Journalist freed after interviewing rape victim

SOMALIA: A Somalian journalist has been set free by the country’s Supreme Court
after he was imprisoned for interviewing a woman who alleged she was raped by security forces, the BBC reports. In February, Abdiaziz Abdinur Ibrahim and the woman were handed one-year jail terms after being convicted of offending the state’s institution. Police accused Ibrahim of collecting material on rape in camps for displaced people for Al Jazeera. Prosecutors charged the woman was paid to lie by Ibrahim for his report, despite reporting the rape to Mogadishu police. The woman was later released on appeal. Though he did not report the story, Ibrahim remained imprisoned, the case drawing the ire of human rights activists and journalists across the world, the report noted.

U.S. teens convicted of rape that was documented online

UNITED STATES: A pair of high school football players in Ohio have been found guilty of raping a 16-year-old girl following a drunken party last August, the BBC reports. Trent Mays, 16, and Ma’like Richmond, 17, were sentenced to a year in juvenile detention, after the case gained national notoriety the following morning through social media, online videos and text messages. Mays and Richmond left a party with the girl in the small town of Steubenville, and raped her first in her car and later at a friend’s house. The girl claimed no memory of the rape, which had been documented through text messages, tweets and photos posted online by Mays and Richmond, as well as party-goers. Mays was further sentenced to a second year for taking pictures of the naked victim, the BCC noted, and both may serve detention until they are 21.

Brazil town cracking down on ‘ghost employees’

BRAZIL: Brazilian doctor Thaune Ferreira is facing a list of fraud charges after being caught using silicone fingers to sign absent colleagues into work, the BBC reports. Ferreira works at a hospital in the town of Ferraz de Vasconcelos, which uses a device that scans employees’ fingers to monitor attendance. Ferreira was found with six fake fingers following a two-week investigation by police. Three of the fingers match the prints of her coworkers. Town mayor Acir Fillo says a police investigation has found that up to 300 employees in the town had been receiving pay without working. The so-called “ghost employees” are largely in the health, education and security fields of work, the report noted.

Cyprus imposing new bank tax to avoid bankruptcy

UNITED KINGDOM: The U.K. government announced it would reimburse its military troops and government workers in Cyprus facing a new bank levy as part of a $9-billion euro bailout package, the BBC reported. Cyprus recently announced bank clients would pay a one-time 6.75 per cent levy on accounts up to 100,000 euros, while higher deposits in accounts would face a 9.9 per cent levy. As many as 3,000 British troops in the country and 25,000 expatriates could be impacted, the BBC noted. Brits have about two billion euros in Cyprus banks, according to the European Central Bank. The U.K.’s treasury did not have an estimate on how much compensation would cost. Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades called the levies “painful,” but said they were needed to avert a “disorderly bankruptcy,” according to the report. People in Cyprus have been lining up outside of banks to withdraw their savings.

Published in Volume 67, Number 24 of The Uniter (March 21, 2013)