Canadian Imprisoned in North Korea Gets Audience With Ambassador

A Canadian pastor serving a life sentence in North Korea has been allowed to meet with the Swedish ambassador in Pyongyang and telephone his family.

Hyeon Soo Lim, a pastor with the Light Korean Presbyterian Church of Mississauga, Ont., was sentenced in December 2015 by a North Korean court to life in prison with hard labour for what it called crimes against the state.

Swedish Ambassador Torkel Stiernlof says he met Lim for 40 minutes last week. He said they discussed Lim's health and other matters, but refused to comment further.

The ambassador said in an email to The Associated Press on Wednesday that he and Lim "weren't rushed."

He said there were two North Korean officials in civilian clothes and an official photographer present throughout the meeting, which was held in a conference room at a Pyongyang hotel.

Video: Justice - Toronto Police Officer Sentenced To 6 Years In Prison For Fatally Shooting A Teen!

Three years after Const. James Forcillo shot and killed Sammy Yatim on a streetcar, the judge has sentenced him to 6 years in prison. A lawyer for Toronto Const. James Forcillo appeared in a Toronto courtroom Thursday afternoon to outline his case for appealing the officer's conviction for the attempted murder of Sammy Yatim, the 18-year-old shot dead aboard a streetcar in July 2013. See video below;

Disgusting! Afghanistan woman forced to marry her attacker to avoid prison

Sitting next to the man who raped and made her pregnant, Afghanistan woman forced to marry her attacker to avoid prison. Afghan woman known only by her first name Gulnaz, (pictured left) was just 16 years old when was raped by her cousin's husband, a man named Asadullah (pictured right), in 2008. She fell pregnant as a result of the rape. But in Afghanistan, sleeping with a married man is a crime, and it doesn't matter if the married person forced themselves on you. How sad! Rejected by her family and facing 12 year in prison for 'adultery by force' and falling pregnant for a married man, Gulnaz had no choice but to marry her depraved attacker. That was her only hope to get a reduced sentence. She later gave birth to the girl in the photo above.

Hottie Felon Jeremy Meeks Sentenced to 27 Months in Prison

Remember the ridiculously handsome California felon, Jeremy Meeks a.k.a #HottieThug, whose mugshot went viral last year?

Thousands of women all around the world fell for him, and he even landed a Hollywood agent, and was offered $100,000 to star in an adult film.

However, his brief moments of fame couldn't save him from jail time. A Sacramento judge on Thursday sentenced Meeks to 27 months in prison and ordered him to partake in a substance abuse treatment program while in prison, NBC News reports.

According to reports, he was arrested in June 2014 during a gang crackdown in Stockton, CA. He then pleaded guilty to “one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm.

US Frees 5 Guantanamo Prisoners

The Pentagon on Thursday said five men from Yemen have been released from the U.S. detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, the latest move in efforts by the Obama administration to close the military prison.

The Pentagon announced that one man has been sent to Estonia and four to Oman.

“The U.S. is grateful to the Government of Oman for its humanitarian gesture and willingness to support ongoing U.S. efforts to close the Guantanamo Bay detention facility.

“There are now 122 detainees held at Guantanamo,’’ the Pentagon said.

Photo Credit: Getty Images

Ottawa Teen prostitution pimp leader Kailey Oliver-Machado sent to adult prison

Ottawa Courthouse

CBC News
An 18-year-old Ottawa girl who led an operation that trafficked other teenagers using social media such as Facebook and Twitter will serve the remainder of her sentence in an adult prison, a judge determined today. 15 at time of arrest and now 18, Ottawa teen has just under 3 years left in sentence

Kailey Oliver-Machado was sentenced in November to 6½ years in a correctional facility, but Crown and defence lawyers argued over whether she should serve the time in prison or at a youth facility.​

Justice Diane Lahaie heard the arguments from both sides on Jan. 6 and said she needed more time to consider the decision.

On Wednesday, she said Oliver-Machado did a good job finishing her high school diploma while in custody, but a federal penitentiary is in her best interest because she has finished all the rehabilitation courses at the youth facility she has been in since June 2012.

Lahaie also said Oliver-Machado needs special staff and an individual rehabilitation plan so she can be reintegrated back into the community once her sentence is over.

Canadian Resident, Released After More Than A Year In Egyptian Custody

Khaled Al-Qazzaz has been released from Egyptian custody. | Darrin Klimek via Getty Images

The Canadian Press
An ailing Canadian resident imprisoned in Cairo for more than a year has been released from custody in an Egyptian hospital.

A statement released on Sunday by supporters of Khaled Al-Qazzaz says they remain guarded until he is reunited with his family.

The 35-year-old a University of Toronto engineering graduate, is a former aide to ousted president Mohammed Morsi.

He was arrested along with Morsi and eight other aides in July 2013 when the Egyptian military removed the president from office.

Serious crime offenders among inmates mistakenly released in Ontario

In 2009, a prisoner at the Toronto (Don) Jail managed to escape by passing himself off as another prisoner who was supposed to be released.

Torstar News Service
Prisoners who were supposed to be locked up on charges of attempted murder, sexual assault, armed robbery and assault with a weapon were mistakenly released from Ontario jails during the last six years.

In total, 98 prisoners were freed prematurely between 2009 and 2013, mostly because of clerical errors. Four of these prisoners committed new offences while they should have been behind bars, the government acknowledged for the first time in December.

Mistaken releases have caused public alarm and political controversy in several American states and the provinces of Saskatchewan, Nova Scotia and Manitoba. In Ontario, there has been little discussion of the issue: the releases have been shrouded in secrecy even when a serious offender has been allowed back on the streets.

US Prisoner From Cuba Gives Sperm to Wife by Artificial Insemination

One of the Cuban prisoners freed last week in a swap for American contractor Alan Gross was allowed to provide sperm to impregnate his wife while he was still behind bars, U.S. officials said Monday.

Gerardo Hernandez was seen caressing the belly of his very pregnant wife, Adriana Perez, at a public event to celebrate his homecoming over the weekend.

She's due to give birth in just two weeks — thanks to a "humanitarian" artificial insemination brokered by Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt.

Canadian imprisoned in Egypt, pleads for Harper's help

Al Jazeera journalist Mohamed Fahmy stands behind bars at a court in Cairo in May. The Qatar-based television network's journalists

CBC- Imprisoned Canadian journalist Mohamed Fahmy is calling on Prime Minister Stephen Harper to personally ask Egypt's president to release him before an appeal court closes his chance at a retrial.

Fahmy, who made the comments in an exclusive interview with CBC's the fifth estate, was arrested last December along with two other Al-Jazeera journalists. He was sentenced in June to seven years in prison on charges of undermining Egypt's security and supporting the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood. His appeal is scheduled for Jan. 1.

Unbelievable! Dad sentenced to life in prison for killing his two daughters after fight with ex-wife

The Tanzania man, Charles Mihayo, 36, who murdered his two daughters at his home in Melbourne on April 20th 2014 and then dressed them in floral dresses in an act of revenge against his ex-wife has been sentenced to life in prison.
 
According to prosecutors, after his wife divorced him, an angry Charles killed his own children just to make their mother suffer. He smothered Savannah, 4, and Indianna, 3, after playing with them.

Though he was sentenced to life in prison, Charles is eligible for parole after 31 years. Charles, who has since regretted his action, has refused to go into details as to how and why he killed the little girls, only saying he deserves to be punished.