LONDON: The man accused of killing British lawmaker Jo Cox a week before the June referendum on EU membership declined to respond when asked if he was guilty at a court hearing on Tuesday and the judge recorded pleas of not guilty to all charges.
Thomas Mair, 53, is accused of shooting and stabbing Cox, a member of parliament for the opposition Labour Party, as she arrived for a meeting with residents in the northern English town of Birstall, part of her electoral district.
The murder shocked the nation and led to the suspension of referendum campaigning for several days. Cox had been campaigning for Britain to remain in the EU.
A 77-year-old man who tried to help Cox during the attack was also stabbed.
Mair is charged with murder, causing grievous bodily harm, and possession of a firearm and a dagger. His trial is due to begin on Nov. 14.
The case is being treated as a terrorism matter.
Bearded and wearing a light grey sweatshirt and brown trousers, Mair spoke only to confirm his name and that he could hear the court proceedings as he appeared by video-link from Belmarsh Prison in London.
He remained silent when asked if he was guilty or not guilty to the murder, as he did when the other charges were read out to him.
“He appears to be mute therefore I will enter a plea of not guilty,” said Judge Alan Wilkie.
The murder of Cox, a 41-year-old mother of two young children and former aid worker, brought weeks of passionate and divisive campaigning on the EU issue to a sudden halt and briefly united politicians from both camps in condemnation. At the first court hearing after his arrest, Mair said his name was “death to traitors, freedom for Britain.”
His lawyer told the court at another hearing in September that Mair would not present a defense case based on medical evidence.
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“The ghost fleets will not outrun justice. They will not hide under false claims of nationality,” Noem wrote on X, saying the Coast Guard carried out the seizure.
US Southern Command (Southcom), which is responsible for the country’s forces in the region, said US Marines and Navy personnel also took part in the operation, launching from the USS Gerald R. Ford, the world’s largest aircraft carrier.
“Once again, our joint interagency forces sent a clear message this morning: ‘There is no safe haven for criminals,’” Southcom said in a post on X that included a video clip showing US forces roping down from a helicopter and taking control of the ship.
President Donald Trump later said the seizure was carried out in coordination with interim authorities in Venezuela after the ship departed the country without US approval.
“This tanker is now on its way back to Venezuela, and the oil will be sold,” he said in a post on his Truth Social platform.
Trump said last month that he had ordered a “blockade” of sanctioned oil vessels heading to and from Venezuela, and American forces have taken control of five ships since then, including three this week.
Among them was a Russia-linked vessel that was seized in the North Atlantic on Wednesday in an operation condemned by Moscow, after being pursued by the United States from off the coast of Venezuela.
Trump told Fox News on Thursday that the tanker seized the previous day was being escorted by a Russian submarine and a destroyer.
“They both left very quickly when we arrived and we took over the ship,” the US president said, declining to specify if his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin called him after the seizure.
Man accused of murdering Jo Cox refuses to plead guilty
Man accused of murdering Jo Cox refuses to plead guilty
US says it seized another tanker that tried to break Venezuela blockade
- The latest vessel seized was the Olina, which US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said was “another ‘ghost fleet’ tanker ship”
- “The ghost fleets will not outrun justice,” Noem wrote on X
WASHINGTON: The United States said Friday it seized another tanker that tried to break an American naval blockade aimed at preventing sanctioned vessels from going to or departing Venezuela, the fifth ship apprehended in recent weeks.
Washington has deployed a huge naval force in the Caribbean, striking boats it says were used for drug trafficking, seizing tankers and carrying out a stunning operation to seize Venezuela’s leftist leader.
The latest vessel seized was the Olina, which US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said was “another ‘ghost fleet’ tanker ship suspected of carrying embargoed oil” that “departed Venezuela attempting to evade US forces.”
“The ghost fleets will not outrun justice. They will not hide under false claims of nationality,” Noem wrote on X, saying the Coast Guard carried out the seizure.
US Southern Command (Southcom), which is responsible for the country’s forces in the region, said US Marines and Navy personnel also took part in the operation, launching from the USS Gerald R. Ford, the world’s largest aircraft carrier.
“Once again, our joint interagency forces sent a clear message this morning: ‘There is no safe haven for criminals,’” Southcom said in a post on X that included a video clip showing US forces roping down from a helicopter and taking control of the ship.
President Donald Trump later said the seizure was carried out in coordination with interim authorities in Venezuela after the ship departed the country without US approval.
“This tanker is now on its way back to Venezuela, and the oil will be sold,” he said in a post on his Truth Social platform.
Trump said last month that he had ordered a “blockade” of sanctioned oil vessels heading to and from Venezuela, and American forces have taken control of five ships since then, including three this week.
Among them was a Russia-linked vessel that was seized in the North Atlantic on Wednesday in an operation condemned by Moscow, after being pursued by the United States from off the coast of Venezuela.
Trump told Fox News on Thursday that the tanker seized the previous day was being escorted by a Russian submarine and a destroyer.
“They both left very quickly when we arrived and we took over the ship,” the US president said, declining to specify if his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin called him after the seizure.
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