Free Republic

The protest will go on as planned tomorrow against the coronavirus restrictions endorsed by the incoming Governor of Utah Republican Spencer Cox. The protest to be held as Cox's motorcade heads to an ampitheater in southern Utah for his inauguration... Court hearings for two Washington restaurants opened in spite of COVID-19 restrictions imposed by Democrat Governor Jay Inslee set for Tuesday... The British police crackdown on protests opposing the coronavirus lockdowns and restrictions in the country continued this weekend... British Prime Minister Boris Johnson pushing tighter controls and restrictions in the coming weeks... Restrictions that have been imposed in the...

Cholo Abdi Abdullah is expected in federal court in New York later Wednesday A Kenyan man spent years training in the Philippines to conduct a 9/11-style attack against the United States, going through flight school and researching methods to get into the country and hijack a plane, federal prosecutors said Wednesday. Cholo Abdi Abdullah was allegedly part of an al-Shabaab unit and taking orders directly from a commander in the African terror group -- one who was responsible for previously directing a deadly 2019 hotel attack in Nairobi, prosecutors said. "This chilling callback to the horrific attacks of September 11,...

An Illinois judge said he will decide late Friday afternoon whether a 17-year-old accused of killing two demonstrators in Kenosha, Wisconsin, should be extradited across the border to stand trial on homicide charges. Defense lawyers had indicated before the hearing in Waukegan that they would call witnesses, including Kyle Rittenhouse’s mother, Wendy Rittenhouse, to try to block his extradition. But they called no one and said they had chosen instead to focus on legalities of the case. After hearing 45 minutes of arguments, Judge Paul Novak said he would issue a ruling by 5 p.m.

Attorneys for Kenosha shooting suspect Kyle Rittenhouse have filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus to stop his extradition from Illinois to Wisconsin, arguing that moving the teen would violate his constitutional rights and endanger his life. "People have threatened Rittenhouse’s life and offered bribes in exchange for information about his location in custody," the petition reads. "People have encouraged fellow inmates to kill Rittenhouse and have offered bounties." The 17-year-old, of Antioch, Ill., is accused of fatally shooting two White men and injuring a third during a violent night of protests on Aug. 25. The protest was...

A teenager accused of shooting three people during unrest in Kenosha, Wisconsin, on Tuesday will remain in Illinois for now after a judge delayed his extradition on Friday.The public defender representing Kyle Rittenhouse, 17, of Antioch, asked for the hearing to be delayed.The judge agreed, pushing the extradition hearing until Sept. 25.Rittenhouse, who waived his right to appear, plans to hire a private attorney, a Lake County, Illinois, spokesman told reporters outside the courthouse.Lin Wood, an attorney, said Friday morning that John Pierce has been engaged to defend Rittenhouse, with assistance from local lawyers and public defenders. The group...

The UK has suspended an extradition treaty with Hong Kong following the imposition of controversial new security laws on the territory by China. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab announced the "necessary and proportionate" measure in a statement to the House of Commons on Monday. The UK will also extend to Hong Kong the arms embargo it has applied to mainland China since 1989, Mr Raab said. "The extension of this embargo will mean there will be no exports from the UK to Hong Kong of potentially lethal weapons, their components or ammunition," the foreign secretary told MPs. "It will also mean...

Donald Trump has called for the extradition of a former MI6 agent who was behind a controversial dossier about his alleged links to Russia. Christopher Steele, now a director of Orbis Business Intelligence, was responsible for the 'dirty dossier' published in 2016 that alleged Russian influence over President Trump. The Steele Dossier contained allegations of collusion between Mr Trump's US presidential campaign and the Kremlin, which have been denied by both parties. On Wednesday, Orbis was ordered to pay compensation to two Russian businessmen that had complained about data protection breaches including inaccuracies in the dossier relating to them. Taking...

Australia’s prime minister said the country will halt its extradition agreement with Hong Kong over the passage of a new Beijing-backed "national security" law and will extend temporary visas from Hong Kongers in Australia. Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced Thursday that the visa extension will allow those from Hong Kong with temporary visas to stay for five additional years and will open a path to permanent Australian residency, according to the New York Times. Morrison also encouraged businesses to move to his country. “We are a great immigration nation,” the prime minister said. The move comes in response to a...

A blueprint for a controversial new national security law for Hong Kong, as proposed by China, has caused concerns that the semi-autonomous city’s vocal clergy who have supported the democracy movement could be extradited to and tried in mainland China. The Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, China’s rubber-stamp legislature, may formally approve the law, which broadens Beijing’s direct control over Hong Kong and erodes the city’s human rights and freedoms, at a June 28-30 meeting. Submitted last week for deliberation, the draft covers four categories of crimes: succession, subversion of state power, local terrorist activities and collaborating with...

TO THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES:With a view to receiving advice and consent of the Senate to ratification, I transmit herewith the Agreement between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the Republic of Croatia comprising the instrument as contemplated by Article 3(2) of the Agreement on Extradition between the United States of America and the European Union, signed June 25, 2003, as to the Application of the Treaty on Extradition signed on October 25, 1901 (the “U.S.-Croatia Extradition Agreement”), and the Agreement between the Government of the United States and the Government of the...

The relationship between Communist China and the free world, particularly the United States, is disintegrating so quickly that it’s hard to keep up. Yesterday, there was a big development in the ongoing dispute over Chinese technology giant Huawei. Back in 2018, the CFO of Huawei, Meng Wanzhou, was arrested in Canada at the request of the U.S. government. The U.S. is seeking to extradite her so she can face charges here for inducing a group of banks to violate sanctions the U.S. placed on Iran. Wednesday a court in Canada ruled that Wanzhou’s extradition met the standard of “double...

In a closely-watched decision today, the Supreme Court of British Columbia published a key decision in the extradition case of Meng Wanzhou, the CFO of Huawei Technologies, China’s largest telecommunications company and a frequent target of U.S. policymakers. In its ruling, the court said that the case met the standard for “double criminality,” and thus the extradition hearing will be allowed to continue. That decision represents a major blow to Huawei, which had hoped to end the suit and bring Meng home back to China.

News broke on Thursday morning that the Pantsuit Princess has accepted a post as the new Chancellor at Queen’s University in Belfast, Northern Ireland: Emerald Robinson ✝️ ✔ @EmeraldRobinson Hillary Clinton is going to be the head of a university in Northern Ireland? That's an interesting choice. Discuss.https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-50970400 … Hillary Clinton Hillary Clinton is new chancellor of NI university The former US presidential candidate takes up five-year role with Queen's University, Belfast. bbc.com 241 9:29 AM - Jan 2, 2020 Twitter Ads info and privacy 315 people are talking about this The post is largely ceremonial, according to the BBC,...

Craig Lang, who is charged with killing a Florida couple in 2018, has become a cause célèbre in the country where he has fought as a mercenary. In the spring of 2015, former U.S. soldier Craig Lang traveled to Ukraine and joined a paramilitary group fighting the Russians. “I never noticed any fear,” said Mamuka Mamulashvili, who commanded Lang in the Georgian Legion. Four years later, Lang is under house arrest in Ukraine. His situation has nothing to do with his conduct inside the eastern European country. Lang is facing charges in the U.S. for allegedly killing a Florida couple...

Andrew Weissmann, who served as one of Robert Mueller’s top deputies on the Russia probe, offered a Ukrainian oligarch a sweetheart deal in 2017 in exchange for information on President Donald Trump, according to a new report. In July 2017, Weissmann, who has been labeled Mueller’s “pit bull” because of his aggressive prosecutorial style, met with attorneys representing Dmitry Firtash, an energy magnate who was indicted on bribery charges in 2014, reports The Hill. The story cites sources familiar with Weissmann’s offer and defense memos written in meetings with the prosecutor. One of the defense memos said that Weissmann claimed...

WikiLeaks founder’s custody will be extended after current prison terms comes to end Julian Assange will stay in prison after the custody period on his current jail term ends because of his “history of absconding”. As home secretary, Sajid Javid signed an order in June allowing Assange’s extradition to the US over hacking allegations. A 50-week jail term was imposed in the UK after he had jumped previous bail by going into hiding in the Ecuadorian embassy in London. The WikiLeaks founder would have been released from HMP Belmarsh on 22 September, Westminster magistrates court heard on Friday, but he...

After lots of growling from Beijing about how the communist regime wouldn't 'sit on its hands' over the massive protests disrupting Hong Kong, and new threats to 'show no mercy' to the protesters, the Chicoms have folded. >Hong Kong's Beijing-appointed puppet leader, Carrie Lam, has withdrawn the extradition bill that triggered the protests, the one that permitted Beijing to freely snatch back anyone who displeases Red China to face what passes for 'justice' in the communist dictatorship. According to the New York Times: HONG KONG — Carrie Lam, Hong Kong’s chief executive, said Wednesday that the government would withdraw a contentious extradition...

Eight Mexicans were among the 22 victims of Saturday’s mass shooting in El Paso, and Mexico is now exploring an unusual legal recourse: seeking the extradition of an American for a crime carried out on American soil. Mexico has long used legal action to resolve international disputes, analysts say, but requesting the extradition of an American is unlikely to succeed as long as U.S. authorities continue pursuing a criminal case against the 21-year-old suspected shooter.

Has Beijing’s extradition bill in Hong Kong reached the go-through-its-pockets-and-look-for-loose-change stage, or is it only mostly dead? Carrie Lam, the enclave’s embattled chief executive, claims that “the bill is dead,” but Lam thus far has not formally withdrawn it. She told Hong Kong citizens, a sizable number of them in the streets demanding her resignation, that the government will not attempt to pass it again.They’re skeptical, to say the least, and so is CNN: Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam on Tuesday said a bill that would allow extraditions to mainland China is effectively “dead” and conceded that her government’s...

Three years ago, I met a girl at a nightclub in Coventry, England, where many ethnic Chinese students – from mainland China, Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and elsewhere – often gather. We arranged to meet up the next day for a formal date. The vibes were good at the start. Arrived on time. Greetings. Drinks and snacks. And then, at some point, I innocently uttered the phrase: “Because we from Hong Kong…” My date, from mainland China, swiftly interrupted me. She raised her voice and eyebrows, signaling how angry she was. She rapped the table with her fingers and snapped:...