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Australia

Australian academic Sean Turnell detained in Myanmar pleads not guilty in closed court

Sean Turnell (R) with his wife Ha Vu

An Australian academic who is being tried with ousted Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi on charges of violating the country’s official secrets law has testified in court for the first time, a legal official says.

Sean Turnell, an economist at Sydney’s Macquarie University, had served as an adviser to Ms Suu Kyi, who was arrested when her elected government was usted by the army on February 1 last year.

He was arrested five days later and faces up to five years’ imprisonment.

Professor Turnell is now being held in the main prison in Naypyitaw, the capital, as is Ms Suu Kyi.

Three of Ms Suu Kyi’s former cabinet members are being tried with them in a special court at the prison.

A legal official familiar with Thursday’s proceedings said Professor Turnell denied the allegations against him and pleaded not guilty in his first court appearance, but details of his testimony are limited.

Professor Turnell’s lawyers have been barred from talking about the case, while all trials involving Ms Suu Kyi have been closed to the media and public.

The legal official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to release information, said Professor Turnell and his co-defendants appeared to be in good health.

The exact details of the alleged offense in the case have not been made public, though Myanmar state television, citing government statements, said last year that Professor Turnell had access to “secret state financial information” and had tried to flee the country.

‘Trumped-up charges’

Friend and fellow economist Tim Harcourt told the ABC the opaque legal process was concerning.

“Let’s face it, it’s trumped-up charges by an authoritarian regime that wants to use Sean to discredit Aung San Suu Kyi. That’s what it’s all about,” he said.

“He’s pleaded not guilty because he’s not guilty.

“All he did was advise the Myanmar government on things they should do with their economy … providing good advice to improve the living standards of ordinary citizens.”

He said the advice from the previous Australian government was to take a “softly, softly” approach.

“But quite clearly, it hasn’t worked. It’s been 18 months now,” he said.

“The fact you can have such an authoritarian, murderous regime doing what it’s doing, and Australia hasn’t considered sanctions, is pretty surprising.

“Particularly given how quickly people acted with respect to Vladimir Putin with Ukraine, which was correct, they’ve sort of let Myanmar drift off.”

He said Foreign Minister Penny Wong had been more vocal about Professor Turnell’s case.

Defense Minister Richard Marles said he could not comment on the details of Australia’s consular access to Professor Turnell, but said the government was concerned about his situation.

“We are concerned about the level of access available to those providing consular services to Professor Turnell,” he said.

“Our most important engagement with Myanmar right now is around seeing a safe return of Professor Turnell to this country.

“And we will not rest until we have a situation where Professor Turnell is returned safely to Australia and safely to his country.”

Senator Wong has previously said sanctions are under active consideration and Professor Turnell is Australia’s top priority in Myanmar.

“Another question is, would sanctions make it worse for him or better for him? Does applying pressure put pressure on Myanmar or does it just anger them? So that’s a question for the judgment of the government,” Professor Harcourt said.

Professor Turnell appears with Aung San Suu Kyi
Professor Turnell and Ms Suu Kyi are being held in the main prison in Naypyitaw, the capital.(LinkedIn)

Professor Turnell is also being prosecuted under immigration law, which carries a punishment of six months to five years’ imprisonment. Prosecutions under immigration law are common for foreigners being held for other offences.

The judge adjourned Thursday’s proceedings until next week, when Ms Suu Kyi is to testify.

The case is one of many faced by Ms Suu Kyi and is widely seen as an effort to discredit her to prevent her return to politics.

The charges against her include corruption and election fraud. She has already been convicted of several minor offenses.

Last year’s military takeover sparked peaceful nationwide street protests that security forces quashed with lethal force, triggering armed resistance that some UN experts have characterized as civil war.

ABC/AP

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Categories
Australia

Jury discharged after nearly a week of deliberations in Brendan Pallant murder trial

Jury discharged after nearly a week of deliberations in Brendan Pallant murder trial

A Supreme Court jury in the trial of a Melbourne man accused of killing his new girlfriend’s toddler has been unable to come to a verdict.

WARNING: This story contains graphic content.

Brendan Pallant was on trial for the murder of two-year-old Jaidyn Gomes-Sebastiao in September 2019.

After nearly a week of deliberations the jurors told the court they were unable to agree unanimously on whether Mr Pallant was guilty or not guilty of the charge.

The toddler died of a brain injury which the prosecution alleged was inflicted by Mr Pallant using a 4.6kg coffee table.

“Sometime that afternoon it’s alleged that Mr Pallant, during a short but profound period of frustration, anger, impatience, and loss of self-control, entered the boy’s bedroom and seriously assaulted two-year-old Jaidyn Gomes-Sebastiao,” Mark Gibson QC said.

Defense lawyers shift blame to mother

Mr Pallant’s lawyers, however, argued the injury could have been caused by another person, including Jaidyn’s mother, Stacie Saggers.

“The evidence is equally consistent with someone, Stacie, pushing or throwing Jaidyn into it,” Rishi Nathwani said.

Jaidyn had been left napping in the care of Mr Pallant while his mother went to work at a cleaning job.

Not long after she arrived home, having had some food and a sleep, Mr Pallant had suggested waking the boy, the court heard.

It was then, the defense said, Mr Pallant found Jaidyn injured in his bedroom.

“Brendan Pallant gave Jaidyn CPR, mouth-to-mouth, and during that he vomited,” Mr Nathwani told the trial.

“Is that consistent with someone wanting to kill?”

During a month-long trial the court heard Jaidyn had been left in his bedroom napping in the care of his mother’s new boyfriend, Mr Pallant, on the day he died.

A photo of a toddle with blonde hair and blue eyes looking into the camera.
The court heard two-year-old Jaidyn Gomes-Sebastiao was in the care of Brendan Pallant on the day of his death.(Supplied)

Ms Saggers had met Mr Pallant just a month earlier, allowing him to move into her Langwarrin home days later.

The court heard the pair did drugs at the home and had taken some the night before Jaidyn’s death.

“[Ms Saggers] sold her son’s bed for drugs,” Mr Nathwani told the jury.

“There was methamphetamine and amphetamine in her son’s body, both in urine and in his hair.”

The crown prosecutor said despite the environment, Ms Saggers kept her home tidy and her children fed and clean.

“Sure, she was not a perfect mother, perhaps not even a good mother at times, but she was never, ever violent or physically aggressive,” Mr Gibson said.

He told the court Ms Saggers had started to notice signs Jaidyn was being injured shortly after Mr Pallant moved in, even taking photos of new bruises to monitor her suspicions.

Judge declares no verdict will be reached

Supreme Court Justice Jane Dixon discharged the jury on its sixth day of deliberations.

“Murder is a charge that requires a unanimous verdict,” Justice Dixon said.

“You’ve indicated that, despite all of that, you’ve not been able to reach a unanimous verdict.

“It’s not likely you ever will.

“This sometimes happens.”

Justice Dixon thanked the jury for its work during the month-long trial and its subsequent attempt at coming to a decision.

“You have not seen your family and friends since probably last Thursday, you’ve been cut off from communications with the world,” she said.

“You went through the Melbourne lockdowns, and you’ve been locked down again.

“On behalf of the community, you have been extraordinary, you have made such great sacrifices.”

Mr Pallant has been remanded in custody.

The case will return to court for a hearing next month to decide what happens next.

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Categories
US

Yaser Said’s ex-wife slams ‘devil’ father for ‘honor killings’ of daughters

Yaser Said's ex-wife slams 'devil' father for 'honor killings' of daughters

A Texas man on trial for murdering his two daughters in “honor killings” because they were dating American boys was called the “devil” in court Thursday by the girls’ mother, who detailed 15 years of abuse during their marriage.

Patricia Owens, Yaser Said’s former wife, had not seen him since New Year’s Day of 2008 — when he took their daughters Amina, 18, and Sarah, 17, to dinner and insisted on going alone so they could talk.

Instead, prosecutors say, Said shot the girls multiple times in the cab he drove and left them for dead outside a hotel in suburban Irving.

Owens testified that she and the girls had just returned to their home in Lewisville, Texas, from Oklahoma, where they had gone to get away from Said. She testified she knew the girls were dating — and that Said would have become enraged if he knew about it.

“I just thought he would, like, punish them, like take their phone away and stuff like that,” she said.

But long before 2008, Owens testified, she and her daughters were abused by Said. She told the jury how she married Said in 1987, when she was just 15 and he was 29. She gave birth to Amina, Sarah, and their brother Islam in the first three years of their marriage.

Patricia Owens called her ex-husband Yaser Said the "evil" for allegedly murdering their two daughters at his trial in Dallas, Texas on August 4, 2022.
Patricia Owens called her ex-husband Yaser Said the “devil” for allegedly murdering their two daughters at his trial in Dallas on Aug. 4, 2022.
Liesbeth Powers/The Dallas Morning News via AP
Said allegedly killed his two daughters Amina, 18, and Sarah, 17, in 2008 because they were dating American boys.
Said allegedly killed his two daughters Amina, 18, and Sarah, 17, in 2008 because they were dating American boys.
Liesbeth Powers/The Dallas Morning News via AP

Owens claimed she left Said multiple times during the marriage and described him as controlling.

In 1998, while living near Waco, Texas, Owens filed a report with the Hill County Sheriff’s Office accusing Said of sexually abusing the two girls. She took all three children and left him for months, before returning and telling the girls to recant their story.

“I felt scared not to go back,” Owens explained. “Yaser was abusive.”

Said allegedly shot the two girls and left them dead outside of a hotel in Irving, Texas.
Said allegedly shot the two girls and left them dead outside of a hotel in Irving, Texas.
Owens claimed Said abused her and their daughters.
Owens claimed Said abused her and their daughters.
Liesbeth Powers/The Dallas Morning News via AP

In late 2007, Owens and her daughters fled again to Tulsa, Okla., after the girls feared their father would kill them if he learned they had both become engaged to their boyfriends. Owens said Said had previously threatened Amina with a gun.

The mother and daughters returned to Texas to finish their schooling on the promise that Said would leave the family home. Even then, Amina refused to go back to the house, fearful of the repercussions.

When prosecutors asked Owens if she knew what would happen when they returned, she replied, “Part of me did. Part of me didn’t.”

Photos of Sarah and Amina Said shown at the "honor killing" trial.
Photos of Sarah and Amina Said shown at the “honor killing” trial.
Shafkat Anowar/The Dallas Morning News via AP

Earlier this week, prosecutors played a recording of a 911 call placed by Sarah after she had been shot, but was still alive.

“My father shot me. I’m dying,” Sarah said in the recording.

Said, who was arrested in August 2020 after more than a decade on the lam, has maintained his innocence and his lawyer has argued that he is being targeted by law enforcement for being Muslim in a post-Sept. 11 world.

He will serve an automatic life sentence if he’s found guilty.

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Categories
Australia

Harley Thompson found not criminally responsible for fatal Bomaderry house fire

Man sits outside patting a dog

New South Wales South Coast man Harley Thompson, accused of murdering his neighbor in a house fire, has been found not criminally responsible for the death.

The 27-year-old sat in the Mid North Coast Correction Center in Kempsey watching the verdict via a video link today as it was read in the Nowra Supreme Court.

Wearing prison greens with a shaven head and mullet, he was quiet and still through the proceedings.

Mr Thompson initially lied to police about starting the fire on July 31, 2020, but later acknowledged that he did.

Cameron Johnston, 49, was killed in the fire.

Mr Thompson had repeatedly threatened Mr Johnson at his Bomaderry house on the night of the fire, smashed windows and yelled profanity-laden abuse at the man he did not know.

Phone records show Mr Johnson had called police and his housing provider on the night to report what was happening and that he and his son were “scared with just about every window smashed.”

Mr Thompson then “chucked” petrol through the windows of the house and set fire to the curtains.

Neighbors gave evidence that they heard Mr Johnston’s son scream “Dad, dad, dad” and a short time later heard Mr Thompson yell “Burn ****, burn”.

They said he later laughed while almost sounding excited.

An autopsy found Mr Johnston died from carbon monoxide toxicity and had suffered burns to multiple areas of his body.

Mr Thompson’s lawyers said during a trial over the past couple of weeks that he was not responsible for the crime because he had a mental health impairment.

Prosecutors argued he had feigned his symptoms.

the exterior of a brick court building with an arched entrance
The Supreme Court verdict was delivered in the Nowra Courthouse.(ABC Illawarra: Ainslie Druitt-Smith)

‘Satisfied’ with defense of mental health

In his verdict, Justice Michael Walton said he accepted the evidence provided by two expert psychiatrists as well as clinical assessments.

They diagnosed Mr Thompson with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder or depression with psychotic features.

It created severe delusions and auditory hallucinations.

One expert suggested the symptoms had presented when Mr Thompson was admitted to hospital in Victoria in November 2019.

Dr Andrew Ellis gave evidence that Mr Thompson’s symptom of echo des Pensée, which he described as “a very technical psychiatric term of hearing your own thoughts spoken out loud”, was not identified at the time.

Justice Walton told the court having considered all the evidence he was “satisfied that the defense of mental health impairment is established”.

“I have experienced temporary or ongoing disturbances of thought, perception, mood and mostly likely memory,” Justice Walton told the court.

“The disturbances were regarded by the experts as significant for clinical diagnostic purposes and the disturbances significantly impact judgement.”

He said while Mr Thompson also had a substance abuse problem, his impairment was his underlying mental health condition.

“I am satisfied that the accused knew of the nature and the quality of his act but did no reason with a moderate degree of sense and composure about whether the act, as perceived by a reasonable person, was wrong,” Justice Walton said.

“The verdict that will be entered on the indictment is ‘act proven but not criminally responsible’.”

A victim impact statement from Mr Johnston’s son, who was watching the verdict via the video link, was presented but not read aloud in the court.

“I express the condolence of the court and the community to the family and friends of Mr Johnston and in particular Mr Johnston’s father, brother and son,” Justice Walton said.

The Justice ordered Mr Thompson be detained and held under the supervision of the Mental Health Review Tribunal because of his history of escalating mental illness.

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Categories
US

Parent of Parkland victim wears father-daughter dance suit on stand

Parent of Parkland victim wears father-daughter dance suit on stand

Wearing the same suit he wore to their last father-daughter dance, the shattered parent of a Parkland school massacre victim said Wednesday that there are times when he finds it difficult to go on.

Testifying at the sentencing trial of killer Nikolas Cruz, Anthony Montalto told jurors that the loss of his daughter, Gina, 14, continues to suffocate him in pain.

“Life without Gina is nearly unbearable,” he said as tearful spectators looked on in the gallery.

The teen was among the 14 students and three staffers gunned down in 2018 by Cruz with an AR-15 rifle at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in one of the worst mass shootings in the nation’s history.

“The pain I feel every day since she was murdered is unimaginable,” Montalto said. “My daughter was always trying to make things better for others.”

The father tearfully described his daughter’s attributes and accomplishments, recalling the heroic time when she saved a toddler from drowning despite only being 10 years old at the time.

Montalto said his daughter noticed a 2-year-old boy struggling to stay afloat in a pool while their family was on a vacation.

Anthony Montalto, the father of Parkland school shooting victim Gina Montalto, had on the suit he wore to a father-daughter dance while testifying at shooter Nikolas Cruz's sentencing trial on August 3, 2022.
Anthony Montalto, the father of Parkland school shooting victim Gina Montalto, had on the suit he wore to a father-daughter dance while testifying at shooter Nikolas Cruz’s sentencing trial on August 3, 2022.
Amy Beth Bennett/Pool via REUTERS
Montalto said that life without his daughter Gina is "unbearable" at Cruz's trial.
Montalto said at Cruz’s trial that life without his daughter Gina is “unbearable.”
Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun Sentinel via AP, Pool
Jennifer Montalto holding a photo of her daughter Gina while giving her victim impact statement.
Jennifer Montalto holding a photo of her daughter Gina while giving her victim impact statement.
Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun Sentinel via AP, Pool

She rushed over and hoisted the toddler above the water line as her parents rushed over.

Moved by Montalto’s act, the boy’s thankful mother bought her a small gift as a token of her appreciation.

“Gina proudly displayed her turtle gift in her room to this day,” her father said before choking back tears.

“She was kind, compassionate and caring. those are just a few of the qualities that made her so special,” he said.

holding up a photo of Parkland victim Cara Loughran while on the stand.
Family friend Isabel Dalu holding up a photo of Parkland victim Cara Loughran while on the stand.
Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun Sentinel via AP, Pool

The straight-A student’s death has also deeply traumatized her younger brother, Anthony, who struggles to make sense of her absence, according to their father.

“He and Gina were best buddies,” Montalto said, again struggling to speak. “Playing together and filling our house with laughter. Now there is a deadening silence. Broken only by the deep sighs and soft sobbing that accompany what used to be happy memories of our children playing.”

Max Schachter, father of 14-year-old victim Alex Schachter, told the court that the loss of his son — who was killed sitting at his desk at just — has left him in pieces.

Max Schachter, the father of 14-year-old victim Alex Schachter, testified that his family was broken after the shooting.
Max Schachter, the father of 14-year-old victim Alex Schachter, testified that his family was broken after the shooting.
Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun Sentinel via AP, Pool

“Our family is broken,” he said. “There is this constant emptiness. I feel I can’t truly be happy. If I smile, I know that behind that smile there is the sharp realization that I will always be sad and miserable because Alex isn’t here.”

When preparing his eulogy after his death, the father said he went through Alex’s belongings and found a poem he wrote for an English class. I read it for the jury Wednesday.

“It might be hard to breathe at times,” the poem read. “But hold on tight and don’t let go. It might be too much at times, the twists at times, but get back up and eventually it all comes to a stop and you won’t know when or how.”

Jurors will decide if Cruz gets the death penalty or life without parole. On Thursday, the jury is set to walk through the school where the shooting took place, according to the Sun Sentinel.

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Categories
US

Alex Jones’s attorney ‘messed up’ and sent two years of texts to Sandy Hook parents’ lawyers

Alex Jones's attorney 'messed up' and sent two years of texts to Sandy Hook parents' lawyers

The legal team for far-right conspiracy theorist Alex Jones accidentally sent two years of his phone records to the attorneys for parents of a Sandy Hook school shooting victim, cross-examination revealed Wednesday during his defamation trial.

“Your attorneys messed up and sent me an entire digital copy of your entire cellphone with every text message you’ve sent for the past two years,” attorney Mark Bankston Told Jones during a hearing to decide damages in the civil case.

“And that is how I know you lied to me when you said you didn’t have to text messages about Sandy Hook,” he added.

Jones has long touted a theory that the 2012 shooting that killed 20 children and six teachers at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., was a hoax.

He was found guilty by default in four defamation cases last year after failing to comply with court orders.

Bankston argued Wednesday that Jones lied under oath about having searched his own phone for the texts and withheld the evidence in lawsuits brought by Sandy Hook families.

Jones replied that he’d given his phone over to his team.

“This is your Perry Mason moment,” he told Bankston, making reference to the fictional TV lawyer who often presented dramatic evidence at trial that changed the proceedings.

Bankston is part of the legal team representing Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis, parents of 6-year-old Sandy Hook shooting victim Jesse Lewis.

The Washington Post reported that Bankston caught Jones in a similar contradiction about related emails, showing the court copies of emails sent by Jones despite his insistence that he does not use email.

Bankston also revealed evidence indicating that Jones had not been truthful about his financial situation, perhaps in an effort to skirt the $150 million in defamation damages that the Sandy Hook parents are seeking, The New York Times reported.

Jones’s company, Free Speech Systems, filed for bankruptcy at the start of the trial — and his far-right website Infowars did the same back in April.

Jones testified Wednesday that he now acknowledges that the Sandy Hook massacre was real.

He said that meeting the victims’ parents, whom he previously called “crisis actors,” changed his mind. “It’s 100 percent real,” Jones said, according to The Associated Press.

Despite this concession, Jones continues to defend his actions and argues that the trial violates his free speech rights.

He arrived at the courthouse last week with “Save the 1st” written on a strip of duct tape over his mouth.

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Categories
US

Alex Jones’s attorney ‘messed up’ and sent two years of texts to Sandy Hook parents’ lawyers

Alex Jones's attorney 'messed up' and sent two years of texts to Sandy Hook parents' lawyers

The legal team for far-right conspiracy theorist Alex Jones accidentally sent two years of his phone records to the attorneys for parents of a Sandy Hook school shooting victim, cross-examination revealed Wednesday during his defamation trial.

“Your attorneys messed up and sent me an entire digital copy of your entire cellphone with every text message you’ve sent for the past two years,” attorney Mark Bankston Told Jones during a hearing to decide damages in the civil case.

“And that is how I know you lied to me when you said you didn’t have to text messages about Sandy Hook,” he added.

Jones has long touted a theory that the 2012 shooting that killed 20 children and six teachers at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., was a hoax.

He was found guilty by default in four defamation cases last year after failing to comply with court orders.

Bankston argued Wednesday that Jones lied under oath about having searched his own phone for the texts and withheld the evidence in lawsuits brought by Sandy Hook families.

Jones replied that he’d given his phone over to his team.

“This is your Perry Mason moment,” he told Bankston, making reference to the fictional TV lawyer who often presented dramatic evidence at trial that changed the proceedings.

Bankston is part of the legal team representing Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis, parents of 6-year-old Sandy Hook shooting victim Jesse Lewis.

The Washington Post reported that Bankston caught Jones in a similar contradiction about related emails, showing the court copies of emails sent by Jones despite his insistence that he does not use email.

Bankston also revealed evidence indicating that Jones had not been truthful about his financial situation, perhaps in an effort to skirt the $150 million in defamation damages that the Sandy Hook parents are seeking, The New York Times reported.

Jones’s company, Free Speech Systems, filed for bankruptcy at the start of the trial — and his far-right website Infowars did the same back in April.

Jones testified Wednesday that he now acknowledges that the Sandy Hook massacre was real.

He said that meeting the victims’ parents, whom he previously called “crisis actors,” changed his mind. “It’s 100 percent real,” Jones said, according to The Associated Press.

Despite this concession, Jones continues to defend his actions and argues that the trial violates his free speech rights.

He arrived at the courthouse last week with “Save the 1st” written on a strip of duct tape over his mouth.

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Categories
Business

Mercedes-Benz dealers seek $650m compensation from German car maker in ‘fight of their lives’

Bob Craig and car photo

Australian Mercedes-Benz dealers are in a $650 million “fight of their lives” against the luxury German car maker in a test case described as one of the most significant in franchise-law history.

Bob Craig sold his dealership of 48 years last year in frustration over Mercedes-Benz’s decision to move to a fixed-price agency sales model.

“I would love to have done 50 years with Mercedes,” Mr Craig said.

“In the last five years, there was a deterioration in relationships between the dealer and the manufacturer.”

Previously, dealers bought cars from Mercedes and could set their own sale price.

But under the agency model, which came into effect in January, the manufacturer retains ownership of the cars while dealers become agents that sell cars at a fixed price for a set commission.

Thirty-eight of the nation’s 55 Mercedes-Benz dealerships have launched legal action against the company in the Federal Court seeking compensation.

Dealers argue they were forced to sign new agency model deals with Mercedes that will dramatically reduce their profits and wipe out years of goodwill with customers.

Mr Craig is not involved in the court case because he sold his business in Orange before the agency model came into effect, but he is speaking on behalf of former colleagues too nervous to publicly criticize Mercedes.

“They’re all shattered, their livelihood is shattered,” Mr Craig said.

Bob and old photo
A photo of Bob Craig’s Mercedes-Benz dealership in Orange from the 1970s.(ABC News: Hamish Cole )

Dealers allege Mercedes hatched a secret plan in 2016 to switch to an agency model, undertook a sham consultation process, and pushed forward with a decision despite the majority of Australian dealers being against it.

They claim that in a bid to capture the profits of dealers, Mercedes has broken Australian Consumer Law by engaging in unconscionable conduct, along with breaching the franchising code’s good-faith provisions.

“This is an incredibly important case for the automotive industry,” Australian Automotive Dealer Association (AADA) chief executive James Voortman said.

“In fact, it’s probably one of the most important franchising cases in Australian history.”

James Voorten
James Voorten says dealers are arguing Mercedes-Benz has engaged in unconscionable conduct and breached its good-faith obligations.(ABC News: Matt Roberts )

Dealers involved in the case are seeking $650 million in compensation from the car marker.

“That takes account of all the millions of dollars of investment that has gone into facilities, but also equipment and the goodwill they’ve created,” Mr Voortman said.

“It’s a large claim, but it’s more than fair.”

“These are regional dealers, these are city dealers, they are Australian businesses, and they’re in the fight of their lives against a big multinational corporation.”

In March 2019, Deloitte modeled the impact of the agency model for dealers.

It found, for example, that under the agency model one particular dealer’s profits would decline by more than 50 per cent compared to the dealership model.

The case against Mercedes, which saw hearings begin in the Federal Court this week, is being funded by dealers involved in the legal battle, including billionaire businessman Nick Politis, the PR company working for AADA has confirmed.

“So many of these dealers have represented the brand for decades, they’ve invested so much money in the brand, and they’ve put in so much work to bring customers to the brand,” Mr Voortman said.

“And now all of that hard work is being taken away with change to a new business model.

“They need compensation for that change, and we hope that the court agrees with that.”

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Categories
US

Man convicted in Boston kidnapping, rape case to be sentenced Monday

Man convicted in Boston kidnapping, rape case to be sentenced Monday

A man convicted of kidnapping a woman and then raping her for several days in his Charlestown apartment was sentenced Monday. Victor Pena, 42, was charged with kidnapping and 10 counts of aggravated rape for allegedly holding the 23-year-old woman against her will and sexually assaulting her for three days at his Walford Way home in January 2019. After six days of testimony and evidence, the jury needed just two hours of deliberations to return guilty verdicts on all counts. Pena was sentenced to 29 to 39 years in prison by Judge Anthony Campo. Prosecutors said the state asked for a “murder type” sentence because the kidnapping and rape “really does murder someone.””When I think about how this affected me, I think about how I never fully came back from those days. A part of me died in that apartment and I mourn for the life I could have lived-was supposed to live,” the victim wrote in an impact statement. In testifying in his own defense, Pena claimed what transpired during the three days in question was consensual, and the victim asked him for help and wanted to go to his apartment.“And we started to have nice chemistry,” Pena testified via an interpreter . “I said I have an apartment, I had housing, and then, ‘Let’s go to your apartment,’ she said.”Earlier in the trial, the accuser testified that Pena sexually assaulted her multiple times and threatened her if she tried to leave “I didn’t want to die,” the woman told the court. The accuser said she feared for her life and Pena told her that he rescued her and they would start a family. Pena forced her to drink alcohol and fed her nothing but canned pineapple. A digital forensic specialist said 322 photos and six explicit videos of the victim were found on Pena’s phone. Detectives who found the victim described to the court finding a terrified woman. Until he took the stand, Pena was not present in the courtroom during testimony and was instead watching remotely from another room following inappropriate behavior and disruptive outbursts. During proceedings to seat a jury, Pena suddenly appeared naked on a monitor in the courtroom while he performed to lewd act. After about 16 seconds, the monitor in the courtroom was turned off. That jury pool was excused.

A man convicted of kidnapping a woman and then raping her for several days in his Charlestown apartment was sentenced Monday.

Victor Pena, 42, was charged with kidnapping and 10 counts of aggravated rape for allegedly holding the 23-year-old woman against her will and sexually assaulting her for three days at his Walford Way home in January 2019.

After six days of testimony and evidence, the jury needed just two hours of deliberations to return guilty verdicts on all counts.

Pena was sentenced to 29 to 39 years in prison by Judge Anthony Campo.

Prosecutors said the state asked for a “murder type” sentence because the kidnapping and rape “really does murder someone.”

“When I think about how this affected me, I think about how I never fully came back from those days. A part of me died in that apartment and I mourn for the life I could have lived-was supposed to live,” the victim wrote in an impact statement.

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In testifying in his own defense, Pena claimed what transpired during the three days in question was consensual, and the victim asked him for help and wanted to go to his apartment.

“And we started to have nice chemistry,” Pena testified via an interpreter. “I said I have an apartment, I had housing, and then, ‘Let’s go to your apartment,’ she said.”

Earlier in the trial, the accuser testified that Pena sexually assaulted her multiple times and threatened her if she tried to leave.

“I didn’t want to die,” the woman told the court.

The accuser said she feared for her life and Pena told her that he rescued her and they would start a family. Pena forced her to drink alcohol and fed her nothing but canned pineapple.

A digital forensic specialist said 322 photos and six explicit videos of the victim were found on Pena’s phone. Detectives who found the victim described to the court finding a terrified woman.

Until he took the stand, Pena was not present in the courtroom during testimony and was instead watching remotely from another room following inappropriate behavior and disruptive outbursts.

During proceedings to seat a jury, Pena suddenly appeared naked on a monitor in the courtroom while he performed a lewd act. After about 16 seconds, the monitor in the courtroom was turned off. That jury pool was excused.

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Categories
Business

Gold Coast school jumps onboard electric school bus trial to inspire curious young minds

children walking on to a bus

While the economics of electric buses may make them an increasingly irresistible public transport option, year 4 student Annabelle Nicolson has a different reason for liking her new electrified ride to school.

“If the gas from the bus goes into the air, then we, and the plants and the animals, can get sick,” she said.

Annabelle will be among the first students at Hillcrest Christian College to ride on its new electric bus as part of an upcoming trial.

The trial is the only one of its type on the Gold Coast, with the school hoping to transition its fleet over five years.

But according to Griffith University’s Transport Research Group, as fuel prices rise and maintenance costs drop, more schools should follow suit.

“We’re at the inflection point now, where if you were setting up a new operation with the depot and fleet, you would probably want to invest in electric,” Griffith University’s Matthew Burke said.

“The costs are just starting to become obvious that that’s what you do, particularly with fuel prices having leapt up in recent months,” Professor Burke said.

“The maintenance burden, in particular, of an electric vehicle is significantly lower than that of an internal combustion engine.”

three children sitting on a bus smiling
Hillcrest students Milena Garcia Mariano, Emilia Savage and Annabella Nicholson on an electric bus.(ABC Gold Coast: Camille Chorley)

‘Unsustainable’ transport problem

Professor Burke said Griffith studies have shown unsustainable trends in Gold Coast transport, with about three-quarters of students being driven to school in cars.

“People have shifted into SUVs, which with light trucks, are about three-quarters of all sales here now,” he said.

“It’s pretty polluting.”

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