. Human trafficking suspect pleads no contest to all charges He told police that during the incident someone stole his $1000 dollar gold necklace and his wallet with $300 dollars in cash. Instead of the alleged child predator going to jail, the trio was taken. Sgt. Eddy says this is common with predator-vigilante cases. 'They could be wrong. Meaning that they haven't met the elements of what constitutes a crime but they're going there pretending that they have met that established law and they haven't yet. By detaining them or by holding them against their will, they are committing a crime,' Sgt. Eddy said. Sgt. Eddy says the best way to help catch child predators, is to contact law enforcement. 'What really helps the victim, is reaching out to law enforcement who know how to work these cases,' said Sgt. Eddy. We reached out to the sheriff's office and asked if the man who was allegedly assaulted was going to be arrested, but as of newstime we haven't heard back. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
