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A doctor who pleaded guilty to selling ketamine to Matthew Perry in the weeks before the "Friends" star's overdose death has been sentenced to two and a half years in prison. Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett handed down the sentence plus two years of probation to 44-year-old Dr. Salvador Plasencia in a federal courtroom in Los Angeles on Wednesday. Plasencia was the first to be sentenced of the five defendants who have pleaded guilty in connection with Perry's death at age 54 in 2023. Plasencia admitted to illegally selling large amounts of ketamine to Perry, though he did not supply the dose that authorities say killed the actor. The doctor admitted to taking advantage of Perry, knowing he was a struggling addict. Plasencia texted another doctor that Perry was a "moron" who could be exploited for money, according to court filings.
A Paris court is deciding on Monday whether to release former French President Nicolas Sarkozy from prison, less than three weeks after he began serving a five-year sentence for criminal conspiracy in a scheme to finance his 2007 election campaign with funds from Libya. Sarkozy, 70, became the first former French head of state in modern times to be sent behind bars after his conviction on Sept. 25. He was jailed on Oct. 21 pending appeal but immediately filed for early release. Under French law, detention before an appeal ruling is supposed to be exceptional. Judges will weigh whether Sarkozy presents a flight risk, might pressure witnesses, or could obstruct justice. If the request is granted, Sarkozy could leave Paris' La Sante prison within hours under judicial supervision. The former president, who governed from 2007 to 2012, denies wrongdoing and says he is the victim of a plot linked to the former Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi. Sarkozy also faces separate proceedings, includ
Nicolas Sarkozy will become the first former French president in living memory to be imprisoned when he is expected to begin a five-year sentence on Tuesday in Paris' La Sant prison. Convicted of criminal conspiracy in a scheme to finance his 2007 election campaign with funds from Libya, Sarkozy maintains his innocence. Regardless, he will be admitted to serve his time in a prison that has held some of the most high-profile inmates since the 19th century. They include Capt Alfred Dreyfus, wrongly convicted of treason because he was Jewish, and the Venezuelan militant known as Carlos the Jackal, who carried out several attacks on French soil. Sarkozy told Le Figaro newspaper that he expects to be held in solitary confinement, where he would be kept away from all other prisoners for security reasons. Another possibility is that he is held in the prison's section for vulnerable" inmates, colloquially known as the VIP section. Former La Sant inmates described their experiences and what
At least three inmates died during clashes with security personnel in a Nepal jail on Thursday while more than 15,000 prisoners escaped from more than two dozen prisons across the country since the violent anti-government protests erupted in the Himalayan nation. These latest deaths take the number of inmates who died during clashes with security forces to eight since violence erupted on Tuesday as part of the massive anti-government demonstrations led by Gen Z group across Nepal. The violent agitation forced prime minister K P Sharma Oli to resign on Tuesday, following which the Nepal Army imposed restrictions due to a serious law and order situation across provinces. On Thursday morning, three inmates were killed and 13 others injured after a violent clash broke out between prisoners and security personnel at the Ramechhap district prison in Madhesh province, the police source said. The confrontation began when inmates attempted to break out of the facility by causing an explosio
Thailand's Supreme Court said former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra must serve a one-year prison term for previous convictions. The court was investigating whether officials had mishandled his return to Thailand in 2023 to begin serving the sentences. Following his return to Thailand after more than a decade of living in self-exile, Thaksin was sent to a suite at Bangkok's Police General Hospital, reportedly for medical reasons, after spending less than a day in prison. His eight-year sentence for three cases involving graft and abuse of power was commuted to one year by King Maha Vajiralongkorn, and he was released on parole after six months in the hospital. The circumstances raised questions about whether he received special treatment and many were suspicious whether he was genuinely ill.
Iranian state media reported that authorities on Friday returned a group of inmates to Evin prison, which Israel targeted during an airstrike in June. A report by the official IRNA news agency said that authorities returned the first group of prisoners to Evin from another correction facility in Tehran, suggesting that further transfers will continue in the coming days. The report didn't say how many prisoners were transferred or how many others are expected to be transferred to the jail. It said that new facilities were constructed at the site of prison to accommodate the inmates, adding that five prisoners resisted wearing handcuffs required by police to transfer them. The report said they were eventually transferred without any conflict and in peace. It didn't elaborate. But Fakhrolsadat Mohtashamipour the wife of prominent activist Mostafa Tajzadeh said on social media that law enforcement officers beat her husband and six other prisoners to force them to wear handcuffs. The
Hong Kong tightened prison rules, allowing authorities to restrict visits, including those by certain lawyers and religious personnel, on national security grounds, in the latest expansion of its stringent control. Under the new rules, effective Friday, magistrates can issue warrants on application by correctional service officers to bar exchanges between specific legal representatives and persons in custody if the judges believe such connections could harm national security or cause bodily harm to any person, among other reasons. The department can also restrict certain visits, including those made by specific chaplains, for purposes such as maintaining national security, preventing crime and facilitating inmate rehabilitation. Critics worry the changes could undermine inmate rights in a city where many democracy advocates were arrested for their political activism following massive anti-government protests in 2019. The city now has two national security laws that Beijing deemed ..
Kilmar Abrego Garcia said he suffered severe beatings, severe sleep deprivation and psychological torture in the notorious El Salvador prison the Trump administration had deported him to in March, according to court documents filed Wednesday. Abrego Garcia was living in Maryland when he was mistakenly deported and became a flashpoint in President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown. The new details of Abrego Garcia's incarceration in El Salvador were added to a lawsuit against the Trump administration that Abrego Garcia's wife filed in Maryland federal court after he was deported. The Trump administration has asked a federal judge in Maryland to dismiss the lawsuit, arguing that it is now moot because the government returned him to the United States as ordered by the court.
Eleven inmate deaths in less than two months. More than 4,000 staff vacancies. A $3 billion repair backlog. And now, a stunning directive from President Donald Trump for the crisis-plagued federal Bureau of Prisons to REBUILD, AND OPEN ALCATRAZ! the notorious penitentiary on an island in San Francisco Bay that last held inmates more than 60 years ago. Even as the Bureau of Prisons struggles with short staffing, chronic violence and crumbling infrastructure at its current facilities, Trump is counting on the agency to fulfill his vision of rebooting the infamously inescapable prison known in movies and pop culture as The Rock. Trump declared in a social media post Sunday that a substantially enlarged and rebuilt Alcatraz will house the nation's most ruthless and violent Offenders. It will serve as a symbol of Law, Order, and JUSTICE," he wrote on Truth Social. Newly appointed Bureau of Prisons Director William K. Marshall III said Monday that the agency will vigorously pursue all .
As a general amnesty law takes effect in Iraq, the country's prisons are facing a crisis of overcrowding, housing more than double their intended capacity, the country's justice minister said in an interview. Justice Minister Khaled Shwani told The Associated Press on Saturday that Iraq's 31 prisons currently hold approximately 65,000 inmates, despite the system being built to accommodate only half that number. He acknowledged that the overcrowding has put a severe strain on prison healthcare and human rights standards. When we took office, overcrowding stood at 300%," he said. "After two years of reform, we've reduced it to 200%. Our goal is to bring that down to 100% by next year in line with international standards. Thousands more detainees remain in the custody of security agencies but have not yet been transferred to the Ministry of Justice due to lack of prison capacity. Four new prisons are under construction, Shwani said, while three have been closed in recent years. Two ..
The head of Myanmar's military government granted amnesty to around 4,900 prisoners to mark the country's traditional new year, state-run media reported Thursday, and an independent watchdog said they included at least 22 political detainees. At least 19 buses with prisoners aboard left Yangon's Insein prison and were welcomed outside the gate by excited family members and friends who had been waiting since early morning. The Political Prisoners Network Myanmar, an independent watchdog group that records violations of human rights in Myanmar's prisons, said in a statement that by its initial count, 22 political prisoners had been freed. Senior Gen Min Aung Hlaing, the head of the ruling military council, pardoned 4,893 prisoners, MRTV reported. Thirteen foreigners will also be released and deported from Myanmar, it said in a separate statement. Other prisoners received reduced sentences, except for those convicted of serious charges such as murder and rape, or those jailed on char
The Centre has earmarked Rs 5 crore in the 2025-26 budget for providing financial assistance to the prisoners who languish in jail because they could not afford their bail money. Under the 'Model Prisons and Correctional Services Act' 2023, State Legal Services Authorities have established Legal Service Clinics in jails to provide free legal assistance to persons in need. The Legal Service Clinics are managed by empanelled Legal Services Advocates and trained Para-Legal Volunteers. The budget documents, presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Parliament on Saturday, show that Rs 5 crore funds have been reserved to help prisoners unable to afford the penalty or the bail amount. The Centre had kept Rs 20 crore in the previous budget but only Rs 1 crore could be put to use as states and union territories did not come with cases for clearance under the scheme, an official said. The Home Ministry had last year said that each state should open a dedicated account for seamle
After spending the night in a local prison after being arrested in connection with the death of a woman in a stampede during the premiere of his latest film, , actor Allu Arjun walked out of jail on Saturday following an interim bail granted by the Telangana High Court. Arjun had to spend Friday night in prison despite the HC relief, as the authorities had not received a copy of the bail order until late last night. "He has been released," Ashok Reddy, his counsel, told reporters at the Chanchalguda prison. Reddy claimed the prison authorities did not release the actor despite having got the High Court order copy. "You should question the government and the department why they have not released the accused. The High Court order is very specific. Forthwith, the moment you (prison authorities) receive the order, ( they should) release him. Despite the clear order, they have not released, they have to answer. This is an illegal detention. We will take legal steps, Reddy said. Accord
The Madras High Court has asked its Registrar General to ensure that the process for release of prisoners languishing unnecessarily in jails was accelerated by completing the formalities. Filing of necessary petitions through the Legal Aid Services before the competent court should also be ensured. A division bench comprising Justices S M Subramaniam and M Jyothiraman passed the order on Monday on proceedings initiated by it. In its order, the bench said the Additional Public Prosecutor submitted that as per the prison department, 153 remand prisoners were still languishing in various prisons across Tamil Nadu even after grant of bail. As many as 22 convict prisoners were also in prison after suspension of sentence by the appellate courts. The Additional public prosecutor also submitted that there was delay in receiving the bail orders from the District courts. He submitted that as far as the High Court was concerned, order copies were received immediately, the bench added. The b