NewsFix: Friday October 1, 2021
Morning all,
There is an unintended thread tying today’s newsletter together - violence and injustice against women, and the serious questions for police to answer.
Until Monday,
Hilary
THE MURDERS OF SARAH AND SABINA
Wayne Couzens has been given a “whole-life” sentence for the murder of Sarah Everard in March. It means there is no chance he will ever be released - he will die in jail, and it marks the first time such a sentence has ever been given to a British police officer.
The Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Cressida Dick, described the murder as “one of the most dreadful events in the 190-year history of the Metropolitan police service”. However, the Met Police have also faced questions over how they vetted Couzens.
For example;
The Times reported several colleagues of Couzens - who are accused of exchanging “misogynistic, racist and homophobic” messages with him - are currently under investigation.
According to Sky News, Couzens was involved in an “incident” of a sexual nature in 2002.
The Sun has reported Couzens previously held a nickname of ‘The Rapist’ in a previous workplace.
In 2015, an incident of alleged indecent exposure was connected to a vehicle owned by Couzens.
In February of this year - just days before the murder of Sarah Everard - a man, now understood to have been Wayne Couzens, was reported for exposing himself at a fast food restaurant. The police investigation into this had not concluded by the time Everard was murdered.
- *Here is a comprehensive article, documenting the behaviour of Couzens that the Met Police either weren’t aware of, or didn’t seem to check properly.
A 36 year-old man appeared in court charged with the recent murder of 28-year-old teacher, Sabina Nessa. Koci Selamaj is accused of inflicting “extreme violence” by using a “long weapon to repeatedly strike” Nessa.
While it was a premeditated attack, the court was told the defendant had no known connection to Nessa.
MORE BAD HEADLINES FOR POLICE
A French former police officer is believed to have confessed in a suicide letter to the murder and rape of a number of women since 1986. According to Sky News, the man - identified only as Francois V - had recently become a suspect in the unsolved crimes.
What were the crimes? They involve four murders and six rapes, including of an 11-year old girl. According to Sky News, the man wrote in the suicide note he was in a bad mental state at the time, but had since “got himself together”.
*It is not made abundantly clear whether or not Francois V was a serving policeman at the time of the murders.
- In Ireland, the homes of a number of serving gardaí (police) have been searched as part of an ongoing investigation into suspected links to organised crime. According to Independent.ie, investigations are looking into whether or not some “mid-ranking officers” were leaking information to organised crime gangs in Dublin.
THURSDAY’S OTHER TOP LINES
Former French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, has been sentenced to a year in prison, after he was found guilty of illegally fundraising a political campaign in 2012. Sarkozy can spend the year at home if he wears an electronic bracelet.
Bigger picture: Sarkozy has faced a lengthy list of legal woes in recent years. In March, he was found guilty of corruption and influence peddling. He has consistently denied any wrongdoing, and will appeal both convictions.
- A 96-year-old former secretary at a Nazi concentration camp was arrested yesterday after fleeing her nursing home in an attempt to avoid trial. Irmgard Furchner was a typist at the Stutthof concentration camp, and faces charges of complicity in the murder of more than 10,000 people. According to reports, Furchner was 18 when she started the job.
CHATTER THAT MATTERS
In Spain, a widespread debate has been sparked after a judge dismissed a case relating to a number of women being secretly filmed urinating in public. The videos eventually ended up on porn sites.
Background: At a local festival in north-western Spain in 2019, around 80 women urinated in a side street because of a lack of bathroom facilities. They were not aware they were being recorded, until close up footage of their faces and genitals were uploaded to a porn site.
Why did the judge dismiss the case? BBC News reported the decision was made because the recordings were made in a public safe, and thus cannot be criminal. Court documents also suggest the judge said there was “no intention to violate the physical or moral resistance” of the women included in the video.
PANDEMIC
- Australia is set to reopen its international borders in November, to make it easier for vaccinated citizens to visit their families. The border has been effectively closed for 18 months, other than for some exceptional circumstances.
MOST READ
- BBC News: Women filmed urinating left humiliated by judge
- The Guardian: PNG admits Maserati purchase was ‘terrible mistake’ as they go on sale at discounted price
- The Financial Times: Goldman Sachs was poised to triumph in China. What happened?
- Al Jazeera: UEFA drops disciplinary actions against three breakaway clubs
- The Irish Times: Why Ray D’Arcy should have kept his mouth shut
SATURDAY MARKS
Five years since Kim Kardashian was the victim of an armed robbery and held at gunpoint in France. CNN reported in 2017 that the group of men were disguised as police officers at the time, and robbed an estimated $10 million worth of jewellery and cash.
In an emotional interview with David Letterman, Kim spoke about the ordeal;
ON A LIGHTER NOTE…
Ski ya later, pal.
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