The former leader is charged with treason for his alleged role in a failed coup in November.
A Sierra Leone court has allowed former President Ernest Bai Koroma, who is charged with treason, to travel abroad on medical grounds.
Koroma, 70, was charged early this month with four offences for his alleged role in a failed military attempt to topple the West African country’s government in November.
The High Court on Wednesday ruled in favour of Koroma, whose lawyers had asked it to allow the former leader a trip abroad for medical reasons.
The ex-president, who has been under house arrest, will be allowed to travel to Nigeria for no more than three months, the magistrate said before adjourning the case to March 6.
“The High Court approved the order, and that was transmitted to the Magistrate’s Court where [Koroma] has been appearing since the day investigations started into his case,” Al Jazeera’s Ahmed Idris said, reporting from the capital, Freetown.
Chernor Bah, Sierra Leone’s minister of information, told Al Jazeera the state is “happy to abide by the ruling of the court because we believe in the rule of law”, adding that Koroma is leaving for medical attention but his case remains open.
“At this stage, the case is still alive. It is adjourned,” he said, adding that the court’s instructions to the lawyers included continuing to send updates on Koroma’s health to the state and the judiciary for the duration of his absence.
Nigeria had previously offered to allow Koroma to enter on a temporary basis, which he accepted, according to West Africa’s main regional bloc.
“We know the Economic Community of West African States has been trying hard to convince the Sierra Leone government to think about releasing Mr Koroma to leave the country – probably into exile – but again, the court said he is going on medical grounds to be checked,” Idris said.
Coup attempt
On November 26, gunmen launched a series of attacks in Sierra Leone, breaking into a key armoury, military barracks and prisons, freeing about 2,200 inmates. More than 20 people were killed in the violence.
The government said later that it was a foiled coup led mostly by Koroma’s bodyguards. They summoned the ex-president for questioning at the start of December and charged him with treason on January 3.
Koroma condemned the attacks in a statement shortly after they happened and has denied any involvement. His lawyers have called the charges “trumped up” and part of a “political vendetta”.
There are concerns Koroma’s indictment could stoke tensions that arose from a contentious election in June in which President Julius Maada Bio was re-elected for a second term.
The main opposition candidate rejected the results, and international partners questioned the vote.
Two months after Bio was re-elected, police said they arrested several people, including senior military officers planning to use protests “to undermine peace”.
Koroma served as Sierra Leone’s president for 11 years until 2018. Although officially retired from politics, he remains an influential figure within his political party.
Twelve other people were also charged with treason in connection with the failed coup, including former police and correctional officers and a member of Koroma’s security detail.
According to Sierra Leone’s penal code, a person found guilty of treason could face life imprisonment.
Writer E Jean Carroll is accusing the former US president of defaming her in 2019 by denying he had attacked her in a department store dressing room.
Former US President Donald Trump has arrived in a New York courtroom to defend himself for a second time against charges that he defamed writer E Jean Carroll after she accused him of rape.
Trump, who has said he wants to testify at the civil trial, sat two tables behind Carroll, who is accusing him of defaming her in 2019 by denying he had attacked her in a Bergdorf Goodman department store dressing room in Manhattan.
Carroll, 80, is seeking at least $10m in damages.
US District Judge Lewis Kaplan, who is overseeing the case, told prospective jurors on Tuesday that they would only have to consider how much Trump should pay Carroll in damages, not whether the alleged assault took place or whether Trump lied about it.
He added that the trial is expected to last three to five days.
Former President Donald Trump arrives for a Fox News Channel town hall in Des Moines, Iowa, the US [Carolyn Kaster/AP]
Trump has cast himself as the victim of political persecution and said Kaplan should dismiss the case.
“Judge Kaplan should put this whole corrupt, Crooked Joe Biden-directed Election Interference attack on me immediately to rest,” he said on social media.
“He should do it for america.”
Trump has so far pleaded not guilty in four criminal cases that could potentially land him in prison before the November presidential election, including two that accuse him of trying to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
He is also the defendant in at least two other civil cases. But Trump has already lost one defamation case against Carroll.
In May last year, a jury ordered Trump to pay the former Elle columnist $5m for having sexually abused her during the encounter and defaming her.
Trump has said that he did not know Carroll and that she made up the encounter to sell her memoir. He is also appealing the $5m award.
Kaplan, who also presided over that case, said he has barred Trump from arguing that he did not defame or sexually assault Carroll or that she made up her account.
In recent weeks, Trump has ramped up his attacks on Carroll, including saying she did not know the decade of their encounter.
He also called Kaplan “terrible, biased, irrationally angry”.
Trump may face an uphill fight to escape significant additional damages because of Kaplan’s pre-trial rulings.
These include banning Trump from suggesting he did not rape Carroll, as New York’s penal law defines the term, because the first jury did not find that Trump committed rape.
Kaplan has ruled that because Trump used his fingers in the assault, Carroll’s rape claim was “substantially true.”
Trump also cannot discuss DNA evidence or Carroll’s sexual activities, or suggest that Democrats are bankrolling her case. Carroll is a Democrat.
And as happened at the first trial, jurors will be able to see the 2005 video from Access Hollywood video where Trump graphically described the ability of famous people like himself to have sexual relations with beautiful women.
Trump did not retract his comments when asked about them in a 2022 deposition. Kaplan has said the video could offer “useful insight into Mr. Trump’s state of mind” toward Carroll.
Trump lawyer Alina Habba on Sunday assured Kaplan that he was “well aware” of the court’s rulings “and the strict confines placed on his testimony”.
Here are countries which welcomed the ICJ case that says Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) based in The Hague will hold its first hearing in South Africa’s genocide case against Israel on Thursday, with several countries welcoming the move amid a global chorus for a ceasefire in Gaza.
South Africa filed the lawsuit end of December, accusing Israel of genocide in its war on Gaza and seeking a halt to the brutal military assault that has killed more than 23,000 Palestinians, nearly 10,000 of them children.
The 84-page filing by South Africa says Israel violated the 1948 Genocide Convention, drawn up in the aftermath of World War II and the Holocaust.
Both Israel and South Africa are signatories to the United Nations Genocide Convention, which gives the ICJ – the highest UN legal body – jurisdiction to rule on disputes over the treaty.
All states that signed the convention are obliged to not commit genocide and also to prevent and punish it. The treaty defines genocide as “acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group”.
Here’s what we know about the countries backing South Africa in its case against Israel, and the countries that oppose the case at the world court.
Which countries have welcomed South Africa’s ICJ case against Israel?
The Organization of Islamic Countries (OIC): The 57-member bloc, which includes Saudi Arabia, Iran, Pakistan and Morocco, voiced their support for the case on December 30.
Malaysia: In a statement released on January 2, the Malaysian Ministry of Foreign Affairs welcomed the South African application. It reiterated a call for an independent Palestinian state “based on the pre-1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital”.
Turkey:Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Oncu Keceli posted on X on January 3 welcoming South Africa’s move.
Jordan: Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said on January 4 that Amman would back South Africa.
Bolivia: On Sunday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bolivia dubbed South Africa’s move as historic, becoming the first Latin American country to back the ICJ case against Israel.
Besides countries, many advocacy groups and civil society groups worldwide have also joined South Africa’s call. These include Terreiro Pindorama in Brazil, Asociacion Nacional de Amistad Italia-Cuba in Italy, and Collectif Judeo Arabe et Citoyen pour la Palestine in France, reported independent outlet Common Dreams.
Which countries filed the ICC request earlier?
Bolivia also pointed out it had earlier filed a request to International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Karim Khan alongside South Africa, Bangladesh, Comoros, and Djibouti to investigate the situation in Palestine. Khan said he received the request on November 30.
The ICC and the ICJ are sometimes conflated with one another. Both the courts are located in The Hague, Netherlands. While the purpose of the ICJ is to resolve conflicts between states, the ICC prosecutes individuals for committing crimes, according to the University of Melbourne’s Pursuit platform. While states cannot be sued at the ICC, the prosecutor can open an investigation where crimes, including genocide, were likely committed.
Who is not backing South Africa’s ICJ case?
The United States has voiced its opposition to the genocide case. National security spokesperson John Kirby called South Africa’s submission “meritless, counterproductive, and completely without any basis” during a White House press briefing on January 3.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog told US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday that “there is nothing more atrocious and preposterous” than the lawsuit. Herzog also thanked Blinken for Washington’s support of Israel.
Israel’s Western allies, including the European Union, have mostly maintained silence on the ICJ case.
The United Kingdom, which has refused to support the case, has been accused of double standards after it submitted detailed legal documents to the ICJ about a month ago to support claims that Myanmar committed genocide against the Rohingya community.
Shattered glass. Clashes with police. Angry protesters scaling walls outside the United States Capitol.
The images from the Capitol riot on January 6, 2021, remain some of the most memorable in modern political history. That day saw thousands of supporters of then-President Donald Trump storm the building in an effort to overturn his election defeat, forcing legislators to flee for safety.
But three years on, the country continues to grapple with the ramifications. On Friday, the eve of the riot’s anniversary, current President Joe Biden evoked the violence in a campaign speech near Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, warning of its enduring effects on US democracy.
“Three years ago tomorrow, we saw with our own eyes the violent mob storm the United States Capitol,” he said. “For the first time in our history, insurrectionists had come to stop the peaceful transfer of power in America — the first time.”
Biden also took a jab at Trump, calling him out for inaction on January 6 and election-related lies. “It was among the worst derelictions of duty by a president in American history.”
How the insurrection is viewed remains a bitter point of contention, dividing the US public largely along partisan lines. Trump has maintained that the 2020 election was “stolen” from him, a falsehood that helped fuel the Capitol riot.
This March, Trump faces a federal indictment for his role in trying to overturn the 2020 results. He is currently seeking a second term in the 2024 presidential race, as is Biden, the Democrat who defeated him in 2020.
In addition to Trump’s case, lengthy prison sentences continue to be handed down to participants in the Capitol riot. On Thursday, Christopher Worrell, a member of the far-right Proud Boys group, was sentenced to 10 years in prison for his role in helping to breach the Capitol.
He joined other prominent far-right figures — including ex-Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio and Stewart Rhodes, head of the Oath Keepers militia — in facing a decade or more in prison.
On the third anniversary of the Capitol riot, here’s all you need to know about how the insurrection continues to reverberate across the US.
Trump, who has denied any wrongdoing in the Capitol riot, is the 2024 Republican presidential frontrunner [File: Scott Morgan/Reuters]
Trump case
In August, the former Republican president was indicted in a federal case brought by Special Counsel Jack Smith, a former prosecutor appointed to investigate his efforts to overturn the 2020 election results.
Trump faces four criminal counts as part of the indictment: conspiracy to defraud the US, conspiracy against rights, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding and obstructing an official proceeding.
US prosecutors argued that Trump “attempted to exploit the violence and chaos at the Capitol by calling lawmakers to convince them, based on knowingly false claims of election fraud, to delay the certification” of the election results.
Trump has pleaded not guilty to the charges and denied any wrongdoing. The ex-president has also accused prosecutors of conducting a politically motivated “witch hunt” to derail his 2024 re-election bid.
The federal case is set to begin on March 4, a day before “Super Tuesday”, when more than a dozen states are expected to hold their 2024 election primaries.
Criminal charges
In early December, the Department of Justice released its most recent tally of the criminal charges that resulted from the January 6 riot, noting that more than 1,237 people have been charged.
Of those, more than 700 defendants pleaded guilty to a variety of charges. About 450 have been sentenced to prison.
So far, the most serious riot-related charge has been seditious conspiracy. A relatively rare charge dating to the Civil War era, seditious conspiracy is used to prosecute two or more defendants accused of plotting to overthrow the US government, launch a war against it or hinder its authority, including the execution of its laws.
Seditious conspiracy is notoriously difficult to prosecute. Nevertheless, Rhodes and Tarrio were both convicted of it last year, receiving 18- and 22-year prison terms respectively — the longest sentences to date.
On Thursday, in an address ahead of the January 6 anniversary, US Attorney Matthew Graves described “scenes often reminiscent of a medieval battle”, where police were forced to engage in hand-to-hand combat with rioters armed with “dangerous weapons, including firearms”.
“The siege of the Capitol is likely the largest single-day mass assault of law enforcement officers in our nation’s history,” Graves said. He noted that the 140 reports of physical injury among police officers likely represent an undercount.
Political polarisation
Meanwhile, a notable percentage of Americans continue to believe the false claim that the 2020 election was stolen through widespread voter fraud — an idea spread by Trump and his allies.
Critics say this belief helped motivate the thousands of rioters who attacked the Capitol on January 6.
A recent Washington Post-University of Maryland poll found that 36 percent of respondents still “do not accept Biden’s victory as legitimate”.
Eight in 10 Trump voters and 72 percent of Republicans overall said they believed too much was made of the riot and it is “time to move on”. That contrasts with only 14 percent of Democrats, the poll found.
Respondents were also starkly divided over whether Trump is guilty of conspiracy to defraud the US, the charge accusing him of lying to illegally try to overturn the election.
While 56 percent of Americans overall said they believe Trump is “probably/definitely guilty” of the conspiracy charge, only 18 percent of Republicans agreed, compared with 88 percent of Democrats, the survey said.
Rioters attacked the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on January 6, 2021, as Congress was certifying Electoral College votes [File: John Minchillo/AP Photo]
Effect on 2024 race
Trump is currently the frontrunner for the Republican nomination in the 2024 race, leading his party rivals by a wide margin. That means he is likely to face Biden again in November, though the four criminal indictments he faces could complicate his campaign.
Meanwhile, the top court in Colorado last month ruled that Trump was ineligible to run for the White House again, citing a section of the US Constitution that bars individuals who “engaged in insurrection” from holding office.
Trump this week asked the US Supreme Court to overturn the decision, which would mean he cannot participate in the state’s Republican primary.
Both Trump and Biden have also referenced January 6 in their 2024 presidential campaigns, albeit to different effect.
Trump has promised to pardon convicted riot participants if reelected, writing last year on social media: “Let the January 6 prisoners go. They were convicted, or are awaiting trial, based on a giant lie.”
For his part, Biden has made defending US democracy a key message of his re-election campaign, saying it was the “central cause” of his presidency. He has framed the January 6 riot as an attack on those democratic ideals.
“Today we’re here to answer the most important of questions: Is democracy still America’s sacred cause?” the Democratic president said at Friday’s speech in Pennsylvania.
“This is not rhetorical, academic or hypothetical. Whether democracy is still America’s sacred cause is the most urgent question of our time, and it’s what the 2024 election is all about.”
US President Joe Biden addressed the Capitol riot in a speech near Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, on January 5, 2024 [Eduardo Munoz/Reuters]
Nairobi, Kenya – In the past week, Kenyan President William Ruto has been locked in a row with the judiciary, threatening to disobey court orders restricting his flagship policies and accusing judges of corruption.
Speaking at a public function on Tuesday, Ruto said some unnamed judges are working with the opposition to delay key government projects like a housing fund and universal healthcare initiatives.
“It is not possible that we respect the judiciary while a few individuals who are beneficiaries of corruption are using corrupt judicial officials to block our development projects,” Ruto said.
The government suffered a major setback in November when a High Court in Nairobi declared a housing levy Ruto introduced unconstitutional.
According to the judges, the plan to raise taxes to construct affordable homes was unconstitutional and discriminatory, a declaration that angered the executive.
“We are a democracy. We respect, and we will protect the independence of the judiciary. What we will not allow is judicial tyranny and judicial impunity,” Ruto said on Tuesday, triggering a wave of outrage from Kenyans and judicial circles.
His remarks were the second time in three days that he commented on judicial decisions. In a national address in the final hours of 2023, he threw jabs at the judiciary, accusing it of making decisions against state policies at the expense of the public interest.
Here’s all you need to know about the unfolding situation:
A riot police officer fires tear gas at protesters during a rally in Nairobi called by opposition leader Raila Odinga against the high cost of living on March 27, 2023 [Patrick Ngugi/AP Photo]
How did it come to this?
The housing initiative was introduced by Ruto’s predecessor Uhuru Kenyatta at the beginning of his second term in 2018 as part of much-touted economic reforms.
Like Ruto, Kenyatta faced legal challenges after proposing to tax Kenyans to fund the project. A court blocked this bid in 2018, prompting him to partner with financial institutions and private developers.
By 2021, Kenyatta’s government said it had constructed about half of the projected 500,000 homes.
Since he took office in August 2022, Ruto has proposed several sweeping reforms. One was changes to the Employment Act to allow deductions of 1.5 percent of employees’ basic salaries and matching amounts by employers to fund low-income housing. Ruto planned to build up to 200,000 homes every year as part of the project.
Several Ruto reforms – including fuel subsidy cuts, planned privatisation of state assets and tax schemes – have met with legal challenges as Kenya struggles under the weight of crushing debt and a cash crunch.
Then there were the protests called by opposition leader Raila Odinga from March to July over the new taxes and soaring cost of living. Even today, Kenyans still complain.
Wilson Omondi, a 31-year old accountant in Nairobi, told Al Jazeera that tax deductions from his salary have become too much. “There are things I expect from the government like affordable quality healthcare, … but a house is not one of them, … [and] if the government wants to create jobs, let it build industries and improve the business environment. I don’t want to pay a housing levy for a house me or my children will never live in.”
All of this has frustrated the president, and the November ruling halting the implementation of the housing levy appears to have sparked his outburst.
Chief Justice Martha Koome listens as hearings commence on petitions challenging the result of the 2022 presidential election at the Supreme Court in Nairobi, Kenya, on August 31, 2022 [File: Ben Curtis/AP Photo]
The president’s remarks have raised fears among Kenyans of a return to the dark days of dictatorship with some even directly comparing him to his former mentor, ex-President Daniel Arap Moi.
Under Moi, who was president from 1978 to 2002 in what was for years a one-party state, extrajudicial killings were the order of the day. Ruto – whose favoured “safari suit”, beloved by past dictators, has only fuelled more comparisons to autocrats – began his political career as a youth leader in a group within the then-ruling party.
“The attacks by President Ruto towards the judiciary … bring back memories of the Moi era, where the president called the shots and he was the judge, jury and executioner – all powerful and controlling all arms of government,” Bravin Yuri, a political scientist told Al Jazeera.
There has also been opposition to Ruto’s reaction from Odinga, Chief Justice Martha Koome, the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) the Judicial Service Commission.
In a statement on Wednesday, Koome warned of a risk of anarchy if the judiciary’s independence is not respected. “When state or public officers threaten to defy court orders, the rule of law is imperiled setting stage for anarchy to prevail in a nation,” her memo said.
The LSK called on its members to participate in a peaceful nationwide protest next week as its president, Eric Theuri, said Ruto, as “the foremost custodian of the rule of law”, should use the courts to challenge legal decisions.
The president, Theri added, ought to remember that he was a beneficiary of the judiciary’s rulings after the 2022 presidential election.
Odinga called Ruto’s attacks on the judiciary unacceptable and said his rival has crossed a line.
What happens next?
According to Faith Odhiambo, LSK vice chairperson, if the president has serious allegations against the judiciary, he should present them to the Judicial Service Commission to investigate
“The president’s remarks were suspicious, especially coming at a time when the Court of Appeal was hearing the case of the housing levy that [the executive] had appealed,” she said. “So it’s an act of intimidation to the judges who will be hearing those matters. What we are telling the president is that he should follow due process in this matter.”
She added that in addition to the planned protests, her organisation is considering suing Ruto.
In response to the criticism, presidential spokesperson Hussein Mohammed said on Wednesday that the president had promised to crack down on corrupt judicial officers as a believer in the constitution.
The statement did not clarify whether the president will respect orders already given by the courts.
Meanwhile, the appellate court on Thursday ruled that the government may continue collecting the levy until January 26 when the courts are to decide whether to grant a further extension or end the collection.
About 950 pages of court documents identifying associates of financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein were made public on Wednesday.
What is the Jeffrey Epstein list?
Included in the unsealed papers are the names of about 150 Epstein associates. The documents were filed as part of Virginia Giuffre’s 2015 defamation lawsuit against Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s co-conspirator in his sexual abuse scheme. Maxwell was sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2022. Epstein died by suicide in 2019 while awaiting sex trafficking charges.
Giuffre is one of the women who sued Epstein for abusing them at his homes in Florida, New York, the United States Virgin Islands and New Mexico. She said she was pressured into having sex with men in Epstein’s social orbit.
Other documents were unsealed by the court from 2019 to 2022.
Last month, a judge listed in a 50-page document about 180 people – under pseudonyms – ordering that their identities be made public within 14 days of the order. Some individuals have objected to the disclosure of their identities in the case.
The inclusion of a name on the list does not indicate there are any allegations against the individual.
Here is a closer look at some of the names in the recent documents:
Prince Andrew
The documents unsealed on Wednesday have revealed sexual assault allegations against the British royal.
Johanna Sjoberg, who is one of the many women who have accused Epstein of sexual abuse, said Andrew put his hand on her breast in Epstein’s Manhattan townhouse in 2001.
This was while he was taking a photo with Sjoberg and Giuffre. Maxwell and Epstein were present while this photo was taken. Sjoberg said the photo also included a puppet that said “Prince Andrew” on it.
The incident, which has been previously reported by other media outlets and which Andrew has denied, was in an initial trove of previously redacted documents that otherwise revealed few new details about the extent of Epstein’s alleged sex trafficking activities.
Sjoberg was recruited to work for Epstein by Maxwell, who had been his girlfriend in the early 1990s before they became professional collaborators and accomplices in sex crimes for almost three decades.
While Sjoberg was hired as an assistant when she was a 20-year-old college student, she was quickly turned into a massage therapist and was sexually coerced while she worked for Maxwell and Epstein from 2001 to 2006.
Giuffre, now 38, accused Andrew of sexually abusing her two decades ago when she was 17, an allegation the prince called baseless. The case was settled in 2022.
According to the documents, Sjoberg said she witnessed Giuffre, then 17, in Epstein’s New York mansion with Andrew, Epstein and Maxwell. She also said she believes what Giuffre has said about Andrew and Epstein sexually abusing her.
Alan Dershowitz
Harvard Law Professor Alan Dershowitz is well-known for his work in US criminal law. The documents pertaining to him include allegations made by an unnamed woman, Jane Doe #3.
Jane Doe #3 said Epstein “required” her to have sexual relations with Dershowitz on multiple occasions when she was a minor.
Dershowitz also played a significant role in negotiating an agreement that provided immunity from federal prosecution in the Southern District of Florida not only for Epstein but also for “any potential co-conspirators of Epstein”, the documents say.
Epstein’s housekeeper Juan Alessi testified that Dershowitz would often visit Epstein’s Florida mansion to get massages.
Another one of Epstein’s household employees, Alfredo Rodriquez, said the lawyer would be present at Epstein’s residence without his family and in the presence of girls.
Dershowitz said in an interview with Fox News on Wednesday that Jane Doe #3 misidentified him, and he denied ever meeting her. He suggested he was the victim of the MeToo movement’s “hypocrisy”, accusing “radical feminists” of focusing on Epstein and his associates while not “condemning Hamas”, the Palestinian armed group.
Jean-Luc Brunel
Jean-Luc Brunel was a French model scout who was awaiting trial on charges that he raped underage girls when he died by suicide in a Paris jail in 2022.
Giuffre was among the women who had accused Brunel of sexual abuse. She said Maxwell sent her to many places to have sex with Brunel. The documents also say Brunel would exploit underage girls from disadvantaged backgrounds by offering them modelling jobs but would then bring them to the US and “farm them out to his friends, especially Epstein”.
According to the documents, Jane Doe #3 accused Epstein of trafficking her to Brunel, who was Epstein’s close travel companion. She said she was also forced to watch Brunel, Maxwell and Epstein sexually assaulting underage girls.
Rolling Stone magazine published a report on Tuesday about a recent Los Angeles lawsuit in which a new woman accused Brunel of holding her hostage at a Canadian estate so she could be sexually abused by multiple men when she was 18.
David Copperfield
Sjoberg testified to meeting American magician David Copperfield at one of Epstein’s houses. She added that she observed him to be a friend of Epstein’s. She also recalled a girl at that dinner who she thought looked like she was of high-school age.
Sjoberg said Copperfield asked her if she knew that “girls were getting paid to find other girls”, referring to the recruitment of women by Epstein and Maxwell as “massage therapists”.
Bill Clinton
Former US President Bill Clinton is also mentioned in the court documents.
While Sjoberg said she did not meet Clinton, she testified that Epstein said to her: “Clinton likes them young,” apparently referring to girls. While Giuffre had mentioned earlier that Clinton and Epstein had a close relationship, she did not accuse him of any illegal action.
Clinton has repeatedly rejected all allegations that he was involved in anything unlawful and has said he had no interactions with Epstein for several years prior to the financier’s arrest.
Donald Trump
Former President Donald Trump is also mentioned in the documents but not accused.
Sjoberg mentioned an incident when she left with Epstein, Giuffre and a few others on a plane from Palm Beach, Florida, in 2001.
When the plane was unable to land in New York due to a storm, they had to land in Atlantic City and went to one of Trump’s casinos. Since Giuffre was underage at the time, Sjoberg was asked if she was allowed into the casino.
“I did not know anything about how old you had to be to gamble legally. I just knew she could not get in because of an ID issue, so she and I did not gamble,” Sjoberg answered.
Stephen Hawking
The late physicist’s name was mentioned in an email sent by Epstein to Maxwell in January 2015. In this email, Epstein told Maxwell to “issue a reward” to any of Giuffre’s friends, family and acquaintances to come forward and disprove Giuffre’s allegations, including against Hawking.
“the strongest is the clinton dinner, and the new version in the virgin isalnds that stven hawking partica-ted in an underage orgy,” the email said.
Michael Jackson
Sjoberg said she saw the late singer at Epstein’s residence. When she was asked if she gave him a massage, she said no.
More names to come
Not all the documents have been unsealed. The judge hasn’t set a target for when all of the documents should be made public, but more documents are expected to come out in the next few days. Lawyers for one individual, Doe 107, wrote to the judge, arguing they could face victimisation in their home country and requested time to submit grounds for their name to remain sealed.
A list of names connected to late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein is set to be released to the public, bringing renewed attention to a sex-trafficking operation that has captured international headlines for years.
A United States judge authorised the unsealing of court documents last month, as part of a 2015 defamation lawsuit brought by Virginia Giuffre, who accused Epstein and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell of trafficking her as a minor.
The documents are set to reveal more than 150 names of people linked to Epstein, who died by suicide in a US prison in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking and other charges.
They include individuals accused of wrongdoing, as well as those who worked for or had only tangential ties to Epstein. Among the names are also alleged sex-trafficking victims and witnesses to crimes, US media outlets have reported.
Here’s all you need to know about the list of names — and what its implications are.
Where do the names come from?
The names appear in court documents from the 2015 defamation lawsuit Giuffre filed against Maxwell, a British socialite who was later sentenced to 20 years in prison on charges related to sex trafficking.
Giuffre had accused Maxwell of facilitating her sexual abuse at the hands of Epstein and other powerful men. When Maxwell called those accusations “obvious lies”, Giuffre responded with the defamation suit.
The case was ultimately settled in 2017. As part of the court’s findings, a judge wrote that Giuffre “was a victim of sustained underage sexual abuse between 1999 and 2002”.
But the documents used in the case continued to provoke interest, well after the suit ended.
In 2018, the Miami Herald started legal proceedings to get access to the documents. “Thousands of pages have been released” on a “rolling basis” since then, according to the Herald, as part of a process to determine which files could be made public.
Many of the names in the documents had been redacted, though. But on December 18, the US District Court judge overseeing the case, Loretta Preska, decided some of the names could be unsealed as well.
She gave anyone affected until midnight on January 1 to file an objection, which means the files could be released as early as Tuesday.
How did the judge decide which names could be made public?
Preska argued in her decision that many of the names had already been revealed through court testimony or depositions, as well as in media reports. Up to the present, certain individuals had been referred to as John or Jane Doe in court documents.
Some names will remain sealed, however, because the individuals were minors when the alleged sexual abuse occurred and they have not spoken publicly. “The public interest does not outweigh the privacy interests of the alleged minor victim,” Preska wrote.
But concerns remain over how the public may react to any newly released names. The documents themselves “may not make clear why a certain individual became associated with Giuffre’s lawsuit”, ABC News reported.
That said, the new revelations will likely help illustrate the scale of Epstein’s alleged sex-trafficking ring and his influence among powerful members of society.
Epstein died by suicide before he could face sex-trafficking charges in court.
Will prominent names be included?
The United Kingdom’s Prince Andrew is expected to be named in the documents. Giuffre accused the British royal of forcing her to have sex with him two decades ago when she was 17, an allegation Prince Andrew has vehemently denied. The case was settled in 2022.
According to ABC News, the unsealed court documents are expected to contain details from a witness — identified as Jane Doe 162 — “who testified she was with Prince Andrew, Maxwell and Giuffre, then 17, at Epstein’s New York mansion”.
“Giuffre has alleged that gathering, in 2001, was one of the occasions she was directed to have sex with Andrew,” the news outlet reported.
Former US President Bill Clinton is also expected to be named in the released documents, though he was not accused of any wrongdoing by Giuffre. She had said she met Clinton on Epstein’s private island in the Caribbean, US media outlets have reported.
When US prosecutors filed sex trafficking and conspiracy charges against Epstein in 2019, the ex-president’s spokesman, Angel Urena, said Clinton “knows nothing about the terrible crimes” the disgraced financier had been accused of.
“In 2002 and 2003, President Clinton took a total of four trips on Jeffrey Epstein’s airplane: one to Europe, one to Asia, and two to Africa, which included stops in connection with the work of the Clinton Foundation,” Urena said.
“He’s not spoken to Epstein in well over a decade and has never been to Little St. James Island, Epstein’s ranch in New Mexico, or his residence in Florida.”
ABC News reported that Clinton’s name appears more than 50 times in the court filings, but mentions of the former president are often related to efforts to subpoena him “for deposition testimony about his relationship with Epstein”.
Rikki Klieman, a legal analyst with CBS News, said this week that “it’s highly significant for documents to be unsealed so that the complete story of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell can be made public”.
“We need to know as members of the public who have an interest in keeping women and young girls, children, safe from predators,” Klieman said.
Giuffre also commented on the release last month over social media, describing Judge Preska as “honourable” for her decision to make the names public and ensure transparency.
She added there were “going to be a lot of nervous [people] over Christmas and New Years”.
Jeffrey Epstein’s former assistant is “quietly waiting” for the other shoe to drop as the court documents exposing more than 170 people with ties to the pedophile’s sex trafficking ring are set to be released Tuesday.
Sarah Kellen, 44 — who allegedly scheduled the “massages” in which Epstein sexually abused his victims — is waiting to see if her name will be a part of the bombshell document dump, but could use her mountain of insider secrets to weasel her way out of trouble, according to a report.
Kellen has reportedly held her cards close to her chest over the last few years in anticipation of such an unveiling that could out her as an integral partner to the perverted operation.
“She had a front-row seat to the debauchery. What she knows would shock the world,” a source close to Kellen and her husband, former NASCAR driver Brian Vickers, told The Messenger.
“She has so much to say, to plead her case.”
It is not clear if Kellen will appear as one of the names — known only as John and Jane Does previously — expected to be revealed in the documents after Manhattan federal Judge Loretta Preska recently ruled they would be unsealed in the new year.
Kellen worked for Epstein for several years starting in the early 2000s and has been called a “knowing participant” in his sickening scheme involving underage girls.
But she has largely avoided the public eye after her former boss committed suicide in 2019 and his partner, Ghislaine Maxwell, was convicted two years later for sex trafficking young girls.
Sarah Kellen worked for Jeffrey Epstein for several years starting in the 2010s, as seen in images included in the lawsuit criminal complaint. MEGA
She and Vickers live in a luxury Miami Beach “fortress” outfitted with private entrances that ensure she can’t be surprised with subpoenas, according to the source.
“They have enjoyed basic anonymity and privacy and freedom for many years,” the insider told the outlet.
“They don’t want any changes. So the pattern for which they live, which by the way is very careful — almost to the point of paranoia, is not without purpose.”
Kellen worked closely with Ghislaine Maxwell, as seen in images included in lawsuit documents. DOJKellen has remained out of the spotlight since Epstein committed suicide in 2019. MEGA
The source said Kellen — who previously claimed she was regularly sexually abused by Epstein — could write a tell-all book detailing all she knows about her boss and Maxwell, but has remained quiet in order to keep the information as a “get out of jail free card.”
“It’s more valuable for her to hold onto the information should she need it to stay free,” the source said.
Although Kellen has not been charged with a crime, she has already been named in documents filed in a since-settled 2015 defamation lawsuit Epstein accuser Virginia Roberts Giuffre brought against Maxwell.
Kellen was also repeatedly mentioned at Maxwell’s federal criminal trial in Manhattan, with one victim claiming the assistant arranged “massage” appointments where Epstein would abuse her and take nude photographs of her.
Kellen allegedly scheduled “massages” in which Epstein sexually abused his victims. This image was included in lawsuit court documents. DOJ
During Maxwell’s sentencing in 2022, Judge Alison Nathan pointedly called Kellen a “knowing participant in the criminal conspiracy.”
Kellen did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.
Several people identified in the documents have already had their association with Epstein or his vile sex-trafficking ring exposed.
Many accusers and alleged victims are expected to be named, along with people who worked for Epstein over the years, were a part of his inner circle, or allegedly participated in his crimes.
The release of the trove of court documents is expected to take place on Jan. 2.
Court in Nepal finds Lamichhane guilty of raping an 18-year-old woman at a Kathmandu hotel in 2022.
A court in Nepal has found the country’s highest profile cricketer Sandeep Lamichhane guilty of raping an 18-year-old woman and has fixed January 10 for his sentencing.
The judgement was announced after a repeatedly delayed trial that had left him free to continue his sporting career.
The 23-year-old has been the face of cricket in Nepal and was the only player from the country to take part in prominent Twenty20 leagues across the world.
He was suspended as Nepal’s captain last year and taken into custody after police issued an arrest warrant for him over the assault in 2022. He was later released on bail.
Lamichhane could face up to 10 years in jail. His lawyers said he would appeal the verdict to a higher court.
“We did not expect this judgement … we are frustrated,” lawyer Sabita Bhandari Baral told the Reuters news agency about Friday’s verdict by the Kathmandu District Court.
“We’ll definitely appeal,” she said.
District Court official Ramu Sharma confirmed the verdict to the AFP news agency.
“The event was not consensual,” he said.
The former captain’s on-field success has boosted the sport’s profile in the Himalayan nation over the past few years.
When authorities issued an arrest warrant, Lamichhane initially failed to return from Jamaica, where he was playing in the Caribbean Premier League.
He was dismissed as national captain and arrested last year, but Nepal lifted his playing ban after he was freed on bail.
This allowed him to remain in the national team, including for the World Cup qualifiers and September’s Asia Cup.
Lamichhane has consistently denied the charge against him and enjoyed strong public support despite the accusations.
Hundreds of cheering cricket fans welcomed him when he returned to the field in February.
But his continued playing career has also sparked anger and caused numerous Nepalis to disavow the team.
Scotland’s cricketers refused to shake hands with him after their matches during an international tournament in Dubai.
The case took more than a year to conclude after repeated delays on procedural grounds.
Cricket has been growing in popularity in Nepal and the country was given one-day international status by the world governing body in 2018.
Lamichhane has been a major part of this rise as the most sought-after Nepali cricketer in lucrative leagues around the world.
The leg spinner’s big break came when he was snapped up for the lucrative Indian Premier League, the world’s richest cricket tournament, in 2018.
Prosecutors cite ‘strong public interest’ for resolving major case against disgraced crypto exchange founder.
United States prosecutors have chosen not to pursue a second trial for FTX cryptocurrency exchange founder Sam Bankman-Fried, who has already been found guilty of fraud and money laundering, and proceed instead to sentencing.
Prosecutors said in a letter filed in a New York court on Friday that pursuing a second trial for the disgraced tycoon would only serve to delay the case against him, which is already strong enough.
“Given that practical reality, and the strong public interest in a prompt resolution of this matter, the Government intends to proceed to sentencing on the counts for which the defendant was convicted at trial,” prosecutors said in the letter to Judge Lewis Kaplan, who presided over Bankman-Fried’s first criminal trial last year.
In November, a jury found Bankman-Fried guilty of seven counts of fraud, embezzlement and criminal conspiracy, among other charges.
The 31-year-old was accused of using billions of dollars from customer deposits on FTX to cover losses at his hedge fund, pay off loans and buy luxury real estate, among other large personal expenses.
At the trial, he had admitted to making “mistakes” that ended up hurting people, but pleaded not guilty to the charges as he claimed he never meant to steal.
Billions of dollars were lost after Bankman-Fried’s crimes came to light in 2022, something that also contributed to deepening a crypto market downturn that had started earlier that year.
Federal prosecutors have previously described the case as “one of the biggest financial frauds in American history”.
Bankman-Fried is slated to be sentenced on March 28, when he could face up to 110 years in prison.
Prosecutors argued that much of the evidence that could be offered at a second trial was already presented at the first trial, and that a second trial would not affect how much time he could face in prison.
They also said victims would not benefit from forfeiture or restitution orders if sentencing is delayed.
Bankman-Fried is expected to file an appeal against his conviction.
He was previously extradited from the Bahamas, where his companies were based.
The US and the Bahamas have since been clashing over which country’s prosecutors have the legal jurisdiction and right to prosecute him. US prosecutors on Friday wrote that the US government “does not have a timeline for when the Bahamas may respond to its request”.
Bankman-Fried, a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), has been in jail since August, and had his bail revoked after a judge concluded that he had likely tampered with prospective trial witnesses.
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