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Maldives High Court overturns ex-President Abdulla Yameen’s prison sentence

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Former President Abdulla Yameen's conviction was overturned before Sunday's parliamentary elections, in which he is fielding candidates. (Aljazeera)

A court in the Maldives has overturned the conviction of former President Abdulla Yameen and cancelled his 11-year prison sentence.

The High Court said on Thursday that his 2022 trial had been unfair and ordered a new trial.  “The lower court ruling was not fair,” Judge Hassan Shafeeu said while reading out a lengthy decision that was broadcast live.

The decision was made three days before the Indian Ocean archipelago nation holds a parliamentary election, in which Yameen is fielding candidates from a political party he formed while serving his sentence.

Yameen was convicted on two charges when a court found he had accepted a bribe to grant a lease on an islet for tourism development while he was in power from 2013 to 2018.

Thursday’s ruling set that verdict aside. The high court overturned the prison sentence due to procedural irregularities and ordered a lower court to restart the trial on charges of bribery and money laundering. Yameen is also on trial for separate bribery charges at the court.

Yameen’s co-accused Yusuf Naeem, a businessman who was said to have paid the alleged bribe of $1m, was also freed.

Yameen, 64, had been held at the high-security Maafushi Prison but was transferred to house arrest the day after his ally, Mohamed Muizzu, won presidential elections in September.

The pro-China former leader had borrowed heavily and built thousands of houses and other infrastructure during his five-year tenure.

The Maldives will hold its parliamentary election on Sunday.

(Aljazeera)



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US top court orders Trump to return man deported to El Salvador in ‘error’

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The Supreme Court refused to block a judge's order requiring the Trump administration to facilitate Mr Garcia's return (BBC)

The US Supreme Court has ordered the Trump administration to facilitate the return of a Maryland man, who was mistakenly deported to El Salvador’s notorious mega-jail.

The Trump administration had conceded that Kilmar Abrego Garcia was deported by accident, but appealed against a federal court’s order to return him to the US.

On Thursday, in a 9-0 ruling, the Supreme Court declined to block the lower court’s order.

The judge’s order “requires the Government to ‘facilitate’ Abrego Garcia’s release from custody in El Salvador and to ensure that his case is handled as it would have been had he not been improperly sent”, the justices ruled.

(BBC)

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Woman jailed over £39 donation to Ukraine freed in US-Russia prisoner swap

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Ksenia Karelina was detained in Yekaterinburg in 2024 [BBC]

A Russian-American citizen has been released in a prisoner swap between Moscow and Washington.

Amateur ballerina Ksenia Karelina, a Los Angeles resident, had been in prison in Russia for over a year, after being arrested in the city of Yekaterinburg in early 2024.

She was found guilty of treason for donating money to a US-based charity providing humanitarian support to Ukraine and was sentenced to 12 years in a penal colony.

In exchange, the US reportedly freed Arthur Petrov, a dual German-Russian citizen arrested in Cyprus in 2023. He was accused of illegally exporting microelectronics to Russia for manufacturers working with the Russian military.

[BBC]

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Nationwide strike for better pay brings Greece to standstill

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Demonstrators shout slogans during a protest, marking a 24-hour strike over low wages, in Athens, Greece, April 9, 2025 [Aljazeera]

A nationwide general strike disrupted public services across Greece, with ferries tied up in port, flights grounded and public transport running only part-time as labour unions press for higher wages to cope with rising living costs.

The 24-hour strike on Wednesday was called by the two main umbrella unions covering the public and private sectors, seeking a full return of collective bargaining rights which were scrapped as part of international bailouts during Greece’s financial crisis.

Greece has emerged from a 2009-18 debt crisis, which saw rolling cuts in wages and pensions in turn for bailouts worth about 290 billion euros ($319bn) and economic growth seen at 2.3 percent this year, outpacing other eurozone economies.

Tapping on the country’s progress, the conservative government increased the monthly minimum wage by a cumulative 35 percent to 880 euros ($970). But many households still struggle to make ends meet amid rising food, power and housing costs, the labour unions say.

The country braces for further global financial turmoil triggered by US tariffs.

[Aljazeera]

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