18-month sentence for South Korean blogger
Headline Legal News
The 30-year-old blogger, a fierce critic of government economic policy,was arrested and indicted in January after he wrote that the governmenthad banned major financial institutions and trade businesses frombuying U.S. dollars.
Prosecutorshave said the posting was not only inaccurate, but it had affected theforeign exchange market and undermined the nation's credibility.
Butopposition parties and critics have claimed the arrest is aimed atsilencing criticism of the government and restricts online freedom ofspeech.
Seoul District Court spokesman Kwon Tae-young saidprosecutors demanded 18 months in prison for the blogger, identified asPark Dae-sung, and the court is scheduled to deliver a verdict on April20.
The charge carries up to five years in prison or a fine of up to 50 million won ($38,000).
Theblogger, known by his pen name "Minerva" after the Greek goddess ofwisdom, had rocketed to fame after some of his predictions, includingthe collapse of U.S. investment bank Lehman Brothers, proved to becorrect.
Related listings
-
El Segundo Ponzi Scheme Targets Latinos
Headline Legal News 04/15/2009An El Segundo woman took $23 million in a Ponzi scheme that targeted Latinos, the SEC says in Los Angles Federal Court. Clelia A. Flores and her business, Maximum Return Investments, took the money from more than 150 people in seven states, by "guara...
-
Tainted Chinese drywall shows up in Katrina homes
Headline Legal News 04/14/2009Thomas Stone and his wife rebuilt after their home was flooded by sixfeet of water during Hurricane Katrina, never dreaming they would facethe agony of tearing it apart all over again. They tapped Lauren Stone's 401(k) retirement savings and saved $1...
-
Differing Views in GOP Voting
Headline Legal News 04/11/2009The GOP's struggle over its future and the party's fitful steps to attract minorities are on full display in the differing responses of Republican governors to a major Supreme Court case on voting rights. The court will hear arguments April 29 about ...
USCIS Adjusting Premium Processing Fee
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today it is adjusting the premium processing fee for Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker and Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers beginning on Oct. 1, 2018 to more effectively adjudicate petitions and maintain effective service to petitioners.
The premium processing fee will increase to $1,410, a 14.92 percent increase (after rounding) from the current fee of $1,225. This increase, which is done in accordance with the Immigration and Nationality Act, represents the percentage change in inflation since the fee was last increased in 2010 based on the Consumer Price Index for all Urban Consumers.
“Because premium processing fees have not been adjusted since 2010, our ability to improve the adjudications and service processes for all petitioners has been hindered as we’ve experienced significantly higher demand for immigration benefits. Ultimately, adjusting the premium processing fee will allow us to continue making necessary investments in staff and technology to administer various immigration benefit requests more effectively and efficiently,” said Chief Financial Officer Joseph Moore. “USCIS will continue adjudicating all petitions on a case-by-case basis to determine if they meet all standards required under applicable law, policies, and regulations.”
Premium processing is an optional service that is currently authorized for certain petitioners filing Forms I-129 or I-140. The system allows petitioners to request 15-day processing of certain employment-based immigration benefit requests if they pay an extra fee. The premium processing fee is paid in addition to the base filing fee and any other applicable fees, which cannot be waived.