Latest news with #life sentence
France 24
3 days ago
- Politics
- France 24
France court orders release of Lebanese militant after four decades in prison
Abdallah, 74, is one of the longest serving prisoners in France, where most convicts serving life sentences are freed after less than 30 years. He has been up for release for 25 years, but the United States -- a civil party to the case -- has consistently opposed him leaving prison. Abdallah was detained in 1984 and sentenced to life in prison in 1987 for his involvement in the murders of US military attache Charles Robert Ray and Israeli diplomat Yacov Barsimantov in Paris. The Lebanese of Maronite Christian heritage has always insisted he is a "fighter" who battled for the rights of Palestinians and not a "criminal". The Paris Appeals Court ordered he be freed from a prison in the south of France next week, on Friday, July 25, on the condition that he leave French territory and never return. It said the length of his detention had been "disproportionate" and that he no longer represented a danger to the public. Several sources before the hearing said that it was planned for him to be flown to Paris and then to Beirut. Prosecutors can file an appeal with France's highest court, the Court of Cassation, but any such request is not expected to be processed fast enough to halt his release next week. 'Delighted' The detainee's brother, Robert Abdallah, in Lebanon told AFP he was overjoyed. "We're delighted. I didn't expect the French judiciary to make such a decision nor for him to ever be freed, especially after so many failed requests for release," he said. "For once, the French authorities have freed themselves from Israeli and US pressure," he added. Lebanese authorities have repeatedly said Abdallah should be freed from jail, and had written to the appeals court to say they would organise his return home. Abdallah's lawyer Jean-Louis Chalanset also welcomed the decision, calling it a "political scandal he was not released earlier". In November last year, a French court ordered him to be let go conditional on Abdallah leaving France. But France's anti-terror prosecutors, arguing that he had not changed his political views, appealed the decision, which was suspended. A verdict was supposed to have been delivered in February, but the Paris appeals court postponed, saying it was unclear whether Abdallah had proof that he had paid compensation to the plaintiffs, something he has consistently refused to do. 'Past symbol' The court re-examined the latest request for his release last month. During the closed-door hearing, Abdallah's lawyer told the judges that 16,000 euros had been placed in the prisoner's bank account and were at the disposal of civil parties in the case, including the United States, according to several sources who attended. Abdallah, who hails from the north of Lebanon, was wounded as a teenager when Israel invaded the south of the country in 1978 in the early years of the Lebanese Civil War. As an adult, he founded the Lebanese Armed Revolutionary Factions -- LARF, a Marxist pro-Syria and anti-Israel group that has now been dissolved. After his arrest in 1984, French police discovered submachine guns and transceiver stations in one of his Paris apartments. The appeals court in February however noted that the FARL "had not committed a violent action since 1984" and that Abdallah "today represented a past symbol of the Palestinian struggle". Lebanon hosts tens of thousands of Palestinians, according to the United Nations, most descendants of those who fled or were expelled from their land during the creation of Israel in 1948.
BBC News
4 days ago
- BBC News
Triple murderer's life sentence reviewed in court
Update: Date: 10:35 BST Title: Luton judge's reasons for not imposing a whole-life order Content: The Court of Appeal hearing will be presided over by the Lady Chief Justice Baroness Carr, Mr Justice Goss and Mr Justice Wall and it is due to begin at 10:30 at the Royal Courts of Justice in London. They will consider whether the setting of the 49-year minimum term was correct, or whether a whole-life order should now be made. Sentencing Prosper at Luton Crown Court in March, Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb said that a whole-life term could only be given to an 18 to 20-year-old if a court deemed "that the seriousness of the combination of offences is exceptionally high". She stopped short of imposing a whole-life order in Prosper's case, as he was stopped from carrying out his planned school shooting, having murdered his family earlier than he intended after his mother woke up. She continued that while he was "indisputably a very dangerous young man", the risk to the public was met with a life sentence. She continued: "Despite the gravity of your crimes, it is the explicit joint submission of counsel that a lengthy, finite term will be a sufficiently severe penalty, and this is not such an exceptionally serious case of the utmost gravity where the sentence of last resort must be imposed on an offender who was 18 at the time and is 19 today." Update: Date: 10:33 BST Title: What is a whole life order? Content: Unlike a more usual life sentence that comes with a minimum time to serve in a prison before parole is considered, a whole life order (WLO) means you will never be released. They are reserved for the most serious crimes, such as when multiple people have been killed with a significant degree of pre-meditation, or where one child is killed with similar pre-planning. In 2022, the law was updated to allow 18 to 20-year-olds to receive the sentence, having been previously limited to those aged 21 or over. However, those under 21 can only be given a WLO in cases deemed exceptionally serious even when compared to similar offences committed by older offenders. If Prosper is given a WLO he would become the youngest offender to receive one. Update: Date: 10:26 BST Title: Watch: Live stream from the Court of Appeal Content: You can watch live-streamed footage from the Court of Appeal by clicking on the "Watch live" button at the top of this page. Proceedings are due to start at 10:30, but there may be delays. Update: Date: 10:18 BST Title: Why is Prosper back in court? Content: The three family members were killed at the Leabank tower block in the north of Luton Judges can impose whole life orders (WLOs) in the most serious cases of murder, meaning the offender will never be released. Because Prosper did not complete his planned school shooting and was only 18 when the crime was committed, the judge decided against a WLO, citing his autism, young age and lack of previous convictions. After receiving multiple requests under the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme, Solicitor General Lucy Rigby KC referred the case to the Court of Appeal. At the time a spokesperson for the Attorney General's Office said Prosper "ought to have been given a whole-life order". Update: Date: 10:08 BST Title: A reminder of Nicholas Prosper's crimes Content: In March, Nicholas Prosper, 19, was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of 49 years after admitting murdering his mother, Juliana Falcon, 48, his sister Giselle, 13, and his brother Kyle, 16, at their flat in the Leabank tower block Luton in September 2024. He had shot his mother and sister before stabbing his brother more than 100 times. The then 18-year-old had been plotting a shooting at his former primary school, but his plans were disrupted after the noise of killing his family led to a neighbour calling the police. Prosper had attempted to flee but eventually handed himself in by alerting a passing police car. Update: Date: 10:02 BST Title: Welcome to our live updates page Content: (left to right) Juliana Falcon, Kyle Prosper and Giselle Prosper were found dead at their home in the Marsh Farm area of Luton in September Good morning and welcome to our live updates page which will have coverage from the Court of Appeal, where judges are reviewing the sentence given of triple murderer Nicholas Prosper. The 19-year-old was jailed for life with a minimum term of 49 years for murdering three members of his family - his mother, Juliana Falconer, 48, his brother Kyle Prosper, 16, and his sister Giselle Prosper, 13. It will be debated in court if Prosper should have received a whole-life order, meaning he could never be released. The hearing, at the Royal Courts of Justice on The Strand in central London, is due to begin at 10:30.
BBC News
11-07-2025
- BBC News
Bristol man jailed for life for stabbing 'kind and bubbly' man
A man has been sentenced to life in prison for murdering a 25-year-old man he stabbed in the Siddiqi, 32, of St Pauls, Bristol, attacked Kunta Ceesay with a knife in an altercation in Stapleton Road in the city on 20 September last was given a life sentence at Bristol Crown Court on Thursday and was told he would serve a minimum of 21 Ceesay's family described him as a "kind, bubbly and loving boy" who "always helped his family and friends whenever he could". Shakawan Siddiqi was found guilty of murdering Kunta Ceesay in April after a two-week is not known whether the two men knew each other but there could have been a dispute between them over a small amount of money, the jury was told. The court heard Mr Ceesay visited Stapleton Road on the night he was killed and CCTV showed him picking up a bike belonging to Siddiqi which had been left outside a Post Office.A fight broke out between the pair shortly after and within about 30 seconds Mr Ceesay had been fatally disposed of the knife and changed his clothing but he was arrested by police the following told officers there had been a fight but he denied stabbing Mr Ceesay. "It is so sad for the family that Kunta was taken from us far too soon and he has been robbed of the chance to grow old, create his own family and reach his dreams," Mr Ceesay's family said in a statement."It's difficult to comprehend the senseless way that Kunta has lost his life and how difficult it will be for all of us to have to live without him."Whilst our hearts and lives will never be the same we, the family of Kunta, trusted the justice system and the jurors to make the right decision in this case. "Kunta's life meant something and we hope that this will serve as a reminder for people to be cautious [and] lead with kindness and love in their lives."
