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(03/12/19 3:51am)
By Megan Mayernik
Staff Writer
Dr. Walid Fitaihi, a dual citizen of Saudi Arabia and the U.S., has “reportedly been beaten, tortured and jailed” in Saudi Arabia as of March 3. Fitaihi is a physician who came to the U.S. for schooling and work, reported CNN.
According to The Washington Post, Fitaihi was reportedly grabbed from his room at the Ritz Carlton, “slapped, blindfolded, stripped to his underwear, bound to a chair, shocked with electricity and whipped so severely” that he was unable to sleep on his back for some time.
Howard Cooper, Fitaihi’s lawyer, stated that Fitaihi is a well-known motivational speaker who became recognized in Saudi Arabia for advocating ideas of civil rights and equality, according to CNN. He is also the founder of a medical center in Jeddah, The Washington Post reported.
Fitaihi was detained in November of 2017 in a supposed corruption crackdown in Saudi Arabia. He still “remains imprisoned without any public charges or trial,” according to The New York Times.
Fitaihi’s lawyer has written to the State Department saying that the doctor “is in fear for his life, that he cannot take his situation any longer and that he desires all possible help.”
Fitaihi is not alone. In fact, about 200 prominent Saudis were detained with him in 2017 and he is one of dozens who remain in prison, according to The New York Times.
According to The New York Times, the fact that Fitaihi is an American citizen and is being held captive and tortured under the command of Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman should force President Donald Trump to take action.
According to U.S. intelligence agencies, the crown prince ordered the killing of the Saudi dissident and Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi.
The Trump administration’s public silence about the incarceration of Fitaihi seems to contradict the president’s boasts about his successful efforts to extricate American citizens held abroad, according to Fitaihi’s American friends.
The New York Times stated that at the end of January, when Saudi Arabia announced the end of its corruption purge, they notified that 64 people were “still being held for prosecution on new or pre-existing criminal charges.” Fitaihi’s friends said that they believe he is one of them.
(01/29/19 9:50pm)
Four years ago, a white police officer opened fire on a black teenage boy outside a Burger King in Chicago, according to The New York Times. The killing, captured on a dashboard camera, reshaped the city.
After a jury found him guilty of murder last year in the 2014 shooting of Laquan McDonald, former Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke faced a judge on Jan. 18 to determine his sentence. According to Reuters, Van Dyke was sentenced to nearly seven years in prison, though he could have faced up to 20 years in prison for his second-degree murder conviction and up to 30 years for each of the 16 counts of aggravated battery, one count for each shot he fired at McDonald.
According to Reuters, activists wanted a longer sentence due to the influence this case has had on Chicago and the Black Lives Matter movement.
Upon hearing his sentence, Reuters reported that Van Dyke sat expressionless and unshaven in his yellow-orange uniform.
Van Dyke’s conviction in October 2018 was a landmark verdict, as it was the first time an on-duty Chicago police officer was held criminally accountable for killing an African-American, according to Global News. The verdict sparked celebratory street demonstrations in Chicago, as the jury’s verdict followed numerous acquittals of police officers facing criminal charges across the country in the deaths of black men.
A recovered dashcam video showed the incident and prompted the dismissal of the city’s police superintendent. People also called for Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel to resign, according to Reuters. During the three-week trial, prosecutors showed the video repeatedly. Jurors faulted Van Dyke for escalating the conflict with McDonald when he could have waited for an officer with a non-lethal Taser weapon.
Police killings of mostly unarmed black men and teenagers elsewhere in the United States helped fuel the Black Lives Matter movement, and McDonald became a national symbol of police brutality, according to The New York Times.
The controversial case conjured up many emotions for the people of Chicago, and America at large, who viewed the incident as a tragic injustice against McDonald, according to The Chicago Tribune.
According to The New York Times, Eric Russell, executive director of Tree of Life Justice League (a group from Chicago’s West Side that advocates for police accountability), said that he and other leaders expected hundreds of people to protest the verdict on Friday before Van Dyke’s sentencing.
Despite falling short of the initial sentencing projections, prosecutor Joseph McMahon said he was satisfied with the sentence. According to Reuters, McMahon stated that “there’s nothing to celebrate here. … There is no good outcome. This is a tragedy on so many different levels.”
(10/02/18 1:30am)
By Megan Mayernik
Staff Writer
The Department of Criminal Justice Services struck down a school board’s plan in rural Virginia that would allow a selection of teachers and staff members to carry concealed weapons on school grounds, according to The Washington Post. The Lee County School Board’s plan, voted on in July, was rejected on Sept. 23, and Superintendent Brian Austin’s application to register as an armed special conservator of the peace was also rejected.
Amidst the escalating fear of mass shootings, there is a push to amplify security in schools. Since the mass school shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut in December 2012, more than 400 people have been shot in over 200 school shootings, according to The New York Times.
After the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, in February 2018, many school districts began campaigns to allow their teachers to carry firearms to protect their students. According to CNN, 14 states have proposed 25 bills or resolutions which relate to arming school employees following the Parkland shooting.
Upon the denied response, Austin sought legal counsel, and is considering appealing the verdict, according to The Washington Post. If successful in its pursuit, the Lee County school system will be the first in Virginia to permit staff to be armed during school hours.
According to Vice News, various school districts, such as those in Texas and Utah, have allowed teachers to carry guns for more than a decade. Despite the fact that the Lee County School Board’s plan was denied, at least 14 other states already arm teachers during school hours.
Officials in Lee County argue that the school district cannot afford to hire armed school resource officers, according to The Washington Post.
According to NPR, Title IV, the law that determines what federal funds are to be used for within education systems, is intended for “student support and academic enrichment.” In addition, the act also permits spending on violence prevention.
Ultimately, Title IV provisions are determined by the state. The section about violence prevention in schools specifically gives states the decision on how to spend their money in order to create safe conditions, according to NPR. The specifications of this law explain why Virginia was able to make the decision of rejecting the Lee County School Board’s request, despite the fact that other states have granted the same request.
Though Austin and the Lee County School Board were denied in their plan to allow for a selection of teachers and staff members to carry concealed weapons on school grounds, Austin has until Oct. 13 to appeal the decision, according to the Washington Post.
(04/30/18 12:26am)
By Megan Mayernik
Staff Writer
North Korea announced important changes to its foreign policy and nuclear defense programs on April 21, when Kim Jong-un declared that he will end nuclear and missile testing, according to Foreign Policy.
The country’s decision to suspend nuclear tests and missile launches came at a plenary meeting of the Central Committee on April 20, according to The Guardian.
President Donald Trump considered North Korea’s new commitment to denuclearization an easy victory for the U.S.
“Wow, we haven’t given up anything & they have agreed to denuclearization (so great for World), site closure, & no more testing!” Trump tweeted.
Kim hinted that while programs are being suspended, he does not intend to give up his nuclear arsenal any time soon, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Kim also announced the country’s pause in testing nuclear weapons. Kim referred to his nuclear program as a “powerful treasured sword” in the notes of the third plenary meeting of the Seventh Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea, according to KCNA Watch.
It is still uncertain whether or not the North Korean leader will stick to his word on this decision, as some analysts greeted this announcement with caution since Kim has violated previous nuclear deals, according to The Guardian.
Analysts also point out that Kim’s announcement did not mention North Korea’s “shorter-range ballistic missiles, capable of striking Japan and South Korea,” according to The Guardian.
Federica Mogherini, the European Union’s foreign affairs chief, said that the move was part of a long process that must eventually lead to the country’s “complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization,” according to The Guardian.
Kim stated that halting the country’s nuclear testing "is an important process for the worldwide disarmament" and pledged that North Korea would refuse to share its nuclear knowledge with other countries under any circumstances. He also made sure to note that “North Korea wouldn't use its nuclear weapons unless provoked,” according to The Wall Street Journal.
In the early stages of talk about North Korea’s denuclearization, Kim originally demanded an end to the U.S. military presence on the Korean Peninsula in exchange for his country’s denuclearization, according to The Wall Street Journal.
North Korea later dropped this demand before Kim met with Trump and South Korean President Moon Jae-in to discuss denuclearization, according to CNN.
(03/25/18 5:48pm)
By Megan Mayernik
Staff Writer
Seven U.S. service members were killed on March 15 after their helicopter crashed in western Iraq, according to CNN. The crash left no survivors and is not believed to be a result of enemy activity.
The HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopter crashed near Qaim, a city located near the Syrian border, shortly after takeoff, according to The New York Times. Preliminary investigations suggested the helicopter suffered from a technical malfunction, as the crash occurred relatively close to the city’s U.S. military base that is used as a hub to direct logistics and supplies.
A nearby American helicopter immediately reported the crash, according to NBC. The scene was quickly secured by the responding Iraqi security forces and coalition members.
“While the investigation is still ongoing, there is absolutely no reason to believe this involved enemy action,” said Colonel Thomas Veale, a spokesman for an American coalition in opposition of the Islamic State, according to NBC. “All indications are this was an accident during a routine troop movement.”
The U.S.-led coalition in Iraq has continued to work with Iraqi forces as well as the Syrian Democratic Forces to ensure that foreign fighters and insurgents are monitored across the region, according to NBC.
Two of the victims were members of the New York City Fire Department, according to CNN. One day after the crash, Lieutenant Christopher J. Raguso of Division 13 and Fire Marshal Christopher T. “Tripp” Zanetis of the Bureau of Fire Investigation were memorialized by New York Mayor Bill de Blasio.
“They are truly two of New York City’s bravest — running into danger to protect and defend others, both in New York City and in combat overseas,” de Blasio said, according to CNN. “On behalf of all New Yorkers, I extend my deepest condolences to their families, loved ones and fellow service members and FDNY members.”
Raguso was recognized for his bravery and honored by more than 100 mourners who gathered at the fire station where he served, according to the New York Post.
Raguso and Zanetis were also honored during the city’s annual St. Patrick’s Day parade, according to CBS.
President Donald Trump also offered his condolences to the families, according to CNN.
“Their sacrifice in service to our country will never be forgotten,” Trump tweeted on March 16.
The crash is a grim reminder of the international conflict that has continued for years in the Middle East. In a public statement, Brig. Gen. Jonathan P. Braga, the director of operations for the fight against the Islamic State, commended the bravery of those killed as the fight against ISIL continues in the region.
“This tragedy reminds us of the risks our men and women face every day in service of our nations,” Braga said, according to The New York Times. “We are thinking of the loved ones of these service members today.”