STRASBOURG, France: French authorities have arrested a fugitive charged with child sex abuse who spent nearly 14 years on the run after escaping US authorities twice, a source close to the case told AFP Friday.
The source said French authorities arrested Michael Wiseman, 51, on November 1 and charged him with sexually assaulting his adopted son, confirming an earlier statement from US police in Scottsdale, Arizona, where he was first arrested in 2008 for sexual exploitation of a minor.
“An investigation is underway in Strasbourg” city in eastern France, the prosecutor’s office told AFP, without providing further details. The source close to the case said authorities were working to determine if he had also harmed his other child, who is eight years old.
The French charges come on top of US arrest warrants issued after Wiseman skipped the country twice to escape prosecution, Scottsdale police said on November 7.
In 2008, he cut off an ankle bracelet and fled to Spain before he was found, extradited and sentenced after pleading guilty, only to escape again in 2012 while on probation.
He was traced to Vietnam, Poland and ultimately France, where he was found living in Kilstett, north of Strasbourg, under a false identity.
During the investigations, US police searches of Wiseman’s email found evidence that he was sexually abusing his 10-year-old adopted child, which the FBI reported to French authorities.
France arrests longtime US fugitive wanted over child sex abuse
https://arab.news/cvtn3
France arrests longtime US fugitive wanted over child sex abuse
- French authorities arrested Wiseman on November 1 and charged him with sexually assaulting his adopted son
- The French charges come on top of US arrest warrants issued after Wiseman skipped the country twice
Muslim World League commits resources to help victims of Indonesia flooding
- Floods, landslides on Sumatra island killed more than 800 people and injured 4,200 others
- Al-Issa is in Jakarta this week for meetings with Indonesian officials, religious leaders
JAKARTA: The Muslim World League is ready to mobilize its resources to support relief efforts in Indonesia, its chief said on Friday during a visit to the Southeast Asian country, which was recently hit by its most devastating floods and landslides in decades.
At least 867 people were killed and more than 4,200 others injured after the disasters inundated three provinces on Indonesia’s Sumatra island in late November.
More than 121,000 homes were destroyed and more than 1,100 public infrastructure sites were severely affected in about 50 cities and regencies in the region, where emergency support has been limited due to the collapse of roads and bridges. About 1.1 million people were displaced at one point and for days communities were cut off from basic supplies, power and communication.
“I conveyed my sincere condolences to H.E. for the victims of the recent devastating floods and landslides across various regions of the Republic,” MWL Secretary-general Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulkarim Al-Issa said on X, following his meeting with President Prabowo Subianto in Jakarta.
“Furthermore, I confirmed the MWL’s commitment to mobilizing all its resources to provide relief and support to those impacted by this terrible calamity.”
Despite offers from several countries and international organizations, Indonesia is not accepting international humanitarian aid, as the central government has yet to declare the Sumatra floods a national emergency,
Al-Issa arrived in Jakarta on Wednesday at the invitation of the Indonesian government for meetings with officials and religious leaders.
On Saturday, he is scheduled to attend talks on interreligious harmony alongside Indonesian Religious Affairs Minister Nasaruddin Umar.
The MWL is an international non-government Islamic organization founded in Saudi Arabia in 1962. Its work is focused on promoting and clarifying the worldwide understanding of Islam, with headquarters in Makkah and offices around the world.
Din Syamsuddin, former chairman of Indonesia’s second-biggest Muslim group, Muhammadiyah, told Arab News that Al-Issa’s visit brought a “positive message” to promote global unity in the Muslim world.
“We see the visit as an appreciation for Indonesia as the world’s largest Muslim-majority country, where there is unity and harmony amid religious and ethnic diversity,” he said.
“In the context of the visit of the secretary-general of the Muslim World League, from Indonesia we would like to call on Muslims around the world to unite. (The MWL) has a strategic and central role to play for this purpose.”
