• UN body targets P5 member for first time
• Follows the closure of human rights groups in Russia
• Vote follows major West defeat by China

GENEVA, Oct 7 (Portal) – A UN human rights body on Friday easily passed a motion to appoint a new independent expert on alleged human rights abuses in Russia, accusing Moscow of creating a “climate of fear” through repression and violence.

The Russian government quickly made it clear that it would not cooperate with the expert.

Members voted 17 in favor, 6 against, with 24 abstentions. The move is the first time the 16-year-old Human Rights Council (HRC) has appointed a special rapporteur to examine the human rights record of one of its so-called “P5” members, who hold permanent seats on the Security Council.

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“Today we want to make it clear that we have not forgotten those who are fighting for freedom at home while (Russian President Vladimir) Putin oppresses the Russian people and engages in aggression abroad,” said the British Ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva , Simon Manley , told Portal right after the vote.

Almost 50 countries have applied, including the UK, all European Union countries except Hungary, and the United States, Ukraine, Japan and Colombia. China was one of the opponents.

The move follows tougher Russian laws this year to punish people, Moscow says, for discrediting the armed forces or spreading fake information, and the forced shutdown of human rights groups, including Memorial, which won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday.

In Moscow, the Foreign Ministry said it firmly rejected the resolution on the grounds that it contained false allegations, the TASS news agency said.

“Russia … will ignore the special mechanism set up by the HRC and refuse to cooperate with it,” Tass quoted the ministry as saying.

Tatiana Glushkova, a lawyer with the Memorial Human Rights Centre, told Portal that she was pleased with the outcome but expected the special rapporteur to face difficulties in accessing it. “We don’t even dream that they will be invited to Russia,” she said.

Moscow has previously called criticism of its domestic rights record unfounded and denied targeting civilians in Ukraine, where it says it is conducting a “military special operation” to destroy military infrastructure.

The 47-member council is deeply divided, and a growing chorus of countries, led by Russia and China, oppose action against specific countries in what they say amounts to political interference.

Friday’s victory comes as a relief to Western countries after Thursday’s historic defeat of a Chinese bid.

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Reporting by Emma Farge and David Ljunggren, editing by Miranda Murray, William Maclean and Jonathan Oatis

Our standards: The Thomson Portal Trust Principles.

A motorcyclist of French origin who killed his passenger while drunk at the wheel has been sentenced to two years in prison, at the end of which he will be expelled from the country far from his child.

“He had a choice, he chose a bike knowing full well that his ability was impaired. I will never understand people who drive drunk and end up destroying lives,” said Nathalie Richer, shortly before the defendant who caused the death of his 27-year-old daughter made his way to prison.

On May 19, 2019, Jacques-Jean Sorgniard was working as a waiter in a bar in Val-David. He consumed alcohol throughout the evening, approximately from 8:00 p.m. to 4:00 a.m.

Archive photo

The tragedy happened on May 19, 2019 at 4:15 am in Val-David in the Laurentians.

In the middle of the night, after the bar was closed, he nevertheless decided to ride his Yamaha motorcycle, accompanied by Carolane Gaudreault-Richer, one of the customers at the bar with whom he had just feasted.

Only 15 minutes later he negotiated a curve badly. Sorgniard and his passenger were thrown into a water-filled ditch. Seriously injured, they were stuck there for almost 9 hours before they were discovered by a passer-by.

There the young woman drowned.

As she had no identification papers with her and Mr Sorgniard was in a terrible state, the authorities had great difficulty in identifying Carolane Gaudreault-Richer.

With kind approval

Carolanne Gaudreault-Richer, 27, was a chef.

“The next day, her husband was worried because he hadn’t heard from her. It was only when I read a newspaper article about the accident that evening that I understood that my daughter was involved,” Nathalie Richer confided to the journal.

Deported to France

Jacques-Jean Sorgniard, who was hospitalized for a long time for injuries, particularly to his legs, was arrested more than a year and a half after the tragedy.

Investigations revealed that he had almost twice the alcohol limit in his blood when he lost control of his motorcycle.

The 37-year-old man was sentenced to two years less a day’s imprisonment at the Saint-Jérôme courthouse last month. But the one who became a father four days after this fatal road trip received much more than a prison sentence.

Without Canadian citizenship, the man from France will also be automatically deported from the country, far from his three-year-old son, as he has been convicted of a serious crime.

“If he leaves prison, immigration officers are expected to take him to the Canadian Immigration Detention Center. And in the days after, he will be deported to France,” said his lawyer, Me Luc Carbonneau.

He will then be banned from returning to the country for five years.

Preventable Deaths

“He has to live with multiple consequences for someone who doesn’t have a criminal profile. This is a good example showing that this can happen to anyone who believes they are okay to drive,” the defense attorney commented.

For his part, Crown prosecutor Me Alexis Marcotte Bélanger wanted to denounce the scourge of drunk driving.

“We all dream of the day when similar cases don’t come to court. Alcohol and driving don’t go together, the message has to get across,” he hammered at Judge Sandra Blanchard, who agreed with the verdict.

He apologizes to the victim’s family

In the middle of the courtroom, just before he was sent to prison, a motorcyclist who killed his passenger while driving under the influence of alcohol insisted on asking the victim’s family for forgiveness.

“I’ve thought of you every moment since then. I wanted to get in touch, I was advised against it,” said Jacques-Jean Sorgniard, addressing Carolane Gaudreault-Richer’s relatives, who were sitting in the courtroom.

Interrupted by Judge Sandra Blanchard, who was visibly surprised by this unusual course of action, he explained that he had already reached out to his victim’s family outside the courtroom to express his condolences.

” I’m pissed off “

The judge then let him drive on and even offered the mother of the deceased 27-year-old to approach the defendant so she could hear what he had to say to her.

“I’m angry with myself every second. I know I made the worst choice. It was important to put a face to what torments me every day and I hope that can give you some relief,” he added through tears.

He also confided that he became a father barely four days after the tragedy, so said he’s since had “a little idea” of the impact of such a loss on the family.

Nathalie Richer, the victim’s mother, admitted to being “turned upside down” by encountering whoever caused her daughter’s death.

Not ready to forgive

“I still appreciate that he did it, it takes a lot of courage to face the people whose lives he broke. It allowed me to see the guilt he feels, he doesn’t care,” she said.

Despite everything, “this doesn’t erase his gesture,” insisted the one, who says she can’t forgive at the moment.

Especially since, despite the past few years, she is struggling to overcome this ordeal.

She is sorry that she was not lucky enough to see her daughter flourish, who started working as a chef after graduating in this field.

“She talked about getting married, having a kid. I have to mourn for who she would have been,” she breathed.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are planning a year-long thaw in relations with the rest of the royal family — but not until Harry’s controversial memoir is out and the couple’s highly anticipated Netflix series premieres.

Her plan to reconcile with her estranged relatives comes within weeks of the Queen’s state funeral, which forced Harry and Meghan to make a quick return to royal combat for the first time since the “Megxit” in early 2020.

Harry and Meghan had hoped to reconcile with the Queen next year but were never able to, The Sun reported.

It comes after reports that Harry had asked his publisher to reverse a number of bombshell claims in the upcoming memoir.

There are fears that the final version “may not go down well with the public” after the Queen’s death.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are also facing a make or break TV test in the form of the fly-on-the-wall documentary for the streaming giant, it has been reported.

The Sussexes are pictured holding hands during a visit to South Africa in October 2019, one of their last trips as working royals

The Prince and Princess of Wales are pictured at the Trademarket in Belfast on Thursday as part of a royal visit late last week

An insider familiar with the show told The Telegraph: “This is about where they’ve come from, what they’ve been through and where they are.

The couple’s upcoming Netflix series will be stunning

“I think it will explain a lot about the choices they had to make and how they ended up here.”

When Harry was an Eton pupil he published his own newspaper full of facts about the royal family.

It is believed he will finally be able to “control the narrative” again in the form of the TV series, the newspaper added.

By now, the memoir had been signed off for an expected autumn publication, but the Duke – who is writing the book in a three-title deal worth almost £40million – was reportedly asking for some major changes.

“Harry threw a spanner in the works,” a source said. “With the death of the Queen, her funeral and the accession of his father Charles, he is very interested in refinements.

Harry was reportedly looking for last-minute changes to his memoir, which Penguin is due to publish this fall

Published sources suggested that the Duke may have had limited “leeway” as he was handed a seven-figure advance. Charles and the late Queen Elizabeth II are pictured in Edinburgh at the end of June last year

“There might be things in the book that might not look as good coming out so soon after these events. He wants sections to be changed now. It’s by no means a complete rewrite. He really wants to change something. But maybe it’s too late.”

Publisher Penguin Random House had already called for a rewrite after the first draft was deemed “too sensitive” and too focused on mental health issues, The Mail on Sunday revealed last month.

The development comes as another new book lays out a series of explosive claims about Harry and his wife Meghan – although it’s not clear if the Duke now plans to address any of these new allegations in his memoir, which he describes as “accurate and complete”. has truthful account of his life.

No date has been officially announced for its release, but American sources have suggested publishers will have it in stores in time for Thanksgiving on November 24, ready for the lucrative Christmas market.

A truce appeared to be in place when William invited his brother and sister-in-law to join him and his wife Kate on the Windsor walking tour as a show of “unity for the Queen,” but body language suggested the rift was far from healed

Harry and Meghan have also spent more time with the royal family since the Queen’s death than at any time since Megxit more than two and a half years ago

In a statement announcing the worldwide publishing deal, Penguin Random House described it as “an intimate and heartfelt memory” and promised that “Prince Harry will offer an honest and compelling personal portrait.”

The editors added that the book would cover Harry’s “life in public life from childhood to the present, including his dedication to service, military service that took him twice to the front lines in Afghanistan, and the joy he found in being.” has husband and father”.

Harry and Meghan have also spent more time with the royal family since the Queen’s death than at any time since Megxit more than two and a half years ago.

They were in the UK for non-royal charity events when Her Majesty died the day before she flew back to Montecito, California.

After the death of his grandmother, Harry struck a fragile truce with his brother William – after the funeral they performed together for a tour of Windsor to well-wishers.