Headline

Diddy Accused By Dozens Of Children In Fresh Sexual Assault Lawsuit

Published

11 months ago

October 2, 2024

More than 100 people, including dozens of children, who say they were victims of rape, sexual assault and sexual exploitation at the hands of Sean “Diddy” Combs are to sue the US rap star, a lawyer said Tuesday.

The latest legal action will heap further pressure on a man who once bestrode American pop culture, but who has long been dogged by accusations of violent abuse of women, and who is now sitting in jail on criminal charges.

“The biggest secret in the entertainment industry, that really wasn’t a secret at all, has finally been revealed to the world,” Texas-based attorney Tony Buzbee said as he announced plans by 120 people, including 25 minors, to take civil action.

“The wall of silence has now been broken, and victims are coming forward.”

Combs was indicted last month on three criminal counts that allege he sexually abused women and coerced them into drug-fueled sex parties using threats and violence.

Allegations have been building against the Grammy Award-winner since last year, when singer Cassie, whose real name is Casandra Ventura, alleged Combs subjected her to more than a decade of coercion by physical force and drugs as well as a 2018 rape.

A spate of similarly lurid lawsuits since have painted a picture of Combs as a violent man who used his celebrity status to prey on women.

Combs has pleaded not guilty to the criminal charges. He has been jailed awaiting trial.

– Pattern of abuse –

At a press conference in Houston, Buzbee said more than 3,000 people had come forward with allegations against Combs, and he appealed for anyone else who might have been a victim to come forward.

He said much of the abuse Combs and members of his entourage are alleged to have carried out followed a pattern.

“I would say 90 percent of the cases, these individuals were drugged,” he told reporters.

“One individual who was 22 years at the time she was assaulted, said that… when you were handed a drink — and now we know that the drink is laced with something — if you refused to drink it, you were kicked out of the party.”

Buzbee described instances of repeated rape of teenagers, allegedly carried out by Combs and his associates.

He said alleged abuse of minors often took place in the context of a promise of fame and fortune in the music industry.

– Fears of retribution –

One boy, who was just nine years old at the time, was taken to New York to audition for Combs’ label Bad Boy Records.

“This individual was sexually abused, allegedly by Sean Combs and several other people at the studio, in the promise to both his parents and to himself of getting a record deal,” Buzbee said.

“Another incident, an individual, 15 years old at the time, flown to New York City to attend a party, was drugged and then taken into a private room, allegedly in the presence of Mr. Combs, where this female individual, a minor, was raped, and then other individuals took turns raping her.”

Buzbee praised the courage of those who had come forward despite fears of retribution or backlash from their own communities.

“I expect that through this process, many powerful people, many dirty secrets will be revealed.

“We know what we are potentially up against, and as is always the case in situations like this, when a celebrity is involved, people can be downright mean and nasty. ”Diddy accused by 120 alleged victims in fresh sexual assault lawsuit

Headline

Syrian Ex-leader Assad Faces War Crime Charges For Killing Journalists

Published

19 hours ago

September 2, 2025

Editor

French judicial authorities have issued arrest warrants for ousted Syrian president Bashar al-Assad and six other top former officials over the bombardment of a rebel-held city in 2012 that killed two journalists, lawyers said Tuesday.

Marie Colvin, 56, an American working for The Sunday Times of Britain, and French photographer Remi Ochlik, 28, were killed on February 22, 2012, by the explosion in the eastern city of Homs, which is being investigated by the French judiciary as a potential crime against humanity as well as a war crime.

British photographer Paul Conroy, French reporter Edith Bouvier, and Syrian translator Wael Omar were wounded in the attack on the informal press centre where they had been working.

Assad escaped with his family to Russia after being ousted by Islamist rebels at the end of 2024, although his precise whereabouts have not been confirmed.

Other than Assad, the warrants notably target his brother Maher al-Assad, who was the de facto head of the 4th Syrian armoured division at the time, intelligence chief Ali Mamlouk, and then-army chief of staff Ali Ayoub.

“The issuing of the seven arrest warrants is a decisive step that paves the way for a trial in France for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by Bashar al-Assad’s regime,” said Clemence Bectarte, lawyer for the Paris-based International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and Ochlik’s parents.

The FIDH said the journalists had clandestinely entered the besieged city to “document the crimes committed by Bashar al-Assad’s regime” and were victims of a “targeted bombing”.

“The investigation clearly established that the attack on the informal press centre was part of the Syrian regime’s explicit intention to target foreign journalists to limit media coverage of its crimes and force them to leave the city and the country,” said Mazen Darwish, lawyer and director of the Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression (SCM).

Colvin was known for her fearless reporting and signature black eye patch, which she wore after losing sight in one eye in an explosion during Sri Lanka’s civil war. Her career was celebrated in a Golden Globe-nominated film, “A Private War”.

AFP

Headline

Ghana’s President Sacks Chief Justice Over Corruption Allegations

Published

2 days ago

September 1, 2025

Editor

President John Dramani Mahama has dismissed the Chief Justice of Ghana following the outcome of a high-level investigation into allegations of falsifying judicial records and misusing public funds.

A five-member commission, chaired by a Supreme Court judge and set up by Mahama, concluded that the allegations against the country’s top judicial officer were substantiated and recommended her removal.

“After considering the petition and the evidence, the Committee found that the grounds of stated misbehaviour under Article 146(1) had been established and recommended her removal from office,” said the spokesperson to the President, Felix Ofosu, in a statement on Monday.

“President John Dramani Mahama has accordingly removed the Chief Justice from office with immediate effect.”

The dismissal marks the first time a sitting Chief Justice in Ghana has been investigated and dismissed from office.

While Mahama, who took office in January, has repeatedly pledged to intensify the fight against corruption, it remains unclear whether the embattled Chief Justice, Gertrude Torkonoo, will face criminal prosecution.

Headline

Danish Court Sentences Ex-minister To Prison For Child Abuse Material

Published

2 days ago

September 1, 2025

Editor

A former Danish government minister was jailed for four months on Monday for possession of thousands of images of child sexual abuse.

Henrik Sass Larsen, once a senior Social Democrat who served as industry minister, admitted to having more than 6,000 photographs and 2,000 videos on his computer depicting sexual abuse of children.

He had denied the charges, saying he had the material because he was trying to find out who had abused him as a child.

Prosecutor Maria Cingari said she was “satisfied” with the verdict but added that it was sad that someone “who managed to make the most out of their life despite a bad start finds himself in such a situation.”

“You should never be in possession of child pornography, no matter the reason,” Cingari added.

During his trial, the 59-year-old told the court he had received a link in 2018 to a 50-year-old video showing him being sexually abused when he was three years old.

He testified that he received another video clip in 2020, in which a three-year-old girl was raped in his presence when he was around the same age.

The two videos disappeared after he viewed them, he said.

He told the court he regretted not having contacted the police when he received the videos.

Sass Larsen was also accused of being in possession of a child sex doll, but the court did not find him guilty on that charge.

His lawyer, Berit Ernst, told reporters that “we’ll see if it is a definitive end or if we will appeal.”

The scandal came to light last March and led to his expulsion from the Social Democratic Party.

At the time, Social Democratic Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen expressed her shock over the case.

AFP