The trial of a Canadian man who sold poisons in several countries over the Internet to aid suicide will resume on November 27, according to what the court examining the case announced on Thursday, after dozens of relatives of the victims testified.
Sessions were scheduled to be held for four days, from Wednesday to Monday, to hear the testimonies of the victims’ relatives and friends, but the judge limited himself to two days.
Dozens of the victims' fathers, mothers, siblings and friends expressed during court hearings on Wednesday and Thursday their inability to come to terms with their losses.
Kenneth Law, accused of selling sodium nitrite to dozens of people, pleaded guilty in May to 14 counts of aiding or encouraging suicide. Sodium nitrite is a legal substance, but it can be fatal if a certain dose is exceeded.
A hearing will be allocated in late November to hear the prosecution and defence. A date for sentencing has not yet been set.
In an unusual scene, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian held a session with a group of journalists in a New York hotel, at a time when he was visiting the city to participate in the meetings of the United Nations General Assembly, while his country was waging a war with the United States. During the meeting, Pezeshkian discussed a number of thorny issues, from the war and the nuclear program to the internal situation in Iran, before denying that his country was seeking to assassinate US President Donald Trump, despite previous American accusations of the Iranian regime of planning to target him.
The Iranian President's media appearances inside Iran are subject to strict and strict control, but Pezeshkian sat on Thursday to answer journalists' questions in New York, where he is visiting the city under the protection of the US Secret Service.
The session came one day after Pezeshkian delivered a speech before the United Nations General Assembly, during which he repeated a number of well-known Iranian positions regarding the war, the nuclear program, and internal opposition in Iran. He also spoke about the impact of sanctions on the Iranian people, before confirming that Iran would never try to kill Trump, despite the American president and the American authorities accusing the Iranian regime of planning to assassinate him.
The meeting was held at the Millennium Hilton Hotel, located very close to the United Nations headquarters, where Pezeshkian had announced on Wednesday that his country “will not submit” in light of the continuing war with the United States.
During the press briefing, Pezeshkian also spoke about recent meetings he held with Iranian Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, who has not appeared in public since the outbreak of the war, stressing that the guide enjoys, according to his description, “extremely good health.” Increased speculation has surrounded Khamenei's health in recent months, after reports emerged that he was seriously injured in the American-Israeli attack that killed his father and predecessor, Ali Khamenei, at the beginning of the conflict in February.
Speaking about Khamenei’s health condition, Pazashkian said: “I did not notice any major health or physical problems,” adding that the last direct meeting between them took place about a month ago, and lasted about seven hours. Bazashkian stated that the meeting took place while the two men were sitting on cushions placed on the floor, and that they were getting up to walk and walk around during the meeting.
US intelligence estimates indicate that Khamenei, despite his injuries, still plays a pivotal role in drawing up the war strategy in cooperation with senior Iranian officials.
The presence of the Iranian delegation in the United States, which is still at war with Iran, is practically unprecedented. However, the scene took on a more exceptional character on Thursday, when the Iranian President and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi held a briefing for journalists inside a hall in a hotel in midtown Manhattan.
A US State Department official said earlier this week that the visiting Iranian delegation “is allowed to enter the United States exclusively for the purpose of representing their country before the United Nations,” and that its members must “limit their activities to missions related to the United Nations only.”
During the press briefing, Pezeshkian denied the accusations that Iran was seeking to kill the US President, saying that “the position of the Iranian government has never been, whether publicly or secretly, to seek to assassinate Donald Trump or members of his family.”
Last month, the US Secret Service announced that it was aware of a video clip broadcast by the Iranian State Broadcasting Corporation, which appeared to contain a threat to the life of Barron Trump, the youngest son of the US President. This came after Israel shared intelligence information with the United States indicating that Iran had developed a plan to assassinate Donald Trump. In late 2024, the US Department of Justice announced federal charges related to what it described as a foiled Iranian plot to kill Trump before the presidential election.
On the other hand, the extremist Iranian media has repeatedly published content that includes threats to the life of Trump and his family members. During the funeral ceremony of the late Khamenei in July, regime loyalists were seen carrying banners with the phrase “Kill Trump” written on them.
In response to Pezeshkian’s statements, White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said: “The Iranian regime has killed thousands of its own people, killed Americans abroad, carried out terrorist acts in the Strait of Hormuz, and launched indiscriminate attacks against its neighbors in the region.” She continued: “The President is working courageously to ensure that such an evil country never possesses a nuclear weapon, which will make the entire world safer and more stable.”
