LITTLE ROCK — QUOTE OF THE DAY
“The president’s health is being closely followed up by our medical team. The vital organs are
working, and we hope that there will be no deterioration.” Dr. Ayad Abbas,
from the intensive care
unit where Iraqi President Jalal Talabani is being
treated after suffering a stroke Article this pageU.N. court acquits Congo rebel chief
THE HAGUE, Netherlands - The International Criminal Court acquitted a Congolese militia leader Tuesday of all charges of commanding fighters who destroyed village the village of Bogoro in eastern Congo in 2003, raping and hacking to death some 200 people, including children.
The acquittal of Mathieu Ngudjolo on charges including rape, murder and pillage was only the second verdict in the court’s 10-year history and the first time it had cleared a suspect.
The only other verdict, handed down earlier this year, convicted another Congolese rebel leader, Thomas Lubanga, of using child soldiers in battles in Ituri. He was sentenced to 14 years in prison.
Judges said the testimony of three key prosecution witnesses was unreliable and could not prove definitively that Ngudjolo led the rebel attack on Bogoro, but they emphasized that Ngudjolo’s acquittal did not mean that no crimes occurred in the village.
NYC businessman exits jail in Bolivia
LA PAZ, Bolivia - A Bolivian judge Tuesday released a New York businessman and granted him house arrest after he was jailed for 18 months without charge despite strong evidence that he was fleeced and extorted by corrupt prosecutors.
Jacob Ostreicher hugged his wife and his lawyers after hearing the judge’s ruling.
The 53-year-old American will now be under house arrest while authorities finish investigating his money-laundering case.
Ostreicher was never charged with a crime, and the people who led his prosecution, including the Interior Ministry’s No. 1 legal adviser, are now themselves in jail, accused of belonging to a shakedown ring that authorities say preyed on people deemed to have deep pockets.
Ten officials have been arrested, including two prosecutors and purported ringleader Fernando Rivera, who had been managing Bolivia’s most important prosecutions in the Interior Ministry.
Berlusconi, party want vote delayed
ROME - Silvio Berlusconi and fellow leaders of his splintering conservative party Tuesday pressed for a delay in Italy’s national elections, now widely expected for mid-February.
The scandal-scarred former three-time premier, who is considering running for the post again, said on a state-TV talk show that party leaders need more time to draw up lists of candidates for Parliament.
Italy’s President Giorgio Napolitano is expected to dissolve the legislature as soon as it passes the government’s proposed austerity budget law. Premier Mario Monti has pledged to resign as soon as the law passes. Then Napolitano will announce an election date, which officials have indicated would likely be Feb. 17.
Berlusconi is currently on trial in Milan on charges he paid for sex with an underage woman and used his office when premier to try to cover it up. He denies the charges.
The Italian politician has faced a host of legal woes over the past two decades.
Front Section, Pages 6 on 12/19/2012