International
Ex-cop convicted of George Floyd’s murder files appeal
AFP
Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin has appealed his conviction for the murder of George Floyd, citing 14 complaints about his high-profile trial earlier this year in a case that roiled the United States and laid bare deep racial divisions.
The killing of Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man, in May 2020 went viral after being caught on camera and sparked America’s biggest demonstrations for racial justice in decades.
Chauvin, who in June was sentenced to more than 22 years in prison for killing Floyd by kneeling on his neck for nearly 10 minutes, appealed the conviction Thursday night with a Minnesota district court, on the last day he was able to do so.
He accuses the state of prejudicial misconduct and lists multiple issues with the jury selected for the trial, among other objections.
The former police officer accuses the court of “abusing its discretion” by denying requests to postpone or move the trial, and refusing to sequester the jury for its duration.
Chauvin, a 45-year-old white man, was filmed kneeling on Floyd’s neck, indifferent to the dying man’s groans and to the pleas of distraught passers-by.
Floyd repeatedly said “I can’t breathe” before he died.
The scene, filmed and uploaded by a young woman, quickly spread around the world.
Hundreds of thousands of people subsequently poured onto streets across the country and overseas to demand an end to racism and police brutality.
The ex-cop and three of his colleagues arrested Floyd on suspicion of having passed a fake $20 bill in a store in Minneapolis, a northern city of around 400,000 people.
They handcuffed him and pinned him to the ground in the street.
In the filed documents, Chauvin said he has no income and no legal representation in the appeals process. A defense fund that paid for his representation during the trial was terminated after his sentencing.
– Relief at risk –
The sacked police officer, who was present for the full six weeks of his trial, did not testify, invoking his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.
His lawyer said he had followed police procedures in force at the time and that Floyd’s death was due to health problems exacerbated by drug use.
But, at the end of the high-profile trial in April, a jury took less than 10 hours to convict Chauvin of Floyd’s murder.
He was found guilty on all three charges — second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter.
The other three police officers are to face state charges next year for their roles in Floyd’s death.
Chauvin’s conviction was greeted with relief across the country.
Many had feared an acquittal would lead to worse unrest, while others worried that once again a white police officer would get away with what they saw as murder.
The Floyd family’s lawyer called the sentencing a “historic” step towards racial reconciliation in the United States.
Chauvin had a record of using excessive force before the unarmed Floyd died under his knee.
At the end of the trial, Chauvin offered his condolences to the Floyd family and said: “There’s going to be some other information in the future that would be of interest and I hope things will give you some peace of mind,” without elaborating.
International
Trump urges Putin to reach peace deal
On Monday, U.S. President Donald Trump reiterated his desire for Russian President Vladimir Putin to “reach a deal” to end the war in Ukraine, while also reaffirming his willingness to impose sanctions on Russia.
“I want to see him reach an agreement to prevent Russian, Ukrainian, and other people from dying,” Trump stated during a press conference in the Oval Office at the White House.
“I think he will. I don’t want to have to impose secondary tariffs on Russian oil,” the Republican leader added, recalling that he had already taken similar measures against Venezuela by sanctioning buyers of the South American country’s crude oil.
Trump also reiterated his frustration over Ukraine’s resistance to an agreement that would allow the United States to exploit natural resources in the country—a condition he set in negotiations to end the war.
International
Deportation flight lands in Venezuela; government denies criminal gang links
A flight carrying 175 Venezuelan migrants deported from the United States arrived in Caracas on Sunday. This marks the third group to return since repatriation flights resumed a week ago, and among them is an alleged member of a criminal organization, according to Venezuelan authorities.
Unlike previous flights operated by the Venezuelan state airline Conviasa, this time, an aircraft from the U.S. airline Eastern landed at Maiquetía Airport, on the outskirts of Caracas, shortly after 2:00 p.m. with the deportees.
Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, who welcomed the returnees at the airport, stated that the 175 repatriated individuals were coming back “after being subjected, like all Venezuelans, to persecution” and dismissed claims that they belonged to the criminal organization El Tren de Aragua.
However, Cabello confirmed that “for the first time in these flights we have been carrying out, someone of significance wanted by Venezuelan justice has arrived, and he is not from El Tren de Aragua.” Instead, he belongs to a gang operating in the state of Trujillo. The minister did not disclose the individual’s identity or provide details on where he would be taken.
International
Son of journalist José Rubén Zamora condemns father’s return to prison as “illegal”
The son of renowned journalist José Rubén Zamora Marroquín, José Carlos Zamora, has denounced as “illegal” the court order that sent his father back to a Guatemalan prison on March 3, after already spending 819 days behind barsover a highly irregular money laundering case.
“My father’s return to prison was based on an arbitrary and illegal ruling. It is also alarming that the judge who had granted him house arrest received threats,” José Carlos Zamora told EFE in an interview on Saturday.
The 67-year-old journalist was sent back to prison inside the Mariscal Zavala military barracks on March 3, when Judge Erick García upheld a Court of Appeals ruling that overturned the house arrest granted to him in October. Zamora had already spent 819 days in prison over an alleged money laundering case.
His son condemned the situation as “unacceptable”, stating that the judge handling the case “cannot do his job in accordance with the law due to threats against his life.”
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