National Roundup

Ohio Lawyer drops $10M lawsuit in convert case COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- A former lawyer for the Muslim parents of a runaway Ohio Christian convert and a blogger often critical of Islam have settled a defamation lawsuit filed by the attorney. Columbus lawyer Omar Tarazi had argued that New York-based blogger Pamela Geller defamed him by alleging he has terrorist ties. Under the settlement agreed to late Wednesday Geller will remove five posts about Tarazi from her "Atlas Shrugs" blog. Both sides are claiming victory, with Tarazi telling The Associated Press that Geller caved in by agreeing to drop the posts, and Geller calling the settlement a First Amendment victory. Tarazi represented the parents of Rifqa Bary (RIHF'-kuh BAYR'-ee), who fled to Florida, saying she feared they would harm her. Bary didn't reconcile with her family before turning 18 last year. New York Jamaican drug kingpin asks jud ge for leniency NEW YORK (AP) -- A Jamaican drug kingpin who admitted his leadership in an international crime ring cited his charitable works in a seven-page letter asking a federal judge in New York City for leniency. "Good day to you, sir," the Sept. 7 letter from drug lord Christopher Coke to Judge Robert Patterson Jr. of Manhattan federal court begins. "I am humbly asking if you could be lenient on me." Coke pleaded guilty to racketeering and assault charges last month and faces up to 23 years when he is sentenced Dec. 8. In the letter, obtained by The New York Times, Coke listed 13 reasons why he should not get the maximum sentence. He said he had lost his mother recently and was told that "while she was on her deathbed, she was crying and kept calling my name." He said his 8-year-old son had been traumatized by his arrest. "I was told that he is constantly asking for his daddy," Coke said. Coke also cited his "charitable deeds and social services" in Jamaica such as providing free school supplies for children. Federal prosecutors had no comment on the letter. U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said in a statement when Coke entered his guilty plea, "For nearly two decades, Christopher Coke led a ruthless criminal enterprise that used fear, force and intimidation to support its drug and arms trafficking 'businesses.' He moved drugs and guns between Jamaica and the United States with impunity." U.S. authorities have described Coke as one of the world's most dangerous drug dealers. He was arrested by Jamaican authorities in June 2010 and extradited to the U.S. A hunt for him in his West Kingston slum stronghold led to a confrontation that killed 73 civilians and three security officers over four days of fighting. Coke kept a high public profile in the ghettos west of Kingston and was also credited with using his authority to punish thieves and other criminals in an area where the government has little presence. Connecticut Ex-president of Mexico sued over massacre HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) -- Former Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo, who is now a Yale University professor, has been sued in Connecticut for alleged crimes against humanity in connection with the 1997 killings of 45 people in a Mexican village. Lawyers for 10 unnamed relatives of the victims filed the lawsuit last Friday in U.S. District Court in Hartford, alleging Zedillo was responsible for the massacre by paramilitary groups in the village of Acteal, in the southern state of Chiapas, and tried to cover up the killings. The plaintiffs are reportedly seeking damages against Zedillo that are likely to exceed $10 million. Zedillo, who was president of Mexico from 1994 to 2000, is now a professor of international studies at Yale and director of the New Haven school's Center for the Study of Globalization. He sent emails to news organizations this week denying the allegations. "Just let me reiterate that the allegations, as reported by the press, are totally groundless and obviously false," Zedillo wrote in an email to the Yale Daily News, a student newspaper. "Any person who dares to check the facts will conclude that this is a calumny fabricated for reasons that I ignore." Zedillo did not immediately return phone and email messages left Wednesday morning by The Associated Press. The massacre in Acteal on Dec. 22, 1997 was the worst instance of violence during a conflict that began when the leftist Zapatista movement staged a brief armed uprising in early 1994 to demand more rights for Indians in Chiapas. Paramilitaries with alleged government ties attacked Roman Catholic activists who sympathized with the rebels during a prayer meeting in Acteal. The assailants killed 45 people over several hours, including children as young as 2 months old. The 53-page lawsuit alleges that Zedillo's administration ended peace talks with the Zapatistas and launched a plan to arm and train local militias to fight against them. It also claims Zedillo was aware of the actions in Acteal, covered them up and broke international human rights laws under the Geneva Conventions as well as a host of other laws. The lawsuit says Zedillo "knew or should have known that his subordinates were committing human rights abuses, and he failed to prevent the abuses or punish those responsible." After the killings, Zedillo denounced them as criminal and urged government and human rights officials to investigate. Last October, a Mexican federal judge ordered the release of 15 people convicted in the massacre after ruling their convictions were based on illegally obtained evidence. That brought to 60 the number of convicts who had been freed after judges found irregularities in their prosecutions for the slayings. Thirty-five people remain in prison. The lawsuit against Zedillo was filed by the Miami-based law firm of Rafferty, Kobert, Tenenholtz, Bounds & Hess. Lawyers say the defendants don't want their names revealed because they're scared for their safety. "This is an opportunity for these people to get justice," one of the attorneys, Roger Kobert, told the New Haven Register. The lawsuit was filed under a 1991 federal law that allows people alleging violations of international law to sue in the United States. Published: Thu, Sep 22, 2011