Russian outrage at Ukraine killing

Daniel Sandford hears from a man who says he witnessed the attack

Russia has expressed outrage at a fatal shooting in eastern Ukraine which it blamed on Ukrainian nationalists.

Russian state media reported that five people had been killed in a gun attack on a checkpoint manned by pro-Russian activists near the town of Sloviansk.

A Ukrainian official said it may have been a shootout between criminals. Nationalists have denied involvement.

The incident comes as pro-Russian groups continue to occupy government buildings defying a deal to leave.

Ertogrul Apakan, who heads the special mission of the Organisation for Co-operation and Security in Europe in Kiev, said his deputy would be in Donetsk to try to get them to comply with an agreement reached on Thursday to ease the crisis.

Russia, Ukraine, the EU and US agreed during talks in Geneva on Thursday that illegal military groups in Ukraine must be dissolved, and that those occupying government premises must be disarmed and leave.

But the separatists' spokesman in the city of Donetsk said that the Kiev government was "illegal", and vowed they would not go until it stepped down.

TV pictures showed what was described as the aftermath of an attack on a pro-Russian checkpoint at about 01:00 local time (22:00 on Saturday GMT), including the body of a man under a cover.

The BBC is unable to verify the footage. However, a Reuters journalist at the scene reported seeing two bodies in a truck.

Daylight Reuters TV footage of the scene shows several burnt-out vehicles.

The Russian foreign ministry said the Ukrainian far-right group Right Sector was behind the attack. A business card with the name of its leader Dmytro Yarosh appeared in the unverified Russian TV pictures.

"Russia is indignant about this provocation by gunmen, which testifies to the lack of will on the part of the Kiev authorities to rein in and disarm nationalists and extremists," it said in a statement.

Right Sector spokesman Artyom Skoropadsky told the BBC the group had nothing to do with the shooting.

"Right sector was not there, and whatever happened there was an obvious provocation from the Russian secret services," he said.

A pro-Russian activist at a captured building in Sloviansk

Viktoriya Siumar, deputy head of Ukraine's National Security Council, also speaking to the BBC, said the shooting was being investigated, but said there were indications that it was "an argument between local criminal groups".

"The level of criminality in eastern Ukraine increased substantially recently," he added.

This is the first fatal incident in the region since Thursday's agreement, prompting Sloviansk rebel leader and self-proclaimed mayor Vyacheslav Ponomarev to call on Russian President Vladimir Putin to send peacekeepers. He also asked for food and weapons.

Mr Ponomarev added that a "people's army of Donbass" was being set up. Donbass (Don river basin) is the industrial area of eastern Ukraine made up of Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

The BBC's James Reynolds in Donetsk says that the Geneva deal is already in trouble and events in Sloviansk will do little to change that.

'Threat to the globe'

Meanwhile in an interview for NBC's Meet the Press aired on Sunday, Ukraine's interim Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of trying to "restore the Soviet Union".

"It's crystal clear that for today, Russia is the threat to the globe, and the threat to the European Union, and a real threat to Ukraine," Mr Yatsenyuk said.

Ukraine has been in crisis since President Viktor Yanukovych was toppled in February.

Russia then annexed Crimea following a regional referendum that approved joining the Russian federation. The annexation provoked international outrage.

Pro-Russian activists then occupied buildings in several eastern Ukrainian cities, many calling on Moscow to support them.

Ukraine has said that operations against the pro-Russian militants have been suspended over Easter.

Ukraine's interim authorities have appealed for national unity and promised to meet some of the demands of pro-Russian protesters.

These include the decentralisation of power and guarantees for the status of the Russian language.

But the US has warned the next few days will be pivotal and has threatened more sanctions against Russia if it fails to abide by the agreement.

US Vice-President Joe Biden is set to visit Kiev on Tuesday.

Are you in Ukraine? You can share your experiences by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk with the subject title 'Ukraine'.

Send your pictures and videos to yourpics@bbc.co.uk or text them to 61124 (UK) or +44 7624 800 100 (International). If you have a large file you can upload here.

Read the terms and conditions

This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php#publishers.

View the original article here

Published on: 5:37 PM

Pistorius recounts moment of killing

Oscar Pistorius recounts the shooting

South African athlete Oscar Pistorius has described the moment he fired the shots which killed his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in his home.

He told his trial in Pretoria he had heard noises from the toilet and thought an intruder was coming out.

"Before I knew it, I had fired four shots at the door," he said.

The trial of the athlete, who could face life imprisonment if convicted of murder, was adjourned until Wednesday after he broke down crying.

The 27-year-old double amputee denies deliberately shooting Ms Steenkamp on Valentine's Day last year.

On his first day on the stand, on Monday, he made a tearful apology to Ms Steenkamp's family.

The prosecution alleges that Mr Pistorius killed his girlfriend after an argument with her.

'She wasn't breathing'

In the early hours of 14 February 2013, he said he had got up from bed to bring in some fans he had left outside, in order to cool his bedroom.

When he heard a window opening in the bathroom, he said, he thought there was a burglar trying to get in.

Wanting to protect Ms Steenkamp, who was not sleeping, he had gone to get his gun in the dark.

"I whispered to Reeva to get down and phone the police," he said.

He said he then went into the passage without his prosthetic legs and, overcome with fear, started screaming, and shouted for Ms Steenkamp to get to the floor.

Oscar Pistorius (l) arriving for Tuesday's proceedings in Pretoria

Reeva Steenkamp's mother, June, listened intently during the second day of Oscar Pistorius' testimony

Aimee Pistorius, the defendant's sister, hugged a family member in court

Members of the public followed the testimony from the gallery

A bucket was put in the dock in case Mr Pistorius vomited as he testified

Mr Pistorius is seen here leaving court on Tuesday

The toilet door slammed, reconfirming his belief there was a person or people in the bathroom, the athlete said.

"I heard a noise from inside the toilet, what I perceived to be someone coming out of the toilet," he said tearfully. At that point, he shot at the door.

After the shooting, Mr Pistorius said he had smashed in a door panel to get into the toilet, where he discovered what he had done.

"Whilst I leant over the partition to get in, I saw the key, so I took it and I unlocked the door, and I flung the door open, and I threw it open," he said, sobbing.

"And I sat over Reeva and I cried... and um, I don't know how long... I don't know how long I was there for... She wasn't breathing."

As the athlete broke down, the judge adjourned the trial.

Valentine's gifts

Earlier, the athlete described how the couple had spent a quiet evening together on 13 February, Ms Steenkamp doing some yoga as he spoke to his cousin on the phone.

He had then watched TV in bed with his head resting on her stomach and she would occasionally show him photos of cars she was looking at on her phone, he said.

He said that they had bought Valentine's Day gifts for each other. He had bought her a bracelet and they had been due to go the jewellers' to collect it the next day, he said.

Ms Steenkamp, a 29-year-old model, reality TV celebrity and law graduate, was hit by at least three bullets while in the toilet cubicle of Mr Pistorius's home in Pretoria.

Known as the Blade Runner, Mr Pistorius holds six Paralympic medals and competed in the 2012 Olympic Games.

There are no juries at trials in South Africa, and his fate will ultimately be decided by the judge, assisted by two assessors.

Even if he is acquitted, South African law stipulates that the court must consider the separate, lesser charge of culpable homicide, or manslaughter.

If convicted on this charge, he could face between six and 15 years in prison.

Mr Pistorius also faces charges of illegally firing a gun in public and of illegally possessing ammunition, which he denies.

INTERACTIVE

1

2

5

4

6

3

• 
  
  
  ×
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  





• 
  

  1. Balcony

  
  ×
  
  
  
  

  Mr Pistorius said in his statement at the start of the trial that he woke in the early hours and walked on his stumps to the balcony, pulled in two fans, closed the sliding door and drew curtains. He said that shortly before he had spoken to Reeva, who was in bed beside him.

  He said he rejected prosecution claims that a witness heard arguing coming from the house before the shooting.

  
  
  
  





• 
  

  2. Bathroom noise

  
  ×
  
  
  
  

  Mr Pistorius said he heard the bathroom window sliding open and believed that an intruder, or intruders, had entered the bathroom through a window which was not fitted with burglar bars.

  "Unbeknown to me, Reeva must have gone to the toilet in the bathroom at the time I brought in the fans," he said.

  Mr Pistorius said he approached the bathroom armed with his firearm, to defend himself and his girlfriend, believing Ms Steenkamp was still in bed.

  
  
  
  





• 
  

  3. Shooting

  
  ×
  
  
  
  

  Both sides agree four bullets were fired. Ms Steenkamp was hit three times.

  Mr Pistorius said he fired his weapon after hearing a noise in the toilet which he thought was the intruder coming out of the toilet to attack him and Ms Steenkamp.

  He said he was in a fearful state, knowing he was on his stumps and unable to run away or properly defend himself.

  Mr Pistorius said he rejected claims that he was on his prostheses when he shot at the door.

  A witness told the trial she woke to hear a woman screaming and a man shouting for help. She said that after the screams she heard four shots.

  
  
  
  





• 
  

  4. Bedroom

  
  ×
  
  
  
  

  Mr Pistorius said he went back to the bedroom after shooting at the toilet door, still shouting for Reeva. Lifting himself up onto the bed, he felt over to the right hand side of it and noticed Ms Steenkamp was not there.

  Mr Pistorius said this was when he realised she could have been in the toilet.

  
  

  
  





• 
  

  5. Toilet door

  
  ×
  
  
  
  

  Mr Pistorius said he went back to the bathroom but the toilet was locked, so he returned to the bedroom, pulled on his prosthetic legs, turned on the lights before bashing in the toilet door with a cricket bat.

  
  
  Forensics expert Johannes Vermeulen told the court that the height of the marks on the door caused by the cricket bat suggest Mr Pistorius was on his stumps at the time.

  
  
  
  





• 
  

  6. Emergency calls

  
  ×
  
  
  
  

  Mr Pistorius's defence team say he then called security at the gated housing complex and a private paramedic service before carrying Ms Steenkamp downstairs.

  
  
  

  A security guard claimed it was the other way round, and he had called Mr Pistorius first after reports of gunfire. However, phone records shown to the court revealed Mr Pistorius called the estate manager at 3:19am, a minute later he called the ambulance service and at 3:21am he called estate security.

  A minute later he received an incoming call - estate security calling him back.

  
  
  According to police phone expert Francois Moller, Mr Pistorius called his friend Justin Divaris a short time later and just after 4:00am he called his brother Carl.

  
  

  
  

This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php#publishers.

View the original article here

Published on: 10:06 PM

Man cleared of PC Blakelock killing

PC Keith Blakelock was stabbed 43 times, the court heard

A man has been cleared of killing police officer Keith Blakelock during riots in north London in 1985.

Nicholas Jacobs, 45, denied murdering the officer, who was stabbed 43 times at Broadwater Farm in Tottenham.

The Old Bailey jury heard from three witnesses who said they saw Mr Jacobs take part, but his defence team questioned their credibility.

On Wednesday, after four hours of deliberations, Mr Jacobs was found not guilty of murder and manslaughter.

Mr Jacobs - who was 16 at the time of the riot - stood up, held his head in his hands and punched the air as the verdicts were delivered. He then sat down and sobbed before being taken from the dock.

'Extraordinary patience'

PC Blakelock's family looked distraught. One of his three sons held his head in his hands, while his widow, Elizabeth, wept.

Nicholas Jacobs chose not to defend himself in court

In a statement, they said: "We are obviously extremely sad and disappointed at the verdict. We viewed this trial as an opportunity to see some form of justice served for Keith.

"We hope that more people are able to come forward so that some of those guilty can be brought to justice in the future."

Defence lawyer Courtenay Griffiths QC said outside the courtroom: "I'm delighted, I think the jury reached exactly the right verdicts."

Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley: "We have not incentivised anybody financially to give evidence in this trial"

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe, said: "The patience and determination that Keith's widow, Elizabeth, has shown over the years as she has pushed for answers about her husband's murder has been inspirational. She so richly deserves those answers and justice.

"We accept the decision of the jury and our work to bring those responsible for Keith's murder to justice will not stop."

Crown Prosecution Service London prosecutor Jenny Hopkins said: "It was right that all the evidence in this case was put before a jury and we respect its decision."

Retired policeman Richard Coombes, 63, who survived the Broadwater Farm attack, said: "The jury has reached its decision and we must all respect that."

Robert Hall looks at what happened on the night PC Blakelock died

PC Blakelock, 40, was repeatedly stabbed, and attempts made to decapitate him, as he tried to protect firefighters tackling a blaze at the height of the unrest on the Broadwater Farm estate on 6 October 1985.

During the trial, the jury heard Mr Jacobs had allegedly written a poem, while serving time in a juvenile detention centre, in which he boasted about "chopping" at the officer.

But his defence team claimed his account of the wounds the officer received did not match the post-mortem examination.

Mr Jacobs' prosecution followed an previous trial in 1987, when three men were convicted of the murder, before being freed four years later on appeal.

During the course of three separate investigations, a decision was made to give immunity to so-called "kickers" - those who were involved in the attack but did not use weapons - in exchange for their co-operation.

Among them were the prosecution witnesses given the pseudonyms Rhodes Levin and John Brown who both admitted kicking PC Blakelock and were given amnesty from prosecution.

About 500 police battled with rampaging youths during the Broadwater Farm riots

Some of the witnesses also received payments from police for their co-operation, the court was told.

The judge said Mr Jacobs had been within his rights not to give evidence during his trial and the jury could draw their own conclusions about his decision not to take the witness stand.

Winston Silcott, one of the so-called Tottenham Three convicted of the murder of PC Blakelock in 1987, said outside the Old Bailey: "The police are bitter about what happened, that's why they brought this case.

"My conclusion is that they had promised the Blakelock family that they would get justice for him and so they were trying to get anyone they could.

"Vengeance, that's what the police were out to get. I just hope Nicky Jacobs will be able to rebuild his life after this."

This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php#publishers.

View the original article here

Published on: 9:48 PM