Arrests

New government accused of ‘performative justice’ and making deals with suspects in 2013 Tadamon massacresAhmad al-Homsi is a deep sleeper, but when he was woken last month and told that Amjad Youssef, a Syrian intelligence officer who killed civilians in the 2013 Tadamon massacres, had been arrested, he bolted out of bed. He ran into the street to find other people already celebrating the news.“We stayed out for almost three or four days celebrating. People from neighbouring areas sent camels, sheep, livestock for us to slaughter and distribute them to people. The tears of joy didn’t stop,” said al-Homsi, a 33-year-old activist with the Tadamon Coordination Committee, which documented the atrocities in the Damascus neighbourhood. Continue reading...

Four men face murder charges in case of 16-year-old Roxanne Sharp, whose body was found in a wooded areaFour people have been arrested in connection to the 1982 killing of a Louisiana teenager, investigators announced on Friday.State police troopers said tips generated by a true-crime podcast they were involved in making – along with improvements in investigative technologies – helped them make arrests in the killing of Roxanne Sharp, 16, about 44 years earlier. Continue reading...

Amjad Youssef one of most-wanted fugitives in relation to slaughter of almost 290 civilians under AssadA Syrian former regime official suspected of leading a notorious civilian massacre revealed by the Guardian – and who became one of the country’s most-wanted fugitives after the fall of Bashar al-Assad – has been arrested by security forces, Syria’s interior ministry announced.Amjad Youssef was captured in the countryside about 30 miles (50km) outside the city of Hama and had “been taken into custody following a carefully executed security operation”, the interior minister, Anas Khattab, said in a social media post on Friday. Continue reading...

Jubilation is turning to disenchantment as young activists arrested after protest calling for election date to be setThe arrest of several protesters in Madagascar has increased fears among young people that the military regime that took power last year after huge Gen Z demonstrations will be no better than the government it overthrew.Four Gen Z activists, Herizo Andriamanantena, Miora Rakotomalala, Dina Randrianarisoa and Nomena Ratsihorimanana, were arrested on 12 April, one of their lawyers said, two days after taking part in a protest calling for an election date to be set. Continue reading...

DHS accused of false and misleading statements about Carlos Ivan Mendoza Hernandez who was shot in faceFederal officials have arrested a California man who was shot by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents and charged him with “assault” on a federal officer.Carlos Ivan Mendoza Hernandez, 36, was shot by ICE officers on 7 April in Patterson, a rural town in California’s central valley roughly 80 miles south-east of San Francisco. He was hit by more than six bullets, including in the face, according to his attorney. Continue reading...

People seen being carried off by officers at first mass demo since group’s ban was ruled unlawful by high courtArrests have begun at the first mass demonstration opposing the proscription of Palestine Action since the group’s ban was ruled unlawful by the high court.Protesters in London’s Trafalgar Square unveiled signs reading: “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action.” Hundreds of demonstrators sat on camping chairs and on the ground as they held up their placards on Saturday afternoon. Continue reading...

Courtney Williams accused of sharing material with reporter examining deaths and drugs at US military baseThe FBI has arrested a former military special operations employee accused of providing classified information to the media, the agency’s director Kash Patel announced on Wednesday.The US Department of Justice said in a press release that the former employee, identified as Courtney Williams, 40, was arrested on Tuesday and indicted on Wednesday for allegedly sharing classified material with a journalist. Continue reading...

• FBI arrested eight individuals, including three nurses, a chiropractor, and a psychologist, in a Los Angeles healthcare fraud operation targeting over $50 million from the US system. • Gladwin and Amelou Gill allegedly created a hospice in their daughter's name, swindling over $7 million from taxpayers. • Six defendants face initial appearances in US District Court in downtown Los Angeles, with one in Idaho; the scheme ties to broader hospice fraud concerns in LA.

• US federal agents arrested Hamideh Soleimani Afshar, niece of slain IRGC commander Qassem Soleimani, and her daughter on April 4 after Secretary of State Marco Rubio revoked their permanent resident status. • The State Department confirmed the pair is in ICE custody, marking the first direct targeting of Soleimani's family since his 2020 US drone strike killing. • This symbolically charged action uses immigration enforcement as a weapon in the ongoing war with Iran, viewing Soleimani connections as IRGC-adjacent threats.

US president makes baseless claims about fraud in blue states and says JD Vance will lead clampdown as ‘fraud czar’Donald Trump announced a fresh crackdown on “fraud” in Democratic states and tapped JD Vance to lead the charge. Officials swiftly announced a string of arrests in California.In a Truth Social post on Friday, the US president announced that his vice-president is now “in charge of ‘fraud’ in the United States”, claiming the problem is “massive and pervasive” and that Vance’s new role as “fraud czar” will be “a major factor in how great the future of our country will be”. Continue reading...

Three people arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit arson, say police investigating Golders Green incidentCounter-terrorism police have arrested two men and a boy in connection with a suspected arson attack last week on ambulances run by a Jewish charity in Golders Green, north London.The three people – a 19 year-old man, a 20-year-old man and a 17-year-old boy – were all arrested early on Wednesday, the Metropolitan police said. Continue reading...

Pro-Palestinian protesters gather on one side of Thames as those backing US-Israel war on Iran meet on the otherTwelve people were arrested as hundreds joined a pro-Palestinian al-Quds Day demonstration on one side of the Thames, while hundreds more gathered on the opposite bank to back Israeli and American attacks on Iran.At least 1,000 police officers were drafted in to keep the two rival protests apart. Lambeth Bridge, the nearest river crossing to each rally, remained closed on Sunday afternoon. Continue reading...

Bolivian interior ministry says Sebastián Marset is being extradited to US, where he’s wanted for money launderingSign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxSebastián Marset, an alleged Uruguayan drug trafficker and one of South America’s most wanted criminals, has been arrested in Bolivia.Marset, 34, is accused of trafficking tonnes of cocaine from South America to Europe, and also of having ordered the murder of a Paraguayan prosecutor who was shot dead as he honeymooned on a Colombian beach in 2022. Continue reading...