May 11, 2021
RAMALLAH, West Bank The implications of President Mahmoud Abbas’ decision to postpone the Palestinian elections are still surfacing in the Palestinian territories. On May 1, unknown armed men shot and threw grenades at the house of electoral candidate Nizar Bannat. The attack came a few hours after the Freedom and Dignity electoral list, which Bannat formed, sent a message to the European Union demanding it halt funding for the Palestinian Authority and its security apparatus.
In its May 1 letter to the EU, the list voiced its intention to appeal to the European Court of Human Rights to “call for halting financial support to the PA and launching an inquiry into the squandered money of European taxpayers.” It said that it will proceed with this step unless the PA sets a clear timeline for the legislative elections in the coming months.
photo by: Lauren Fox
Former University of Kansas basketball player Silvio De Sousa, left, is pictured with his attorney, Hatem Chahine, on Tuesday, May 4, 2021, in Douglas County District Court.
Story updated at 5:54 p.m. Tuesday:
A Douglas County District Court judge on Tuesday ordered former University of Kansas basketball player Silvio De Sousa to stand trial in an aggravated battery case that stems from a 2020 incident outside a bar in downtown Lawrence in which he is accused of hitting a man who later lost vision in his eye.
After Tuesday’s preliminary hearing, in which Judge Sally Pokorny determined there was probable cause to proceed to trial, De Sousa pleaded not guilty to the charge. His trial is scheduled for Aug. 2 and is expected to last around three days.
Palestinian candidates attacked, threatened ahead of elections Candidates for the Palestinian legislative elections are facing attacks on their properties and threats in an attempt to prevent them from running in the elections. Employees of the Palestinian Central Elections Commission display electoral lists ahead of the upcoming general elections, at the commission s district offices in the city of Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, on April 6, 2021. Palestinian legislative elections are scheduled for May 22, with a presidential vote to follow on July 31. - HAZEM BADER/AFP via Getty Images
April 22, 2021
RAMALLAH, West Bank The frequency of threats and attacks against candidates in the Palestinian legislative elections has increased over the past few days, and internal parties are most likely behind them. However, none of the concerned parties (security forces or public prosecution) announced any of the results of their investigations into these incidents.
Johnathon L. West
A Douglas County District Court judge has set a $1 million bond for a Lawrence man who is accused of murder.
Johnathon Lee West, 43, made his first appearance in court this week for a second-degree murder charge where the court set the cash or surety bond, Deputy District Attorney Joshua Seiden told the Journal-World. The court also appointed attorney Hatem Chahine to represent him. West remains in the Douglas County Jail, and his next court date is Tuesday.
The murder charge stems from the death of Jennifer Mosby, a 41-year-old Lawrence woman who was found dead in her home in January. Lawrence police announced the homicide investigation in a news release on Jan. 28, but little new information has been available about the case since.