Undersea graveyard for imported CO2 opens in Denmark

Camille BAS-WOHLERT
Wed, 8 March 2023


Denmark on Wednesday inaugurated a project to store carbon dioxide 1,800 metres beneath the North Sea, becoming the first country in the world to bury CO2 imported from abroad.

"Today we opened a new chapter for the North Sea, a green chapter," Denmark's Crown Prince Frederik said at the inauguration ceremony in the town of Esbjerg in the west of Denmark.

The CO2 graveyard, where the carbon is injected to prevent further warming of the atmosphere, is on the site of an old oil field.

Led by British chemical giant Ineos and German oil company Wintershall Dea, the "Greensand" project is expected to store up to eight million tonnes of CO2 per year by 2030.

Still in their infancy and costly, carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects aim to capture and then trap CO2 in order to mitigate global warming.

Over 200 similar projects are currently operational or under development around the world.

But unlike other projects that store CO2 emissions from nearby industrial sites, Greensand brings in the carbon from far away.

"It's a European success story of cross border cooperation," Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, said in video message played at the ceremony.

First captured at the source, the CO2 is then liquefied -- in Belgium in Greensand's case -- then transported, currently by ship but potentially by pipelines, and stored in reservoirs such as geological cavities or depleted oil and gas fields.

At Greensand, the carbon is transported in special containers to the Nini West platform, where it is injected into an existing reservoir 1.8 kilometres (1.1 miles) under the seabed.

Once the pilot phase is completed, the plan is to use the neighbouring Siri field as well.

Danish authorities, who have set a target of reaching carbon neutrality as early as 2045, say this is "a much needed tool in our climate toolkit".

Ineos CEO Brian Gilvary said at the opening that at full-scale, the project could meet 40 percent of Danish requirements to reach "net zero" and that it could account for 2.5 percent or up to three percent of European requirements.

- North Sea advantages -

The North Sea is particularly suitable for this type of project, as the region already has pipelines and potential storage sites after decades of oil and gas production.

"The depleted oil and gas fields have many advantages because they are well understood and there are already infrastructures which can most likely be reused," said Morten Jeppesen, director of the Danish Offshore Technology Centre at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU).

Near the Greensand site, France's TotalEnergies is also exploring the possibility of burying CO2 with the aim of trapping five million tonnes per year by 2030.

In neighbouring Norway, carbon capture and storage facilities are already in operation to offset domestic emissions, but the country will also be receiving tonnes of liquefied CO2 in a few years' time, transported from Europe by ship.

As Western Europe's largest producer of oil, Norway also has the largest potential for CO2 storage on the continent, particularly in its depleted oil fields.

- Room for improvement -

While measured in millions of tonnes, the quantities stored still remain a small fraction of overall emissions.

According to the European Environment Agency (EEA), the member states of the EU emitted 3.7 billion tonnes of greenhouse gases in 2020 alone, a year that also saw reduced economic activity owing to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Long considered a complicated solution with marginal use, carbon capture has been embraced as necessary by the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the International Energy Agency (IEA).

But it remains far from a miracle cure for global warming.

The energy-intensive process to capture and store the CO2 itself emits the equivalent of 21 percent of the gas captured, according to the Australian think tank IEEFA.

And the technology is not without risks, according to the think tank, which says potential leaks could have severe consequences.

Furthermore, the cost of the project has not been made public.

"The cost of CO2 storage must be reduced further, so it will become a sustainable climate mitigation solution as the industry becomes more mature," Jeppesen said.

The technology also faces opposition from environmentalists.

"It doesn't fix the problem and prolongs the structures that are harmful," Helene Hagel, head of climate and environmental policy at Greenpeace Denmark, told AFP.

"The method is not changing our deadly habits. If Denmark really wants to reduce its emissions it should look into the sectors that are producing a lot of them," she said, singling out sectors such as agriculture and transportation.

cbw/jll/yad

Nasa map shows which countries are releasing and absorbing CO2


Rob Waugh
·Contributor
Wed, 8 March 2023

The map is based on measurements from an Earth-observing satellite (NASA)

A Nasa diagram and video shows which countries are releasing and absorbing carbon dioxide around the world - based on satellite observations between 2015 and 2020.

The map shows which countries absorbed CO2 (via carbon ‘sinks’ such as forests) and which emitted it through household and industrial emissions (and other factors).

Countries where more carbon dioxide was removed than emitted appear as green depressions, while countries with higher emissions are tan or red and appear to pop off the page.

Both use data from an Earth-observing Nasa spacecraft, the Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2) mission, plus a network of surface-based observations.

The video and map are based on increases and decreases in atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations (a ‘top down’ observation), which are used to calculate how much carbon dioxide was emitted and removed.

The OCO-2 mission was not specifically designed to estimate emissions from individual nations, but the findings from the 100-plus countries are well-timed.

Read more: Melting snow in Himalayas drives growth of green sea slime visible from space

The first Global Stocktake, a process to assess the world's collective progress toward limiting global warming, as specified in the 2015 Paris Agreement, takes place in 2023.

Karen St. Germain, director of Nasa's Earth Science Division at Nasa Headquarters in Washington says, "Nasa is focused on delivering Earth science data that addresses real world climate challenges - like helping governments around the world measure the impact of their carbon mitigation efforts.

“This is one example of how Nasa is developing and enhancing efforts to measure carbon emissions in a way that meets user needs."

Traditional activity-based (or "bottom-up") approaches to carbon measurement rely on tallying and estimating how much carbon dioxide is being emitted across all sectors of an economy, such as transportation and agriculture.

Read more: A 1988 warning about climate change was mostly right

Compiling them requires considerable resources, expertise, and knowledge of the extent of the relevant activities.

This is why developing a database of emissions and removals via a top-down approach could be especially helpful for nations that lack traditional resources for inventory development, the researchers say.

Philippe Ciais, a study author and research director at the Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement in France said: "Although they cannot replace the detailed process understanding of traditional bottom-up methods, we can check both approaches for consistency."

Read more: Why economists worry that reversing climate change is hopeless

The scientists' findings include data for more than 50 countries that have not reported emissions for at least the past 10 years.

The study provides a new perspective by tracking both fossil fuel emissions and the total carbon "stock" changes in ecosystems, including trees, shrubs, and soils.

The data is particularly useful for tracking carbon dioxide fluctuations related to land cover change.

Emissions from deforestation alone make up a disproportionate amount of total carbon output in the Global South, which encompasses regions of Latin America, Asia, Africa, and Oceania.

In other parts of the world, the findings indicate some reductions in atmospheric carbon concentrations via improved land stewardship and reforestation.

Floating solar and trash mountains: How the Netherlands became Europe’s solar power leader

Charlotte Elton
Wed, 8 March 2023 


In the Dutch countryside about 130 km east of Amsterdam, an unusual-looking hill towers and glistens above farmhouses, leafless trees, and muddy grassland.

The hill - 25 metres tall - is built from 15 years' worth of household and business waste. What's remarkable is what's covering it: 23,000 solar panels.

Dutch solar developer TPSolar opened the array, which can produce up to 8.9 megawatts of power, in Armhoede, in the east of the Netherlands, in mid-2020. The former landfill now generates enough electricity for about 2,500 households.

The project reflects a wider drive in the Netherlands - which now has more than 48 million solar panels installed - to find innovative places to put new renewable energy capacity.

The Netherlands today has an average of two solar panels per inhabitant - and installed capacity of more than 1 kilowatt (KW) per person - making it Europe's per-capita solar powerhouse, according to industry association Solar Power Europe.

This French village enjoys ‘no bills’ after building wind turbines and solar panels

Recycling dead solar panels isn’t easy. These Australian scientists might have found a solution

How is the Netherlands making space for solar power?

With land for renewable energy siting short nearly everywhere around the world, the Dutch experience - including putting solar on car parks, commercial lakes, sheep grazing fields, strawberry farms, disused churches, train stations and airfields - could inspire better siting of renewables globally.

"Because we have so little space in the Netherlands, it's important to use the ground for multiple reasons," said Bernd Nijen Twilhaar, a coordinator at Dutch solar developer Solarfields, which manages large solar farms and has installed at least 450,000 panels in the country.

"We have to be innovative and creative so we can produce the electricity the Netherlands needs to go green," he added.

Solar developers and analysts say the Dutch expansion has been driven by a huge drop in equipment prices, an effective energy subsidy scheme, and ambitious government targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The government aims to make 70 per cent of its electricity renewable by 2030, mainly through expanding solar and wind power capacity as it seeks to cut its emissions as one of Europe's top six polluting countries.

Like many European Union (EU) nations, the Netherlands is cutting energy reliance on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine.

Dutch solar and wind farms have helped fill the electricity supply gap left by gas-fired power stations that have become unprofitable to run amid record-high gas prices.

But the Netherlands' farmland is among the most expensive in the EU, making finding space for solar plans costly.

That reality, combined with the country's high population density, means solar firms have had to be inventive when it comes to finding space.

New dutch houses with solar panels. - Canva

The Netherlands leads Europe in solar power

In recent years, the Netherlands has enshrined climate targets like its renewable energy goal into law, vowed to limit onshore gas and oil drilling, and boosted green spending generally. The nation's 2022 renewable energy budget was 13 billion euros.

Last year, the Netherlands generated 14 per cent of its electricity from solar farms - up from 1 per cent in 2015 - overtaking coal-fired power generation for the first time.

The proportion of electricity from solar was the highest generated in the EU, said Ember Climate, a consultancy group.

In parallel, the country's "net metering" system - set up in 2004 and allowing households with solar panels to offset their green electricity production against their consumption - now has more than two million homes generating renewable power, according to the energy ministry.

The Dutch government is assessing how site planning and financial support can be altered to encourage more construction of solar farms better integrated into the landscape, an energy ministry spokesman said by email.

Joeri Jacobs, who focuses on building green energy projects at waste management company Afvalzorg, described the Dutch approach to renewables as "extremely MacGyver-ish" - referring to a 1980s U.S TV show about a resourceful secret agent who assembled ingenious devices from everyday objects.

"We take the different energy technologies, we stack them and we try to make a combination that really works," said Jacobs, whose company has teamed up with a local utility to turn disused landfill sites into solar farms.

"It takes a while but once everybody hops on the train we actually execute relatively quickly in the Netherlands."

US got a record-breaking 40% of its energy from carbon-free sources in 2022, report reveals

Spain is ramping up green hydrogen production - but can its renewable energy sector keep up?

Solar farms on manmade lakes

Nearly 20 per cent of the low-lying country's surface is water, and solar power developers including GroenLeven have taken advantage by installing farms on man-made lakes.

The company has installed more than 500,000 solar panels on Dutch waters, leaving the Netherlands behind only China globally in such siting, it noted.

"This idea of floating solar came up in the Netherlands earlier than in other countries," said Benedikt Ortmann, global director of solar projects at German renewable energy company BayWa r.e., which acquired GroenLeven in 2018.

Inspired by the Dutch example, BayWa r.e. said it now is rolling out more floating solar sites in European countries such as Belgium, Austria and France.

Dutch firms are also looking for ways to make solar plants work alongside agricultural production.

"Rather than having to fight over who's going to get the access to the land, we come up with solutions to jointly use it," said Carel Kooij, business development manager for large-scale photovoltaic (PV) at the Dutch subsidiary of Swedish utility Vattenfall.

One so-called "Agri-PV" project involves growing strawberries and raspberries below a solar panel roof, replacing the plastic cover traditionally used by farmers.

Halfway through a four-year pilot, project leaders said the plants needed 25 per cent less water because they were sheltered from the sun, potentially saving irrigation water in a future where climate change brings hotter and drier summers.

The Netherlands is a relatively small country - meaning solar power innovators have to be creative in their choice of solar farms. - Canva

Local interests have to come first

Across the board, Dutch solar developers say new projects must be conceived with local interests firmly in mind.

The country's 2019 climate plan, for instance, stipulates that renewable energy projects should aim to allocate 50 per cent of the green energy they produce to local inhabitants.

While this is not legally binding, developers tend to invest in the community - from sending a percentage of renewable power generated to local energy cooperatives, for example, or setting up a socioeconomic fund to make energy efficiency improvements.

"Because the Netherlands is so small, you are always working in someone's backyard," said Robert van der Horst, project developer at TPSolar.

"You always have to talk to the people and discuss what is best for a certain area," he added. "Then you try to enhance that with your solar farm."

France coach Diacre under pressure as tensions grow ahead of Women's World Cup


Andy SCOTT
Wed, 8 March 2023 



The Women's World Cup is just a few months away but France's preparations for the showpiece in Australia and New Zealand are in disarray after a revolt by leading players piled pressure on coach Corinne Diacre.

On Thursday, the French Football Federation -– itself in crisis following the resignation of its scandal-hit president Noel Le Graet –- will meet to discuss Diacre's position.

Diacre has been in charge since 2017 but there is a strong feeling her position has become untenable after some of the team's biggest stars said they would no longer play for the current coach.

Captain Wendie Renard of Lyon announced last month she would not go to the World Cup.

"I can no longer support the current system which falls a long way short of the demands required to compete at the highest level," said defender Renard, who has 142 caps.

Paris Saint-Germain forward Kadidiatou Diani, who like Renard was nominated for last year's Ballon d'Or, followed suit along with her PSG teammate Marie-Antoinette Katoto.

"We have reached a point of no going back. The girls just can't cope with it any more," Diani told broadcaster TF1 last weekend before adding she would be willing to return "if the necessary major changes finally arrive".

Diacre hit back on Wednesday, saying in a statement to AFP that she had been the victim of a "disgraceful media outburst" and that she was "completely determined to carry out my job and, above all, to do France proud at the next World Cup".

The French federation (FFF) therefore must decide between backing the coach or listening to the players.

There are comparisons to be drawn with Spain's national women's team, who were plunged into crisis last September when 15 players resigned en masse, calling for major changes.

The Spanish Football Federation backed coach Jorge Vilda and none of the rebels have featured since.

In France, however, it seems player power will win out.

"We have the best players in Europe, maybe the world, and we are not getting results. With the World Cup and the Paris Olympics coming up, we need to closely look at the situation and take decisions," Jean-Michel Aulas, president of Lyon and a key figure at the FFF, told sports daily L'Equipe.

"The Federation cannot do nothing after the message delivered by the best French players."

- Divisive -

Diacre, 48, has an admirable CV, from winning 121 caps to a groundbreaking three-year spell in charge of men's team Clermont in the French second division.

But she has been a divisive figure as France coach, from the moment she stripped Renard of the captaincy early in her reign.

Another Lyon star, midfielder Amandine Henry, skippered the team at the 2019 World Cup on home soil, but has been out of the picture since late 2020.

In a television interview Henry described the atmosphere at the World Cup, in which France lost to the USA in the quarter-finals, as "total chaos" and added that "some of the girls don't dare speak out because they are afraid" of Diacre.

France, the beaten semi-finalists at last year's Euro, have at international level been unable to capitalise on Lyon's success at club level.

Lyon won the Champions League last season for a record eighth time but there are concerns that the French club game -– where the talk now is of a professional league finally being launched –- will soon be left behind by the rest of Europe.

"Last year, OL's victory in the Champions League detracted from the bigger picture," said Lyon coach Sonia Bompastor.

"I have been warning everyone for a while about the growing challenge coming from Spain, Italy and England. There will come a time when we can't keep up if we don't react."

France are ranked fifth in the world, in between European champions England and Olympic champions Canada, another team in crisis.

The Canadians recently threatened to strike in a row over pay, funding and contractual issues, demanding the same terms as the men's team. The dispute led to the president of Canada Soccer resigning.

France begin their World Cup campaign against Jamaica in Sydney on July 23.

It appears likely they will do so with a new coach in charge.

as/gj

After the terrifying earthquakes, it’s women and girls in Turkey feeling the aftershocks

Elif Shafak
Wed, 8 March 2023 

Photograph: Eloisa Lopez/Reuters

In Turkey’s southern province of Hatay, one of the most ravaged cities in the recent earthquakes, 25-year-old Alev Altun, the mother of two young children, became homeless in one night, like thousands of others. Having nowhere to go, she agreed to take refuge in the house of her ex-husband, on his invitation, assuming it would be safer to stay with the father of her children than alone in a tent or in a building at risk of collapse.

While she was sleeping, her ex-husband allegedly poured scalding water all over her, shouting she should be grateful that he had not killed her. She remains in intensive care at a local hospital, with severe burns to her head, face and body. Hers is one of the many harrowing stories of women and girls in crisis zones.

Women suffer disproportionately in the aftermath of disasters. While tens of thousands of people have lost homes and jobs, women continue to work ceaselessly in makeshift tents and containers set up for displaced survivors – finding food or trying to cook, washing or cleaning where water is available, constantly providing for others. In traditional, patriarchal societies, the entire burden of looking after extended families is on their shoulders. According to organisations on the ground, a large number of women were found dead – and occasionally pulled out alive – in children’s rooms buried under piles of rubble. When the tremors began, they ran to save their children and babies. Unicef says the number of children who have died in the earthquake “is likely to be in the many thousands”.

There are 356,000 pregnant women across the earthquake-affected areas. Of these, an estimated 39,000 are expected to deliver babies in the coming weeks. For every affected woman and girl, but especially for pregnant women, the lack of toilets and cleaning facilities is a major source of distress.

Growing up in Turkey, I have been told many times to be quiet about and ashamed of the female body, and especially menstruation. Still to this day, one of the widespread definitions of the word “dirty” (kirli) in Turkish dictionaries is “a woman who is menstruating”. When I was younger, often when I bought a sanitary product from a market, I would watch the cashier immediately wrap it in some old newspaper, hiding it as if it was a scandal. Once, in Istanbul, I was scolded by a male grocer when I asked out loud in front of everyone where the period products were. He used a word I have never forgotten, ayip – shame.

‘There are reports from human rights organisations that it is harder to find a tent or access aid if you are a single woman.’ Tents for earthquake survivors in Adiyaman, Turkey, 25 February 2023. 

Photograph: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

In this sexist culture, female survivors of earthquakes find it very difficult to ask for sanitary pads. There is an assumption that within the broader picture of devastation and destruction, such matters are a trivial concern. They are not. Action Aid has said that the situation for women and girls and marginalised communities “is becoming increasingly alarming”. In times of war and disaster, the rights and freedoms of women and minorities always become casualties to the “more important and urgent issues” of realpolitik. The humanitarian organisation Plan International has reported that, “Our experience shows that children, especially girls, women and the poorest families, are most at risk of exploitation in a disaster like an earthquake. Women and children in the disaster zone will be at risk of exploitation and abuse, should they find themselves once again displaced.”

LGBTQ+ communities find the situation extremely hard. Sexual harassment and violence is a growing threat for many who remain vulnerable in homophobic and transphobic environments. There are reports from human rights organisations that it is harder to find a tent or access aid if you are a single woman. Hate speech is never far from the surface.

Wars, disasters and earthquakes also disrupt education. In Turkey and Syria, girls are much more likely to be pulled out of school. Turkey already has one of the highest rates of child marriage in Europe. Yet instead of helping women and minorities by implementing the Istanbul convention – the treaty designed to combat violence against women – the government under Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has done the opposite, withdrawing from the convention and targeting both feminists and LGBTQ+ activists. Erdoğan has repeatedly said that women cannot be equal to men and gender equality is “against nature”.

Crisis times bring out both the best and the worst in humanity. While we have seen a profoundly moving outpouring of help and support from civil society, there is a correlation between the lack of democracy, lack of accountability and high levels of corruption and nepotism in a country and the scale of suffering in natural disasters. Turkey’s AKP under Erdoğan is not only antidemocratic and authoritarian, it is also blatantly macho and misogynist.

Sadly, anti-refugee rhetoric has also proliferated in Turkey after this crisis. In Mersin, Syrians staying at a dormitory were kicked out, saying they had to make way for Turkish citizens. Refugees have been put on buses and dumped on the streets. Even those who were trying to help with rescue efforts have been assaulted in some places. In times of distress, instead of questioning the incapacity and structural mistakes of a government, it is easier to turn to the next vulnerable group and take it out on them.

Related: A month on, relatives still search for earthquake victims in Turkey

Meanwhile, on the other side of Turkey’s border in Iran, girls are being poisoned. In at least 26 elementary and high schools, more than 1000 girls have reportedly been targeted in chemical gas attacks. Women and girls have been the leading voice in demanding social change, equality and freedom in the country. The bravery of Iranian women is remarkable: this is why they are being targeted by the regime.

We often hear that the world is presently suffering from multiple crises and therefore relief and aid efforts cannot be expected to continue for too long in one place. It is, however, possible to look at it from a different angle. Whether in Turkey, Syria, Afghanistan, Iran or war-torn Ukraine … as we mark International Women’s Day, women and girls and minorities across the world are suffering and struggling disproportionately.

Gender-based relief efforts are essential to rebuild better and fairer societies. Studies show that when women are given financial aid and psychological support, they use this leverage primarily for their families, their children and their communities. There never has been a more urgent time for global solidarity, and especially, global sisterhood. There never has been a more urgent time to say out loud that we can both dearly love and care for our own countries or our adopted countries and at the same time be citizens of the world, citizens of humankind.

Elif Shafak is a novelist and political scientist

SCOTLAND
New misogyny law to criminalise messages about rape, sexual assault or disfigurement


Andrew Learmonth
Wed, 8 March 2023 

Barrister Baroness Helena Kennedy KC.

NEW legislation could see sending threatening or abusive messages to women and girls which refer to rape, sexual assault or disfigurement becoming a specific crime.

The criminal law is one of five being proposed by the Scottish Government following a wide-ranging review by barrister Baroness Helena Kennedy KC.

Others include measures to criminalise misogynistic behaviour, misogynistic harassment, and an offence of stirring up hatred against women and girls.

The government are also seeking to bring in a statutory aggravation concerning misogyny. This would allow the court to take a misogynistic motive into account when deal with a crime such as assault, criminal damage/vandalism or threatening or abusive behaviour.

Baroness Kennedy’s review was commissioned by ministers following criticism that the SNP administration’s controversial hate crime legislation did not explicitly offer protection for women and girls.

Launching the consultation on the new proposals, Justice Secretary Keith Brown said her work had been "stark in its assessment of the level of misogyny that exists in Scotland."

He added: Women and girls are routinely humiliated, touched, groped, undermined, trolled and objectified both online and off, and subjected to threats, harassment and abuse about their looks or desirability – stopping them from fully participating in society.

“Although there are already a range of laws that can be used to prosecute aspects of misogynistic harassment and abuse, these do not accurately identify the particular harm caused by misogyny.

“They also fail to adequately respond to problems faced by women, which is why we are consulting on further criminal reforms.

“And while criminal law reform alone cannot be expected to eliminate misogynistic abuse, or the attitudes which perpetuate it, these specific criminal protections are an important step in challenging society’s - and particularly men’s - tolerance of misogyny.

“I encourage everyone with an interest to consider what is proposed and offer their views.”

Baroness Kennedy urged “as many women as possible to participate in this consultation.”

She added: “For too long the law has not been drawn from the experience of women. It is time to hear from girls and women about what they think should be included in law so that they can be treated as equals and live free from abuse and denigration.”

In 2021, there were calls for the Scottish Government to add a sex aggravator to their controversial Hate Crime Bill, alongside race, religion, disability, sexual orientation and transgender identity.

However, an attempt to amend the bill by former Labour MSP Johan Lamont was defeated.

Instead, the then justice secretary Humza Yousaf urged his colleagues to give “the working group the time that it needs to explore the issue, come forward with recommendations and create, potentially, a world-leading approach.”

First of its kind law centre honouring 'feminist titan' to be launched in Glasgow

Caroline Wilson
Wed, 8 March 2023 

The University of Glasgow is to launch a new law clinic that will provide free legal advice to victims of sex crimes

A new law centre which aims to increase conviction rates for sex crimes is to be launched by a Scots university in honour of a 'titan of the feminist movement'.

The University of Glasgow has been given funding to establish a first-of-its-kind service that will provide free independent legal advice and representation by practising Scots solicitors,

The clinic is being named in honour of Emma Ritch, a pioneering campaigner for women’s rights and graduate of the University, who died suddenly in 2021.

As well as offering legal advice the Emma Ritch Law Clinic will offer provide "innovative" teaching for the next generation of lawyers.

Research that aims to provide insight into the difference that specialist legal advice and representation can make to complainers’ experiences of prosecution" will also be a focus with data gathered to better understand why cases might fail to reach, or progress, through the criminal justice system.

The Emma Ritch Clinic could be transformative for rape complainers

The Clinic will also work to increase awareness of trauma-informed lawyering, and the practice of criminal law, an area with longstanding issues in terms of recruitment and retention.

READ MORE: Feminist campaigner honoured by Scots university after sudden death

It will be led by three Co-Directors, Mr Eamon Keane, Dr Jacqueline Kinghan and Professor Nicole Busby with complementary expertise in legal practice, education and research respectively.

Seed funding to establish the clinic has been provided by the Sam and Bella Sebba Foundation, with additional support provided by the Scottish Government.

It will operate in partnership with Rape Crisis Scotland, and other referral agencies, to target unmet legal need in Scotland through the provision of specialist legal advice and representation.

Rape and attempted rape have the highest of all acquittal rates in Scotland, at 48%, followed by sexual assault at 29%.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said:“Emma Ritch was a champion of justice and equality, and a passionate advocate for women’s rights.

"Having a law clinic set up in her memory is a fitting tribute to a remarkable woman and a titan of Scotland’s feminist movement.

HeraldScotland:

“I am pleased to announce the Scottish Government’s commitment to support and work with the Emma Ritch Law Clinic at the University of Glasgow.

READ MORE: Tributes paid to leading Scottish feminist after sudden death

"The research carried out here will allow for enhanced provision of trauma-informed legal advice, and representation for victims of sexual offences and other forms of gender-based violence to be explored.

“Aligning with the Scottish Government’s Vision for Justice in Scotland, the Clinic will produce valuable research, and is an important step in providing an insight into the difference that specialist independent legal advice and representation can make to complainers’ experiences.”

Sandy Brindley, of Rape Crisis Scotland, added: “The Emma Ritch Clinic could be transformative for rape complainers seeking justice in Scotland.

READ MORE: Neil Mackay: Rape should carry a mandatory life sentence

“We know that many survivors feel as though they are at the margins of the justice process and unprepared for the experience of going to court.

"It can also be hard for survivors to meaningfully access their rights because of difficulties accessing suitable legal advice and representation.

"Having access to a lawyer who understands the system can make a huge difference to somebody’s experience.

“The Emma Ritch Clinic will help Scotland lead the way in improving rape survivors’ access to justice.

"Emma Ritch was a long-time member of the Rape Crisis Scotland Board of Directors and was passionate about improving rape survivors’ position in the justice system.

"We’re very grateful to the University of Glasgow for naming the clinic after Emma. We can’t think of a more fitting legacy.”

Professor Sir Anton Muscatelli, Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Glasgow, said: “The Emma Ritch Law Clinic represents the continued commitment to develop social change legal education at the University of Glasgow.

"The Clinic joins a series of initiatives designed by the School of Law to support our students and academics to use the law and their legal skills to make a positive difference to society.

“The University of Glasgow is a civically-minded institution, and we are therefore very proud to partner with the Scottish Government, Rape Crisis Scotland and the Sebba Foundation to host this valuable and much needed service. We hope the Clinic will help shape the national development of legal advice for survivors of sexual offences into the future.”

Eamon Keane, Co-Director & Principal Solicitor, said:“The Emma Ritch Law Clinic represents an exciting developing in the Scottish legal landscape, with real potential to ensure that the legal rights of complainers in sexual offences cases are adequately protected, via the provision of independent and specialist legal advice.”

'Disrespect for the people': Merrick Garland issues scathing report into LMPD practices


U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland delivers the Department of Justice findings on the Investigation of the Louisville Metro Police Department and Louisville Metro Government, at Louisville Metro Hall on Wednesday, March 8, 2023. WIth Garland is Vanita Gupta, associate attorney general.


Andrew Wolfson and Phillip M. Bailey, Louisville Courier Journal
Wed, March 8, 2023 

Three years after Breonna Taylor was shot and and killed in her apartment, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland released a blistering report Wednesday finding that the city and its police department have violated the constitutional rights of its citizens, particularly Black people.

Garland also announced Louisville has agreed “in principle” to forge a consent decree that will be enforced by a federal judge who will monitor the city’s progress in adopting reforms.

The department, for years, "has practiced an aggressive style of policing that it deploys selectively, especially against Black people, but also against vulnerable people throughout the city," Garland said during a press conference at Metro Hall. "LMPD cites people for minor offenses, like wide turns and broken taillights, while serious crimes like sexual assault and homicide go unsolved.

"Some officers demonstrate disrespect for the people they are sworn to protect," he said, adding the department found incidents of officers calling Black people “monkey, animal and boy.”


The 90-page report from the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice found LMPD:

Uses excessive force, including unjustified neck restraints and unreasonable use of police dogs and tasers


Conducts searches based on invalid warrants.


Unlawfully executes warrants without knocking and announcing.


Unlawfully stops, searches, detains and arrests people during traffic and pedestrian stops.


Violates the rights of people engaged in protected speech critical of policing.


Discriminates against people with behavioral health disabilities while responding to crises.

The report also offered 36 remedial measures it says LMPD should adopt on serving search warrants and other areas identified as deficiencies.

Garland said the police's behavior erodes trust in the department and is an “affront to the people of Louisville, who deserve better” and to officers who respect the law and Constitution.

DOJ police department investigations:Are Department of Justice investigations a path to police reform or 'a war on cops'?

Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg promised to cooperate with the DOJ.

“To those people who've been harmed, on behalf of our city government, I'm sorry,” said Greenberg, who took office two months ago. “You deserve better.”

The investigation spanned the years 2016 to 2021, when Greg Fischer was mayor. He issued a statement Wednesday defending his administration and noting that federal officials lauded his "proactive leadership."

"Today’s findings – paired with those from the independent audit by Hillard Heintze that I initiated in 2020 – presents Louisville with an opportunity to be a national leader and a model in building a truly just public safety system. I believe good police officers will welcome this report as an opportunity to more easily meet the oath they swore to protect and serve our community and improve their daily job performance and profession."

Consent decrees in other cities have placed police departments under federal review for as long as 10 years.

The report was the culmination of an investigation announced 23 months ago.

Garland said investigators interviewed hundreds of police, citizens, clergy, defense lawyers, judges and others, and reviewed thousands of hours of police body camera videos.

Garland noted LMPD has already instituted some reforms, such as banning “no-knock” searches.

But he and his deputies said LMPD continues to stop drivers, especially Black motorists, on pretexts and is twice as likely to search them as whites.

They also are twice or more likely to be stopped for having only one working headlight or excessively tinted windows.

Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta said consent decrees have dramatically reduced use of force by police in Seattle, Albuquerque and Baltimore.

Kristen Clarke, assistant attorney general for Civil Rights, said in the wake of Taylor’s death and subsequent national protests, Americans across the country are demanding greater accountability and reforms for law enforcement.

“People in Louisville deserve constitutional policing,” she said. “They deserve policing that is fair and non-discriminatory.”

Clarke outlined a bleak picture of how the Louisville police department operates and how elected officials charged with overseeing the department failed to do their jobs as well.

She said, for instance, Louisville police selectively targeted Black people compared to their white counterparts.

“Our investigation found that the police department and city government failed to adequately protect and serve the people of Louisville, breached the public's trust and discriminated against Black people through unjustified stop, searches and arrests,” she said.

The investigation found that Black residents were disproportionately impacted for various infractions such as loitering and traffic stops, in which federal officials said they were 50% more likely to be searched than white drivers.

“This pattern of racial discrimination fuels distrust and impedes the community's confidence in LMPD and their law enforcement operations,” Clarke said.

DOJ indictments in Breonna Taylor case:Experts predict who has the edge, the feds or the charged officers

The FBI also has been investigating Taylor’s killing separately. The DOJ also has charged several Louisville officers in separate cases since 2020, including four former LMPD personnel in early August on charges either of lying on the warrant obtained to search Taylor’s home, obstructing investigators or — in the case of ex-Detective Brett Hankison — firing bullets that entered a neighboring apartment.

Taylor’s mother, Tamika Palmer, previously tweeted that “I can’t wait for the world to see Louisville Police Department for what it really is,” in response to the DOJ’s announced investigation.

Breonna Taylor fact check:Separating the rumors from the facts

No officers were directly indicted and prosecuted by Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron’s office for Taylor’s death, though several were later fired or submitted resignations. Hankison was charged at the state level in 2020 with wanton endangerment for firing bullets that went into an apartment neighboring Taylor's that was occupied by three people, and a jury acquitted him in March.

City officials estimated in 2021 that reforms at LMPD prompted by the DOJ investigation could cost Louisville up to $10 million annually, and the city directed some federal American Rescue Plan funds to that area. The changes have already included a new Accountability and Improvement Bureau at LMPD and launch of an early warning system for officers after years of delays.

Interim LMPD Police Chief Jacquelyn Gwinn-Villaroel vowed to make the department the most "trusted, trained and transparent" in the United States.

Greenberg, in an apparent reference to the city's rate of murders and other crimes, said: "We need our officers to solve crimes while treating people with dignity and respect."

He called the report a "painful picture of our department's past" and promised to change "how we recruit, train and manage our more than 1,000 officers."

Reporter Billy Kobin contributed to this report.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Breonna Taylor case: DOJ releases investigation into Louisville police

Louisville police discriminate against Black people, US Justice Dept says


Four current and former Louisville police officers arrested over 2020 shooting of Breonna Taylor

Wed, March 8, 2023 
By Sarah N. Lynch and Rami Ayyub

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The Louisville, Kentucky, police force routinely discriminates against Black residents, uses excessive force and conducts illegal searches, the U.S. Justice Department said on Wednesday, following a probe prompted by Breonna Taylor's killing in 2020.

The department's findings come nearly two years after U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland launched the civil rights probe into the department, whose officers shot Taylor dead after bursting into her apartment on a no-knock warrant, as well as the Louisville-Jefferson County government.

The probe found a wide-ranging pattern of misconduct by police, including using dangerous neck restraints and police dogs against people who posed no threat, and allowing the dogs to continuing biting people after they surrendered.

At a news conference, Garland said the department had reached a "consent decree" with the Louisville police, which will require the use of an independent monitor to oversee policing reforms.

"This conduct is unacceptable. It is heartbreaking. It erodes the community trust necessary for effective policing," Garland said. "And it is an affront to the people of Louisville, who deserve better."

It is the first probe of U.S. policing begun and completed by the Biden administration, which had promised to focus on racial justice in law enforcement after a spate of high-profile police killings of Black Americans. The deaths of Taylor and George Floyd, in particular, drew national outrage and sparked the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020.

"I don't even know what to say today. To know that this thing should never have happened and it took three years for anybody else to say that it shouldn't have," Taylor's mother, Tamika Palmer, told a news conference after the findings were released.

The investigation found the police department used aggressive tactics selectively against Black people, who comprise roughly one in four Louisville residents, as well as other vulnerable people, such as those with behavioral health challenges.

Police cited people for minor offenses like wide turns and broken taillights, while serious crimes like sexual assault and homicide went unsolved, the probe found, adding minor offenses were used as a pretext to investigate unrelated criminal activity.

Some Louisville police officers even filmed themselves insulting people with disabilities and describing Black people as "monkeys," the Justice Department said. It also found that officers quickly resorted to violence.

Louisville Mayor Craig Greenburg told reporters the Justice Department's report brought back "painful memories" and vowed to implement reforms.

"Our city has wounds that have not yet healed and that's why this report... is so important and so necessary," he said.

MORE INVESTIGATIONS

Taylor, a 26-year-old emergency medical technician, was asleep in bed with her boyfriend on March 13, 2020, when Louisville police executing a no-knock warrant burst into her apartment.

Her boyfriend fired at them believing they were intruders and police returned fire, fatally shooting Taylor.

The killings of both Taylor and Floyd prompted the Justice Department in 2021 to open civil rights investigations, known as "pattern or practice" probes, into the police departments in Louisville and Minneapolis to determine if they engaged in systemic abuses. The results of the Minneapolis review have not yet been released.

Under Garland's leadership, the Justice Department has sought to reinvigorate its civil rights enforcement program, an area civil rights advocates say was left in tatters by former U.S. President Donald Trump.

During the Trump administration, for instance, former Attorney General Jeff Sessions moved to curtail the use of consent decrees with police departments, saying they reduced morale.

The Justice Department has since restored their use, and launched multiple civil rights investigations into police departments, local jails and prisons across the country.

The department's 90-page investigative report recommended 36 measures for Louisville police, including revamping policies on search warrants, new use-of-force training for officers, requiring body-worn cameras to be activated, documenting all police stops, and improving civilian oversight.

In 2021, Garland also announced new policies for federal law enforcement agencies including the FBI, which now prohibit them from conducting "no-knock" entries like the one used against Taylor by local police.

In August, federal prosecutors charged four current and former Louisville, Kentucky, police officers for their roles in the botched 2020 raid.

One of those, former Louisville detective Kelly Goodlett, pleaded guilty to federal criminal charges that she helped falsify the search warrant that led to Taylor's death.

(Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch, additional reporting by Rami Ayyub and Dan Whitcomb; Editing by Scott Malone and Deepa Babington)

'The time for terrorizing the Black community with no repercussions is over.' Reactions to LMPD investigation

14
Lucas Aulbach, Louisville Courier Journal
Wed, March 8, 2023 

U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland spoke Wednesday alongside several officials from Louisville and the Department of Justice to reveal findings from a nearly two-year investigation into the city's government and police department.

The 90-page report details issues and violations the department found in its review of Louisville Metro Police, along with recommendations for moving forward.

Live updates:Findings of federal investigation into LMPD after Breonna Taylor's killing

More reactions:DOJ's report into Louisville police: How people are responding on social media

Here are some key moments and quotes from the Wednesday press conference and from community members about the findings.

Merrick Garland, US attorney general

U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland delivers the Department of Justice findings on the Investigation of the Louisville Metro Police Department and Louisville Metro Government, at Louisville Metro Hall on Wednesday, March 8, 2023.

“This conduct is unacceptable. It is heartbreaking. It erodes the community trust necessary for effective policing, and it is an affront to the vas majority of officers who put their lives on the line every day to serve with honor – and it is an affront to the people of Louisville.”

"To the officers of LMPD: The Justice Department is acutely aware of the integral role that law enforcement officers play in our society and the dangers you face to keep your community safe – so it is imperative that your police department sets you up for success."

Vanita Gupta, associate attorney general

Vanita Gupta, associate U.S. attorney general, speaks at a press conference where the Department of Justice delivered findings on the Investigation of the Louisville Metro Police Department and Louisville Metro Government, at Louisville Metro Hall on Wednesday, March 8, 2023. WIth Gupta are U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, left; and Kristen Clarke, assistant attorney general for civil rights.More

"LMPD’s ability to serve and protect the people of Louisville has been compromised and the findings are deeply troubling and sobering. So we are committed to working with Louisville on a path forward to constitutional policing and stronger police-community trust."

Kristen Clarke, assistant attorney general

"These findings are not based on any one incident or event. They turn on evidence showing long-standing dysfunction at LMPD. The pattern or practice of unlawful conduct compromises LMPD’s ability to serve and protect safely, constitutionally and effectively. Instead, LMPD has practiced an extreme, misdirected and counterproductive style of policing."

"Our efforts were exhaustive. We talked to hundreds of people across the city. We rode with officers in their cars on patrol. We spoke with city and union officials, judges and attorneys, advocacy groups, religious leaders and community members from different walks of life. And along with our experts, we've reviewed thousands of documents regarding LMPD’s enforcement activities, and we watch thousands of hours of body-worn camera footage."

Craig Greenberg, Louisville mayor

Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg made remarks as he was joined by U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, left, and Assistant Attorneys General Vanita Gupta and Kristen Clarke, right, as they announced the findings of a sweeping investigation of the Louisville Metro Police Department at Metro Hall in Louisville, Ky. on Mar. 8, 2023.

"I know some people are surprised and horrified to hear stories about certain officers operating in ways that are so counter to our values as a community. All of this is really hard to hear and hard to accept. It's infuriating. I understand that.

"I also know there are people who are not surprised to hear the findings in this report, because they see this report as confirmation of complaints they've made about their own interactions with law enforcement, sometimes for years. Many of those spoke out and felt dismissed or devalued. Now, the United States Department of Justice is essentially saying 'Yes, in many cases, you were right. And you deserve better.' That's a powerful thing. I understand that, too.

"And I know there are people who will look at this report, and they'll be eager to find some way to minimize it. or dismiss it. They'll say it's all politics, or that you could find examples like this in any city. No – this is not about politics or other places. This is about Louisville. This is about our city, our neighbors and how we serve them."

Jacquelyn Gwinn-Villaroel, interim LMPD chief

Interim LMPD Chief Jacquelyn Gwinn-Villaroel speaks during a press conference to announce that the department will begin removing the firing pins from weapons used in crimes.

"This is an extremely challenging and pivotal point for our city, our department and for our officers. Now that the DOJ has concluded their investigation and presented their findings, we will continue our efforts in improving public safety in this beautiful city called Louisville and making LMPD the premier police department in the country."

Tamika Palmer, mother of Breonna Taylor

Tamika Palmer, right, and her sister Bianca Austin listened to speakers at Jefferson Square Park following the announcement that the police officers involved in the killing of Breonna Taylor will face federal charges in Louisville, Ky. on Aug. 4, 2022. Palmer is Taylor's mother.

"What was confirmed today is that I should still be able to to pick up the phone and reach my oldest daughter Breonna. It took us having to fight day in and day out for years simply because I deserved justice for my daughter’s murder to kickstart this investigation, but today’s findings are an indicator that Breonna’s death is not vain. Our fight will protect future potential victims from LMPD’s racist tactics and behavior. The time for terrorizing the Black community with no repercussions is over."

Ben Crump, civil rights attorney who represented Breonna Taylor

Attorney Ben Crump pumped his fist in the air at Jefferson Square Park following the announcement that the police officers involved in the killing of Breonna Taylor will face federal charges in Louisville, Ky. on Aug. 4, 2022.

“The family of Breonna Taylor is encouraged by the findings released today by Attorney General Merrick Garland and the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division revealing a pattern of biased policing and a long list of constitutional violations by the Louisville Metro Police Department.

“These findings, and LMPD’s expected cooperation with the DOJ’s recommended remedial measures, will help protect the citizens of Louisville and shape its culture of policing. It’s steps like these, and involvement of the Attorney General and the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, that will move our nation forward and prevent future tragedies like the one that took the life of Breonna Taylor and the countless others who have been killed unnecessarily by law enforcement.”

Greg Fischer, former Louisville mayor (2011-2022)

Former Mayor Greg Fischer on Dec. 23, 2022.

"Today is another important inflection point to honor the pain of 2020 by further acknowledging – and continuing to act on – the fact that our community deserves a new era of public safety. This era requires the leadership of the many good officers who have dedicated their lives to keep us safe and are committed to working in partnership with the community to develop a new form of constitutionally sound policing embraced by all our city’s residents.

"Since the summer of 2020, I have emphasized that public safety in Louisville and across America is at an inflection point. Without fundamental and widespread changes in police culture, resources, resident involvement and resulting police-community legitimacy, our city and nation will continue to needlessly endure tragedy after tragedy. National events since the summer of 2020 bear witness to this conclusion."

Hannah Drake, Louisville poet and activist

Poet Hannah Drake speaks Friday afternoon at Jefferson Square, one year after the first protest for Breonna Taylor, the former emergency room technician, who was killed by LMPD during a botched raid in March 2020. The anniversary and tributes continue through Saturday.

"The reform is only as good as the people executing them. So here’s my question that I really want to know. ... how many of those same officers are still employed at LMPD? What changes? Are those people going to magically go home and say you know what, let’s stop calling Black people monkeys and animals."

Tim Findley Jr., pastor at Kingdom Fellowship Christian Life Center

Tim Findley Jr.

“Locally, what people have been saying for years has now been elevated on a national stage."

“What I found most interesting was that they talked about Black people. They didn't say Black and brown. They didn't say other communities. Black people were targeted and terrorized. And that is a huge, huge reality that leadership, that the FOP must deal with, that Black people have been terrorized in Louisville for a very long time.”

Sadiqa Reynolds, former CEO of the Louisville Urban League

Sadiqa Reynolds made remarks at Jefferson Square Park following the announcement that the police officers involved in the killing of Breonna Taylor will face federal charges in Louisville, Ky. on Aug. 4, 2022.

"It is what we said it was and worse. We know every officer is not corrupt but we recognize that the system is, so even the good ones do harm in their attempts to stand behind the shield in silence. The system does not allow for the humanization of Black people. There is nowhere in this city where we can be safe, not even in our homes. Policing itself is flawed but this department worked hard to go backward over the past several years. It works against Black residents, and authorizes and condones our abuse. There have been no significant consequences and no real accountability. There can never be justice without truth. And for many of us, the unrest has settled into our souls because we could not get anyone to give us the full truth. There must be some sort of racial reckoning for the Black community in Louisville. We deserve acknowledgment and accountability from the leaders in this city. I think I speak for many Louisvillians when I say, I am thankful for this thorough investigation and report. Now, I look forward to the hard work of change."

Ted Shouse, Louisville attorney

Ted Shouse has been a criminal defense lawyer for 21 years.

"Systemic racial discrimination by LMPD is recognized and proven in this report. Many of us had known this for years and today that knowledge is validated and respected. ... It is only through the recognition of these facts, that we can hope to have any path forward."

Morgan McGarvey, U.S. congressman for Louisville

Senator Morgan McGarvey speaks during a rally to support Ukraine on front of Metro Hall on Friday, February 24, 2023.

“Excessive use of force and racial profiling in the Louisville Metro Police Department will continue to plague our community until we take decisive action to create true, lasting change. We simply cannot afford to wait."

“Today’s report is a long overdue step in the right direction to hold our law enforcement accountable, but it does nothing to undo the centuries of systemic injustice Black communities have endured. We must commit to change, accountability, and justice for Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, Tyre Nichols, Tamir Rice, Michael Brown, and the far too many others who were killed by police.”

Shameka Parrish-Wright, VOCAL-KY director and a protest leader

Louisville mayoral candidate Shameka Parrish-Wright spoke in Jefferson Square Park on the two-year anniversary of Breonna Taylor's death at the hands of Louisville Metro Police officers. March 13, 2022

"It really felt good to be acknowledged, to be heard, and all that gaslighting they've been doing to us – to have the their boss's boss, the top of policing, acknowledge that Louisville has done us wrong for so long ... LMPD, we believe, needs a whole complete overhaul, but a consent decree is a step in the right direction to start dealing with that."

CRIMINAL CAPITALI$M

Former drug firm exec sentenced to more than 2 years for illegal opioid sales


Laurence Doud III, former CEO of Rochester Drug Co-Operative, exits the Manhattan Federal Courthouse in New York

Wed, March 8, 2023 
By Brendan Pierson

NEW YORK (Reuters) -The former chief executive of Rochester Drug Co-operative was sentenced to more than two years in prison on Wednesday for conspiring to distribute opioids illegally, in the first criminal opioid trafficking case against a drug wholesaler and its executives.

U.S. District Judge George Daniels sentenced Laurence Doud, 79, to 27 months at a hearing in Manhattan. Daniels said Doud's crime was serious and "motivated solely by profit," but that the government's requested sentence of 15 years was more than needed.

Daniels ruled that Doud may remain free on bail while he appeals his conviction to the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

"Laurence Doud cared more about his own paycheck than his responsibility... to prevent dangerous opioids from making their way to pharmacies, drug dealers and people struggling with addiction," U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in a statement.

Robert Gottlieb, one of Doud's attorneys, called the sentence "very thoughtful and appropriate."

Gottlieb had argued during the sentencing hearing that Doud should avoid jail entirely because he did not intend drugs to be sold illegally.

Doud himself, before being sentenced, told the judge that he had "no desire to see anyone be hurt."

"I recognize what a lousy job I did," he said. "I am forever sorry for the problems that have occurred because of this."

Rochester Drug Co-operative (RDC), Doud and another executive were charged in 2019 with conspiring to distribute illegal narcotics and accused of ignoring clear red flags that the drugs were being sold illegally, such as large bulk orders of pills and payments in cash.

Doud was convicted in February 2022. The other executive, Chief Compliance Officer William Pietruszewski, pleaded guilty and testified against Doud. He is scheduled to be sentenced on March 29.

RDC, which filed for bankruptcy in 2020, agreed in 2019 to pay $20 million to settle criminal and civil charges related to its opioid sales.

More than half a million people died from drug overdoses in the United States in the period from 1999 to 2020, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

(Reporting By Brendan Pierson in New York, Editing by Alexia Garamfalvi and Bill Berkrot)

Pentagon accused of blocking effort to hand Russia war crimes evidence to ICC

Julian Borger in Washington

THE GUARDIAN
Wed, March 8, 2023 

Photograph: Tom Brenner/Reuters

The Pentagon has been accused of blocking the sharing of US intelligence with the international criminal court (ICC) about Russian war crimes in Ukraine.

The Biden White House and state department have been a proponent of cooperation with the Hague-based ICC, as a means of holding Russian forces accountable for widespread war crimes, but the defence department is firmly opposed on the grounds that the precedent could eventually be turned against US soldiers.

Related: Russia unlikely to make major Ukraine gains this year – US intelligence chief

The New York Times quoted current and former officials as saying Pentagon resistance was the obstacle. It reported that the national security council (NSC) convened a meeting of senior officials on 3 February to try to resolve the dispute, but that the defence secretary, Lloyd Austin, did not budge. Joe Biden has yet to give a final decision.

The Republican senator Lindsey Graham, who was behind a congressional resolution urging US support for the court over Ukraine, also blamed the Pentagon.

“DoD [Department of Defence] opposed the legislative change – it passed overwhelmingly – and they are now trying to undermine the letter and spirit of the law,” Graham told the New York Times, in remarks confirmed to the Guardian by his office. “It seems to me that DoD is the problem child here, and the sooner we can get the information into the hands of the ICC, the better off the world will be.”

Asked for comment, the NSC spokeswoman, Adrienne Watson, said: “Russian forces have been committing war crimes and crimes against humanity in Ukraine, and the Ukrainian people deserve justice.”

She added: “The United States supports a range of investigations to identify and hold accountable those who are responsible, including through the Office of the Ukrainian Prosecutor General, the United Nations, the expert missions established under the OSCE’s [Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe] ‘Moscow mechanism’, and the international criminal court, among others,” Watson said.

A senior defence official said only: “The defence department believes we should hold Russia accountable.”

US legal experts helped draw up the Rome statute, which created the ICC. It was signed by Bill Clinton in 2000, but not ratified by the Senate, and Clinton’s successor, George W Bush, took the unusual step of withdrawing the US signature.

US opponents of the court argued that it could be used by America’s enemies to prosecute US soldiers fighting in foreign wars, despite safeguards written into the statute stating that the international court would only have jurisdiction if the courts in a suspect’s home country were unwilling or unable to prosecute.

Related: Ukraine urges ICC to investigate video appearing to show Russians killing PoW

Speaking at the Munich security conference in February, Kamala Harris said the US had determined that Russia had committed crimes against humanity in Ukraine.

The vice-president added that the US “will continue to support the judicial process in Ukraine and international investigations, because justice must be served”.

Harris did not specify cooperation with the ICC, but last week, Beth van Schaack, US ambassador-at-large for global criminal justice, told a conference in Lviv: “The international criminal court occupies an important place in the ecosystem of international justice, and the United States supports the investigation by the ICC prosecutor.”