Putin foe Kasparov acquitted of illegal protest

Chess king turned Kremlin foe Garry Kasparov was acquitted on Friday of holding an unsanctioned protest, although he still risks jail for allegedly biting a policeman during the Pussy Riot trial.

In a surprise verdict, a magistrate acquitted Kasparov, saying his guilt had not been proven by police witnesses, the opposition leader told media outside the court.

Kasparov had been charged under a law on protests that has been tightened under President Vladimir Putin's third term as president, and could have been heavily fined or sentenced to up to 15 days in jail.

He called the decision "historic" after the judge refused to accept police evidence that he had been shouting out political slogans.

"For the first time the evidence of officers in uniform was not accepted by the court as happens every day in other courts," Kasparov said, thanking journalists for providing video and photo evidence.

"This decision will help many people who find themselves in similar situations," he said.

The unusual case against one of Putin's most virulent critics came after police arrested dozens of protestors outside Khamovnichesky Court during the sentencing of the three members of Pussy Riot punk band to two years in jail.

Kasparov still faces the threat of far more serious criminal charges after the officer who arrested him said the chess star bit him on the hand once he was out of view of reporters' cameras in the police van.

A conviction for assaulting a police officer could put Kasparov in prison for five years and only further chill already cooling relations between Russia and the West in Putin's third term.

Kasparov has fought back, filing slander and illegal arrest charges against the arresting officer earlier this week.

The Moscow police department has handed the biting inquiry to the powerful federal Investigative Committee which is already looking into alleged actions by fellow protest leader Alexei Navalny and more than a dozen other prominent Putin foes.

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Army sergeant acquitted of negligent homicide in soldier's death

WINSTON-SALEM, North Carolina (Reuters) - A military jury found a U.S. Army sergeant not guilty on Monday of negligent homicide in the death of a Chinese-American soldier who officials say killed himself in Afghanistan after enduring hazing and racial slurs.

Sergeant Adam Holcomb, 30, was the first of eight soldiers to face a court-martial in connection with Private Danny Chen's death in October 2011.

The military panel that heard Holcomb's case in Fort Bragg, North Carolina, found him guilty of maltreatment and assault, but acquitted him of both negligent homicide and harassment, base spokesman Thomas McCollum said.

Holcomb was expected to be sentenced later on Monday.

Chen, 19, killed himself by gunshot in a guard tower in southern Afghanistan, where military prosecutors said the weeks of physical mistreatment and racial harassment he encountered from his superiors pushed him to take his own life.

Holcomb, who pleaded not guilty to all the charges, was accused of referring to Chen by racially derogatory names such as "dragon lady," "Jackie Chen" and "egg roll."

Danny Chen was born in New York and raised in the city by his Chinese immigrant parents.

According to testimony, Holcomb also caused injuries to Chen's back by dragging him across gravel after the lower-ranked soldier left a water pump on in a shower at their remote base in Afghanistan.

Holcomb's attorneys argued that Chen killed himself because he was struggling as an infantryman and had been disowned by his parents for joining the Army - an assertion Chen's mother and father denied from the witness stand last week.

(Reporting by Colleen Jenkins; editing by Cynthia Johnston and Mohammad Zargham)

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Army sergeant acquitted of negligent homicide in soldier's suicide

WINSTON-SALEM, North Carolina (Reuters) - A military jury found a U.S. Army sergeant not guilty on Monday of negligent homicide in the death of a Chinese-American soldier who officials say killed himself in Afghanistan after enduring hazing and racial slurs.

Sergeant Adam Holcomb, 30, was the first of eight soldiers from the 1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division based in Alaska to face a court-martial in connection with Private Danny Chen's death in October 2011.

The military panel that heard Holcomb's case in Fort Bragg, North Carolina, found him guilty of maltreatment and assault, but acquitted him of both negligent homicide and harassment, base spokesman Thomas McCollum said.

The 10-member jury of officers and enlisted soldiers is set to recommend a sentence on Tuesday. Holcomb faces up to 2-1/2 years in prison, and the final decision on his punishment rests with the commander of the 18th Airborne Corps.

Chen, 19, killed himself by gunshot in a guard tower in southern Afghanistan, where military prosecutors said the weeks of physical mistreatment and racial prejudice he encountered from his superiors pushed him to take his own life.

Holcomb's attorneys argued that Chen committed suicide because he was struggling as an infantryman and had been disowned by his parents for joining the Army - a claim backed by fellow soldiers but denied by Chen's mother and father from the witness stand last week.

Chen, the only Chinese-American in his unit, was born in New York and raised in the city by his immigrant parents. The case prompted activists to call for more protections against abuse for Asian-American service members, who make up 4 percent of the active duty U.S. military.

Holcomb, who pleaded not guilty to all the charges, was accused of referring to Chen by racially derogatory names such as "dragon lady," "Jackie Chen" and "egg roll."

According to testimony, Holcomb also caused injuries to Danny Chen's back by dragging him across gravel after the lower-ranked soldier left a water pump on in a shower at the remote combat outpost where Chen began his first deployment in August 2011.

A fellow soldier testified that in a separate incident hours before he killed himself, Chen was forced to crawl to a guard tower as punishment while several non-commissioned officers threw rocks at him and yelled, "Incoming!"

(Reporting by Colleen Jenkins; editing by Cynthia Johnston and Mohammad Zargham)

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