LONDON: A 15-year-old boy on Thursday became the first person to be charged with rioting following a wave of violent unrest that swept across the UK
The teen, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, appeared at South Tyneside Youth Court on Thursday but his case was adjourned for two weeks. He was charged following disorder in Sunderland in northern England on Aug. 2, and had pleaded guilty to separate charges of violent disorder and burglary.
“This defendant is one of a number of individuals who we expect will be charged with riot,” said Gale Gilchrist, chief crown prosecutor for northeast England.
Hundreds of people have been arrested and charged since riots erupted on July 30 after misinformation spread online that the suspect in a knife attack that killed three children was a Muslim asylum-seeker.
Protesters fueled by far-right activists attacked a mosque in the town of Southport, where the girls were killed, and the violence soon spread to more than a dozen cities and towns across the country. Some of the worst unrest centered around hotels housing asylum-seekers, with protesters hurling bricks and storming some hotels and clashing with riot police.
Many have since been charged with violent disorder and sentenced, but no one else had so far been charged with rioting, a more serious offense that carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.
Also on Thursday, a man was jailed for three years and two months in the city of Manchester for punching and kicking a Black man in the face during disorder in the city. Another man who threw bricks at police outside a hotel housing asylum-seekers was sentenced to two years and 10 months.
Last week, a 26-year-old man who used social media to encourage people to torch hotels that house asylum-seekers was sentenced to more than three years in prison.
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15-year-old boy becomes first to be charged with rioting following recent UK unrest
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15-year-old boy becomes first to be charged with rioting following recent UK unrest
- The teen appeared at South Tyneside Youth Court on Thursday but his case was adjourned for two weeks
- “This defendant is one of a number of individuals who we expect will be charged with riot,” said Gale Gilchrist, chief crown prosecutor for northeast England
Iran-linked hackers claim cyberattack on Albanian parliament
- Albania hosts several thousand members of the People’s Mujahedin of Iran (PMOI or MEK), an organization that Iran has denounced as 'terrorist'
- Albania’s IT services were targeted, in 2022, prompting the Balkan country to sever diplomatic ties with Iran
TIRANA: Albania’s parliament on Tuesday said it had been hit with a “sophisticated cyberattack,” after Iran-linked hackers claimed to have stolen lawmakers’ data.
A group called “Homeland Justice,” which has previously been linked to Iran and claimed responsibility for past cyberattacks in Albania, announced the hack on Telegram.
“All conversations and correspondence of corrupt MPs from recent months are in the hands of Homeland Justice,” the post said.
“We are much closer to you than you think.”
Albania hosts several thousand members of the People’s Mujahedin of Iran (PMOI or MEK), an organization that Iran has denounced as “terrorist.”
Experts have warned that as the war in the Middle East continues, highly capable hackers linked to Iran have broadened their activities.
In a statement, the Albanian parliament said its computer systems had been hit with a “sophisticated cyberattack aimed at deleting data and compromising several internal systems.”
“It was found that information had been deleted from several accounts belonging to administration employees,” it added, saying “the main working infrastructure” did not appear to be affected and that measures had been taken “to neutralize the attack.”
The country’s National Cyber Security Authority said it had teams investigating the attack.
“Further information will be made public after the technical assessment is completed,” the authority’s director, Saimir Kapllani, told AFP.
In June, Homeland Justice also attacked the information technology services of the Albanian capital, Tirana.
In 2022, Albania’s IT services were also targeted, prompting the Balkan country to sever diplomatic ties with Iran.
A group called “Homeland Justice,” which has previously been linked to Iran and claimed responsibility for past cyberattacks in Albania, announced the hack on Telegram.
“All conversations and correspondence of corrupt MPs from recent months are in the hands of Homeland Justice,” the post said.
“We are much closer to you than you think.”
Albania hosts several thousand members of the People’s Mujahedin of Iran (PMOI or MEK), an organization that Iran has denounced as “terrorist.”
Experts have warned that as the war in the Middle East continues, highly capable hackers linked to Iran have broadened their activities.
In a statement, the Albanian parliament said its computer systems had been hit with a “sophisticated cyberattack aimed at deleting data and compromising several internal systems.”
“It was found that information had been deleted from several accounts belonging to administration employees,” it added, saying “the main working infrastructure” did not appear to be affected and that measures had been taken “to neutralize the attack.”
The country’s National Cyber Security Authority said it had teams investigating the attack.
“Further information will be made public after the technical assessment is completed,” the authority’s director, Saimir Kapllani, told AFP.
In June, Homeland Justice also attacked the information technology services of the Albanian capital, Tirana.
In 2022, Albania’s IT services were also targeted, prompting the Balkan country to sever diplomatic ties with Iran.
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