Russian court rejects band member’s release
ZUBOVA POLYANA, Russia – A Russian court Friday rejected a plea for early release from prison by a member of the feminist punk band Pussy Riot, whose provocative songs and prosecution have made them a symbol of the country’s opposition movement.
Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, who has been in custody since her arrest last March, is serving a two-year sentence handed down after the band staged an irreverent protest against President Vladimir Putin in Moscow’s main cathedral.
Judge Lidiya Yakovleva said evidence showed that Tolokonnikova did not deserve early release because she had “not always followed the rules of behavior” while in custody.
Tolokonnikova’s attorney Irina Khrunova was quoted by the Interfax news agency as saying she would appeal on the grounds that the judge did not allow final statements by the defense team.
Canada plot raises deportation questions
TORONTO – Canada is reviewing the country’s deportation policies after revelations that a court decided nine years ago against deporting a man who was arrested last week on terror charges in an alleged plot to derail a train, the federal immigration minister said Friday.
Raed Jaser, who arrived in Canada with his family as a teenager in 1993, was convicted in 1997 on fraud charges and in 2001 of threatening death or bodily harm, according to court records, which did not provide details on the cases. He served probation but was arrested in 2004 after authorities issued a warrant for his deportation. At a court hearing, Jaser argued that he could not be deported because he was a stateless Palestinian with nowhere to go. The court deferred the deportation order for Jaser, who was eventually granted a pardon.
Last week, Jaser was arrested along with a Tunisian citizen on charges of conspiring to carry out an attack and murder people in association with a terrorist group in a plot to derail a train that runs between New York City and Montreal. Investigators say the men received guidance from members of al-Qaida in Iran. Iranian government officials have said the government had nothing to do with the plot.
Associated Press
