Tag Archives: oceania

Man jailed for killing associate over a text message and music

An Adelaide man who stabbed an associate in the heart, killing him, has been jailed for at least four years.

Abdi Abdullah Ali, 32, was acquitted of the murder of Matthew Scott Bristow but found guilty of his manslaughter after a trial by judge alone.

Ali, who came to Australia from Somalia as a young boy, had offered to plead to the lesser charge but it was not accepted by prosecutors.

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Mr Bristow, 43, died on February 5, 2020 with a trail of blood leading to where his body found on a suburban footpath.

Sentencing Ali in the Supreme Court on Friday, Justice Anne Bampton said there was insufficient evidence for her to make specific findings about the circumstances of the stabbing.

In the lead-up to the killing, the two men and a woman had been driving around in a car.

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Justice Bampton said it had been submitted to her that both men were affected by drugs and there had been a dispute over a text message and over the music being played.

The judge said while Ali had not intended to kill, his actions were unlawful and dangerous.

"You took the life of a man, causing untold grief and distress to his mother, his cousin and other family members," she said.

Justice Bampton said because a knife was involved, Ali's offending could not be considered at the lower end of the scale.

She jailed him for five years and three months, taking into account his willingness to plead guilty to manslaughter, and set a non-parole period of four years, two months and 12 days.

Five people charged over 14kg meth haul in Perth

Police in Perth have charged four men and one woman over the seizure of more than 14kg of methylamphetamine.

The five people were arrested and charged after two police operations over past days.

On Tuesday, a man and a woman travelling in a taxi from Perth Airport were arrested after a traffic stop located a suitcase with more than 2kg of methylamphetamine.

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It will be alleged the man travelled from Sydney in possession of the suitcase and met the woman at the airport.

Earlier on Saturday, police arrested three men in Leederville, north-west of Perth's CBD, after officers had monitored a transit van believed to have travelled from New South Wales to Western Australia.

A man was arrested after he removed a backpack from a vehicle and rode away on an electric scooter.

Police will allege the backpack contained 2kg of methylamphetamine, which is believed to have been sourced from the van.

Shortly after, officers arrested two men in the Perth suburb of Ascot after they were found in possession of the van.

More than 10kg of methylamphetamine was found during a search of the van.

A 40-year-old man from Perth was charged with possessing a trafficable quantity of methylamphetamine with intent to sell or supply it to another.

Police also charged two Ascot men, both aged 27, with selling, supplying or offering to sell or supply a trafficable quantity of methylamphetamine as well as possessing a trafficable quantity of the drug.

The three men are due to appear at Perth Magistrates Court later this month.

Russian billionaire sues Foreign Minister Penny Wong over sanctions

A Russian billionaire suing Australia's foreign minister claims sanctions imposed over the invasion of the Ukraine have caused him severe reputational damage.

Steel mogul Alexander Abramov launched legal action against Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong after the former government's April sanctioning of 67 Russian elites and oligarchs over Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.

The sanctions caused severe reputational harm and the legal consequences have led to continuing financial losses, his lawyer Ron Merkel QC told the Federal Court today.

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He wants the sanctions to be removed, arguing they're unique to Australia as no other country has placed similar bans on Abramov, who co-founded Russia's largest steel producer, Evraz.

"Our real point here is the approach the minister has taken is misconceived," he said.

Australia's sanctions have also impacted Abramov's dealings in New Zealand, Merkel said.

He said the case was unusual as public announcements by former foreign minister Marise Payne, explaining her decision, would form part of the suit.

On April 7, Payne announced the government had decided to impose "targeted financial sanctions and travel bans" on 67 individuals "for their role in Russia's unprovoked, unjust and illegal invasion of Ukraine".

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Those sanctioned included Russian military, business and government officials.

Wong is represented by barrister Brendan Lim.

The federal government is considering an application to prevent public release of some information in the court documents, he said.

The matter will return before Justice Susan Kenny on August 26.