Notices by Unicorn Riot (unicornriot@mastodon.social), page 6

For more than 14 years, Mahdi has ardently maintained his innocence. He believes Ahmed committed the crimes with his cousin and had every reason to frame him.
In 2013, Mahdi unsuccessfully appealed his sentence at the Minnesota Supreme Court, which ruled against him the following year, but he continues to fight for his freedom to this day.

He was tried as an adult and convicted September 23, 2011 for one count of premeditated first-degree murder, two counts of second degree murder, and three counts of first-degree felony murder. Mahdi Ali was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Charged with being the shooter, Mahdi Ali, who was just 15 years old at the time of the killings, denied any involvement and pleaded not guilty.

After Mahdi’s arrest, the woman he believed was his grandmother, Sainab Osman, revealed that she was really his biological mother, which was also backed up by DNA tests. Osman, with whom Mahdi shares a striking resemblance, spoke to UR through an interpreter.

Mahdi continued to get in trouble as a teen, though he said he never carried guns and mostly got into trouble for theft and stealing cars. “But I am not a killer,” he insisted.

He was reunited with who he thought was his grandmother. Mahdi admitted that he wasn’t an angel. “I had to take care of myself,” he explained. “How could they blame me for surviving when I was just a kid and they put me in that situation in the first place?”

When his friend died, the parents offered him an opportunity to go to America, but he would have to assume the identity of their son, and keep it a secret. The couple abandoned Mahdi. He ended up in and out of foster homes, group homes, and juvenile detention centers.

UR reviewed more than two thousand pages of documents, including the police report, trial transcripts, news reports and other legal documents. We conducted numerous phone interviews with Mahdi from prison, interviewed Mahdi’s mother, his friend he was with the night of the killings and several other sources, as well as reviewed parts of surveillance footage related to the crimes, all creating a very different version of events than the official account.

But Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill rejected the document and instead allowed the state to have a dentist examine the teen’s teeth, a practice that is widely criticized as questionable science. The state’s witness testified that his teeth made him at least 17 years old, allowing the state to try him as an adult.

Before trial, Osman produced Khalid Farrah’s Kenyan birth certificate stating that he was actually born on August 25, 1994, in Nairobi, making him 15 years old at the time of the murders, requiring his case to remain in juvenile court.

... all showcasing a fixation by authorities to convict Mahdi while the evidence suggests that the real killer escaped accountability. https://unicornriot.ninja/2024/target-junk-science-and-unreliable-testimonies-the-contentious-conviction-of-15-year-old-mahdi-ali/

This report documents nearly thirty issues we found in the official investigation of the Seward Market murders, from minor to major — detailing unethical practices used by police and prosecutors including the use of a paid informant and a jailhouse snitch, circumstantial evidence that points to other suspects, and the statement from Ahmed Ali that he lied about Mahdi’s involvement.

NEW || Greece: Students in Solidarity with Gaza – Universities in Ties with Israel 🇬🇷 🇵🇸

https://unicornriot.ninja/2024/greece-students-in-solidarity-with-gaza-universities-in-ties-with-israel/

George Floyd was murdered by Minneapolis Police four years ago tonight.

On May 29, 2024, Unicorn Riot is bringing back our Reporter Reflection series with Episode 4 featuring footage from the frontlines of the fourth day of the uprising in Minneapolis.

Catch up on the first three days of Reporter Reflection films & access UR's coverage related to George Floyd: https://unicornriot.ninja/georgefloyd/

Support our work: https://unicornriot.ninja/donate
Unicorn Riot reports underrepresented stories and sheds light on alternative perspectives and systems. We aim to provide an accessible platform for diverse stories, communities and media makers through free, nonprofit news.

Campus police in this side of the city (Drexel & UPenn) have demarcated “patrol zones” which extend into the city.

Full story: Drexel Students Set Up Palestine Encampment, Call for Divestment From Israel
https://unicornriot.ninja/2024/drexel-students-set-up-palestine-encampment-call-for-divestment-from-israel/
- support our work by sharing what we publish!
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NEW: Drexel Students Set Up Palestine Encampment, Call for Divestment From Israel
https://unicornriot.ninja/2024/drexel-students-set-up-palestine-encampment-call-for-divestment-from-israel/
Following a rainy Nakba Day commemoration march from Center City that started around 4 p.m.
Philadelphia and Drexel police officers quickly surrounded the encampment.

At Drexel on Saturday night, students and other observers we interviewed discussed everything from Philly’s protest culture and law enforcement practices to the Samidoun Prisoner’s Solidarity Network. Full livestream:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtZ2dIJT0Lo

The night before, nearly 20 demonstrators were arrested just blocks away at the UPenn campus which we also streamed live. https://unicornriot.ninja/2024/upenn-students-arrested-at-palestine-demo-after-building-occupation-attempt/