SANTA ANA, California: A Saudi princess charged with human trafficking has posted $5 million bail a day after her California arrest.
Prosecutors say 42-year-old Meshael Alayban posted bail on Thursday after appearing in court to face the felony charge, and was being released from Orange County jail.
District attorney Tony Rackauckas had asked the judge to set bail at $20 million or deny it entirely, saying it was unlikely any amount would guarantee a Saudi princess would appear in court.
The district attorney’s office says Alayban has surrendered her passport, must wear a GPS tracking device and cannot leave Orange County without permission from the court. She’s also barred from any contact with the victim.
Alayban did not enter a plea. Her attorney called the case just a dispute over work hours. (AP)
Myanmar jails Buddhists over religious violence
Yangon: Myanmar has sentenced more than 20 Buddhists to prison for their roles in religious riots in March, including a deadly attack on a Muslim boarding school, lawyers and police said on Friday.
The convictions follow earlier concerns among rights groups that Muslims were bearing the brunt of the legal crackdown on suspects involved in the unrest which shook the central town of Meiktila.
The Buddhists were sentenced on Wednesday and yesterday on charges including murder, assault, theft, arson and inciting unrest, said a police official who did not want to be named.
According to state media, which did not specify the suspects’ religion, the sentences ranged from two years for minor offences such as theft to 10 years for murder, with some defendants handed several terms to be served separately.
Some of the charges related to the deaths of students at an Islamic school on the outskirts of Meiktila, according to Ba San, a lawyer who was at the court. “We have to say that both Buddhists and Muslims have been sentenced if found guilty,” he told. (AFP)
