Iran’s foreign minister labelled the EU’s claimed commitment to “universal human rights” hypocritical after the bloc labelled the IRGC a terrorist organisation while continuing to shield Israel from accountability for its genocidal war on Gaza.
A former Illinois sheriff’s deputy has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for fatally shooting a 36-year-old woman who called police to her home for help.
The 2024 killing of Sonya Massey sparked widespread protests amid a wider reckoning over police conduct towards Black residents in the United States.
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Sean Grayson, 31, was convicted in October of second-degree murder for the fatal shooting. On Thursday, he received the maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
During sentencing, Grayson apologised, saying he wished he could bring Massey back. His lawyer had asked for a sentence of six years.
“I made a lot of mistakes that night. There were points when I should’ve acted, and I didn’t. I froze,” he said during the hearing. “I made terrible decisions that night. I’m sorry.”
Massey, who suffered from mental health issues, had called police to her home in the Illinois state capital, Springfield, saying she was afraid of a prowler outside.
Body camera footage of her exchange with police showed that Massey appeared confused, repeating, “Please, God.”
Inside her home, Grayson noticed a boiling pot of water and asked Sheriff’s Deputy Dawson Farley to move it. Instead, Massey went to the stove and picked up the pot, appearing to tease Grayson for moving away from “the hot, steaming water”.
She then said: “I rebuke you in the name of Jesus.”
Grayson drew his firearm. Massey set the pot down and ducked behind a counter. When she appeared to pick up the pot again, Grayson opened fire, hitting Massey three times in the face.
During the trial, Massey’s parents and two children said their lives had been forever changed.
“Today, I’m afraid to call the police in fear that I might end up like Sonya,” her mother Donna Massey said during the hearing.
Massey’s daughter Summer told reporters on Thursday that “20 years is not enough”.
Grayson was initially charged with three counts of first-degree murder, which could have led to a life sentence. However, the jury convicted him of the lesser charge of second-degree murder, arguing that evidence shows that Grayson honestly thought he was in danger.
Massey’s killing sparked a US Justice Department inquiry, after which the Sangamon County agreed to implement more de-escalation training for law enforcement and collect more use-of-force data.
The controversy also prompted the sheriff who hired Grayson to retire.
Humanitarian crisis worsens in Yemen as power struggles intensify and aid gaps grow.
Yemen’s conflict is entering yet another volatile chapter, not towards peace, but into a sharper power struggle. Former partners Saudi Arabia and the UAE are drifting apart, local factions are recalculating, and control of the south and east hangs in the balance, while the Houthis hold firm in the north. As alliances fracture and air power looms, millions of civilians remain hungry and displaced. What future is being decided over their heads?
In this episode:
Episode credits:
This episode was produced by Marcos Bartolomé, Melanie Marich with Phillip Lanos, Spencer Cline, Sarí el-Khalili, Tuleen Barakat, Maya Hamadeh, and our guest host, Kevin Hirten. It was edited by Tamara Khandaker and Alexandra Locke.
Our sound designer is Alex Roldan. Our video editors are Hisham Abu Salah and Mohannad al-Melhemm. Alexandra Locke is The Take’s executive producer. Ney Alvarez is Al Jazeera’s head of audio.
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Minneapolis mobilizes rapid response networks and mutual aid as protests grow against federal immigration agents.
What’s behind the organization of protests in Minneapolis? The city has seen the mobilization of local rapid response networks, mutual aid groups, and observers like Alex Pretti, who was fatally shot by federal immigration agents. Organizers are drawing on lessons from movements that emerged after the 2020 police killing of George Floyd, building a sustained movement for community defense.
In this episode:
Episode credits:
This episode was produced by Chloe K. Li and Sarí el-Khalili, with Phillip Lanos, Spencer Cline, Tamara Khandaker, Tuleen Barakat, and our host, Malika Bilal. It was edited by Alexandra Locke.
Our sound designer is Alex Roldan. Our video editors are Hisham Abu Salah and Mohannad al-Melhemm. Alexandra Locke is The Take’s executive producer. Ney Alvarez is Al Jazeera’s head of audio.
Connect with us:
Atomic scientists raise alarm over more global conflict and new risks such as artificial intelligence.
The Doomsday Clock has reached the closest ever point to midnight, according to the atomic scientists who run it.
They say more wars, aggression from nuclear powers and weaker arms controls are to blame, along with climate change and risks posed by AI.
So, should we be worried?
Presenter: Cyril Vanier
Guests:
Karim Haggag – Director at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute
Ramesh Srinivasan – Professor at UCLA Department of Information Studies and host of the podcast, Utopias
The European Union has designated Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) a “terrorist organisation” over a deadly crackdown on antigovernment protests in the country.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on Thursday that the bloc’s foreign ministers took a “decisive step” in labelling the IRGC as a “terrorist” group.
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“Repression cannot go unanswered,” Kallas wrote on social media. “Any regime that kills thousands of its own people is working toward its own demise.”
The Iranian Foreign Ministry condemned the decision, saying the move was “illegal, political and contrary to international law” as well as a violation of the country’s internal affairs.
It also said Tehran “reserves the right to take appropriate measures within the framework of international law to defend its sovereignty, national security, and the interests of the Iranian nation, and holds the European Union and its member states responsible for the consequences of this action”.
Established after the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran, the IRGC is an elite branch of the country’s military that answers directly to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and oversees the Iranian missile and nuclear programmes.
Separately on Thursday, the European Council also announced new sanctions against 15 individuals and six entities it said were “responsible for serious human rights violations in Iran” following the protest crackdown.
The targeted individuals include Iran’s Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni and Prosecutor General Mohammad Movahedi-Azad, the council said in a statement.
Iran has faced a wave of international condemnation for using force to quell a mass protest movement, which began late last month amid public anger over soaring inflation and socioeconomic issues.
Iranian authorities have confirmed 3,117 deaths, including 2,427 civilians and members of the country’s security forces, and accused Israel and the United States of fuelling the unrest.
The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) said on Wednesday that at least 6,373 people have been killed since the demonstrations began, including 5,993 protesters.
Al Jazeera has been unable to independently verify these figures.
Reporting from Brussels, Al Jazeera’s Hashem Ahelbarra said the bloc’s decision to blacklist the IRGC and to impose sanctions on Iranian officials aims to send “a strong political message” to Tehran.
“It was not an easy decision, particularly the one about the designation of the IRGC as a ‘terrorist organisation’,” Ahelbarra explained, noting that France, in particular, had hoped to maintain a channel of communication with Iran.
“But when they saw the clampdown on protesters taking place … the Europeans said, ‘No. We need to send a strong message’,” he said.
Meanwhile, Iranian officials forcefully rejected the EU’s announcements, with Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi accusing the bloc of “fanning the flames” amid soaring tensions in the region.
“Putting aside the blatant hypocrisy of its selective outrage – taking zero action in response to Israel’s Genocide in Gaza and yet rushing to ‘defend human rights’ in Iran – Europe’s PR stunt mainly seeks to cloak that it is an actor in severe decline,” Araghchi wrote on social media.
“Moreover, as the continent is certain to be massively impacted by an all-out war in our region – including the knock-on effects of surging energy prices – the EU’s current posture is deeply damaging to its own interests.”
That was echoed by the General Staff of the Iranian armed forces, which denounced the IRGC listing as “illogical and irresponsible” and said it marked “a clear sign of hostility towards the Iranian nation and the country’s independence”.
Al Jazeera’s Tohid Asadi, reporting from the Iranian capital Tehran, noted that the “unprecedented” escalation between Iran and the EU comes amid a US military build-up in the Middle East, which has raised concerns about a possible confrontation.
US President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to attack Iran in recent weeks, citing the protest crackdown as well as the Iranian nuclear programme.
On Wednesday, Trump warned that a “massive” US armada was heading towards Iran and would be willing to use “violence” to fulfil its mission if Tehran did not agree to nuclear talks with Washington.
Senior Iranian officials rejected Trump’s comments, saying they would not agree to negotiations while under threat and that the Iranian armed forces were ready to “immediately and powerfully” respond to any possible US attack.