Stars join call to #FreeCyntoiaBrown

Relatives of prisoners in an Ecuadorian jail where gang clashes left over a hundred dead speak of their fears for their loved ones. "It's very painful," said the mother of one prisoner outside the jail, "I don't know if my son is well or not."

Rifaat al-Assad, dubbed the butcher of Hama, was exiled by the Syrian president's late father. He was facing four years behind bars in France for laundering embezzled funds.

Zhang Zhan traveled to Wuhan in February last year to report on the chaos at the epicenter of the first coronavirus outbreak. She is on hunger strike after receiving a 4-year jail sentence for "provoking trouble."

The rioter made famous for his tattoos and horned headdress was sentenced to 41 months behind bars for his role in the deadly storming of the US Capitol building. It is one of the stiffest sentences yet handed down.

France and Real Madrid forward Karim Benzema was found guilty of complicity in the attempted blackmail of a former international team mate over a sex tape on Wednesday and sentenced to a one-year suspended jail term. He was also fined 75,000 euros ($84,170). Benzema's lawyer said the player would appeal against the verdict.

The former South African president's medical parole was found to be "unlawful". He was instructed to return to jail to serve out the remainder of his sentence.

Suu Kyi faces dozens of charges, and has been convicted of inciting dissent against the military and breaching COVID-19 rules.

Will Jacob Zuma return to prison? South Africa's highest court orders the former president to be re-incarcerated after setting aside an earlier decision to release him on medical parole. Meanwhile, the country records close to 27,000 new Covid-19 cases, an all-time record. Plus, European football clubs say they may not release their African players to take part in the Africa Cup of Nations, amid fears surrounding the tournament's Covid-19 health protocol.

Captain Sunil Kumar Nandeshwar admitted he had been drinking alcohol as cargo ship Wakashio ran aground in July 2020, spilling more than 1,000 tons of fuel into the Indian Ocean.

Park Geun-hye was due to serve 24 years for corruption and abuse of power following her impeachment in 2017. The current president said her pardon was in the interest of "national harmony."

Former French modeling agent Jean-Luc Brunel was awaiting trial on sex abuse charges. Authorities in Paris found him hanging in his cell.

Russian prosecutors have asked a court to sentence opposition leader Alexei Navalny to 13 years in prison on fraud and contempt of court charges. The request also called for him to be held under stricter conditions.