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world news Diamars 15 september 2020

Greece: 3 migrants dead, 56 Philippines deports US Marine in

saved after boat sinks off Crete transgender killing

(AP) — A smuggling on the vessel that sank 12
boat sank off the south- miles (19 kilometers) east (AP) — A U.S. Marine
ern Greek island of of Crete amid high winds convicted of killing a Fili-
Crete on Monday, leav- Monday, the coast guard pino transgender woman
ing three dead, while a said. was deported Sunday af-
large rescue operation A Greek naval frigate and ter a presidential pardon
managed to save 56 oth- an air force helicopter took cut short his detention in
ers from the sea, au- part in the search, together a case that renewed out-
thorities said. with two coast guard boats rage over a pact governing
The Greek coast guard and three merchant ships. American military pres-
said efforts continued ence in the Philippines.
deep into the evening to There was no indication
locate other people who where the vessel sailed Lance Cpl. Joseph Scott
might be in the water. from, how big it was or Pemberton said in a farewell
where it had been head- message that he was “ex-
It said it was unclear ing to. Greece's Aegean tremely grateful” to President
whether anybody was still Sea islands are often the Rodrigo Duterte for pardon-
missing, as the survivors destination for thousands ing him and expressed his
were not in a position to of asylum-seekers and mi- “most sincere sympathy” to
give accurate numbers grants from the Mideast, the family of Jennifer Laude,
of how many had been Africa and Asia who cross who he was convicted of kill-
on board when the vessel from the nearby Turkish ing in 2014 in a motel north-
went down. coast in hopes of finding a west of Manila after finding
The dead were listed as better life in the European out that she was transgender.
two children and a woman. Union. In his nearly six years of con-
Initially, a person claim- But on some occasions, finement, Pemberton said he
ing to be a passenger who smuggling gangs route spent “much time contem-
notified authorities by yachts south of Crete to plating the many errors” he
phone said 16 people were head for Italy. committed the night Laude
died. “He wishes he had the
words to express the depth
Vietnam court sentences 2 to of his sorrow and regret,” ac- LGBTQ groups. pines in 2014.
cording to Pemberton’s mes-
Debate has brewed over
death over land dispute clash sage, which was issued by whether the Marine, whose He and a few other Marines
were on leave after the exer-
his lawyer, Rowena Garcia-
detention was arranged un-
Flores. der the treaty allies’ Visiting cises and met Laude and her
(AP) — A Vietnamese building of a wall around a Virginia Suarez, the Laude Forces Agreement, or VFA, friends at a bar in Olongapo,
court on Monday sen- military airport on land they family’s lawyer, said in a can be covered by a Philip- a city known for its nightlife
tenced two villagers to said belonged to the village. statement that she wishes pine law that grants shorter outside Subic Bay, a former
death in the killings of The newspaper quoted the Pemberton “peace of mind,” jail terms to ordinary prison- U.S. Navy base.
three policemen during a judge as saying in the ver- and hopes that he has learned ers for good conduct. Laude was later found dead,
clash over a land dispute, dict that the assailants carried “the value of life and dignity her head slumped in a toilet
state media reported. out the murders in a brutal regardless of gender and na- The Regional Trial Court in bowl in a motel room, where
Twenty-seven other vil- way and used methods for tionality.” Olongapo city, which han- witnesses said she and Pem-
lagers received sentences mass killing. The 23 other dled Pemberton’s case, ruled berton had checked in. A wit-
of up to life imprison- defendants were accused of Philippine immigration of- that the law covers Pember- ness told investigators that
ment. “opposing those who are on ficers and American person- ton and ordered authorities Pemberton said he choked
public duties" and received nel escorted the 25-year- on Sept. 1 to release him Laude after discovering she
The newspaper Vietnam sentences ranging from 15 old Pemberton, who was early for good conduct. But was transgender.
News said half brothers Le months to six years, the in handcuffs and wearing a Laude’s family and the De- In December 2015, a judge
Dinh Cong and Le Dinh newspaper said. Land dis- face mask, from his cell in partment of Justice separately convicted Pemberton of ho-
Chuc received the death sen- putes are common in Viet- the main military camp in appealed, blocking his early micide, not the more serious
tences for their roles in burn- nam because the government Manila to the airport, where release from a maximum charge of murder that Phil-
ing the three policemen to does not recognize private he boarded a military air- prison term of up to 10 years. ippine prosecutors sought.
death in the village in a sub- land ownership. Land can be craft. He was put on an im- Duterte said he granted the The judge said at the time
urb of Hanoi in January. The taken for infrastructure and migration blacklist and will pardon because Pemberton that factors such as cruelty
84-year-old father of the two investment projects, and dis- be banned from returning to was not treated fairly after and treachery had not been
men, village elder Le Dinh agreements over compensa- the country, said immigration his early release, which he proven.
Kinh, was fatally shot dur- tion often lead to prolonged spokesperson Dana Sando- said the Marine may have The VFA could have been ab-
ing the violence, it said. The disputes.“The heavy sentenc- val. The U.S. Embassy said deserved, was blocked. The rogated last month if Duterte
newspaper said four other es against the Dong Tam de- that “all legal proceedings court order rekindled per- had not delayed an earlier
defendants were also charged fendants, including the death in the case took place under ceptions that American mili- decision to terminate the
with murder. Of them, sentence against two persons, Philippine jurisdiction and tary personnel who run afoul pact after President Donald
Cong’s son, Le Dinh Doanh, come as no surprise,” said law,” and that “Pemberton of Philippine laws can get Trump expressed readiness
was sentenced to life impris- Phil Robertson, Asia deputy fulfilled his sentence as or- special treatment under the to help the Philippines deal
onment while three others director for New York-based dered by Philippine courts.” VFA, which provides the le- with the COVID-19 pan-
were given jail terms ranging Human Rights Watch. On Monday, Duterte granted gal terms for temporary visits demic. The Philippine leader
from 12 to 16 years, Vietnam “Vietnam’s rulers are bend- an “absolute and uncondi- by U.S. forces to the country has said his country can sur-
News said. ing over backwards to show tional pardon” to Pemberton for large-scale combat exer- vive without America.
The defendants were accused their toughest possible face in a move that caught many cises. If the VFA had been scrapped,
of killing the three policemen against the Dong Tam villag- by surprise. The Philippine Pemberton, an anti-tank mis- it would have removed a legal
using grenades, firebombs ers because they worry this leader has long been a vocal sile operator from New Bed- basis for Pemberton’s deten-
and spears as the authorities community’s defiance could critic of U.S. security policies ford, Massachusetts, was one tion in the military camp and
advanced on the village in be contagious unless the while reaching out to China of thousands of American created pressure for him to
Dong Tam commune. The defendants are hit with the and Russia. and Philippine military per- be moved to one of the coun-
police were trying to stop the most severe penalties,” Rob- Duterte’s pardon was con- sonnel who participated in try’s notoriously overcrowd-
villagers from blocking the ertson said. demned by left-wing and joint exercises in the Philip- ed and high-risk prisons.