In brief: Guatemalan president’s immunity lifted in corruption scandal
GUATEMALA CITY – Guatemala’s Congress lifted President Otto Perez Molina’s immunity of office on Tuesday, opening him up to possible prosecution in a widening customs corruption scandal that has rocked his administration and the country’s political system.
With all 132 lawmakers present in the 158-seat assembly voting to approve the historic measure, prosecutors are now free to file criminal charges against Perez Molina just like any other citizen, and a judge would be able to order his detention.
The congressional vote does not remove the president from office, but a judge later granted an order barring him from traveling outside the country.
Perez Molina, 64, has said he is innocent of corruption and has vowed to face the legal process against him.
There was no immediate word on when any charges may be filed against the president, but prosecutors say they have reason to believe he was involved in the customs scheme.
Thailand bombing suspect arrested
BANGKOK – Thai authorities arrested a man they believe is part of a group responsible for a deadly bombing at a shrine in central Bangkok two weeks ago, the prime minister announced Tuesday. He said the suspect resembles a yellow-shirted man in a surveillance video who police say planted the bomb.
Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said the man is a foreigner and was detained in eastern Thailand near the Cambodian border, one of several border crossings where authorities set up checkpoints after the Aug. 17 bombing that killed 20 people.
Prayuth said authorities plan to check fingerprints and conduct DNA tests to establish whether the man is the bomber. Police said they obtained the bomber’s DNA from a motorcycle taxi and a three-wheeled tuk-tuk taxi he used.
Man who got life for pot charge freed
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – A man sentenced to life without parole on a marijuana-related charge was freed Tuesday from a Missouri prison after being behind bars for more than two decades – a period in which the nation’s attitudes toward pot steadily softened.
Family, friends, supporters and reporters flocked to meet Jeff Mizanskey as he stepped out of the Jefferson City Correctional Center into a sunny morning.
“I spent a third of my life in prison,” said Mizanskey, now 62, who was greeted by his infant great-granddaughter. “It’s a shame.”
Mizanskey said he planned to spend his post-prison life seeking a job and advocating for the legalization of marijuana. He criticized sentencing for some drug-related crimes as unfair and described his time behind bars as “hell.”
His release followed years of lobbying by relatives, lawmakers and others who argued that the sentence was too stiff and that marijuana should not be forbidden.