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In the common law tradition, an acquittal formally certifies the accused is free from the charge of an offense, as far as the criminal law is concerned. This is so even where the prosecution is abandoned nolle prosequi. Under the rules of double jeopardy and autrefois acquit, an acquittal operates to bar the retrial of the accused for the same offense, even if new evidence surfaces that further implicates the accused. The effect of an acquittal on criminal proceedings is the same whether it results from a jury verdict, or whether it results from the operation of some other rule that discharges the accused.

Scots law has two acquittal verdicts: not guilty and not proven.^[1] However a verdict of "not proven" does not give rise to the double jeopardy rule.

England and Wales[link]

In England and Wales, which share a common legal system, the Criminal Justice Act 2003 creates an exception to the double jeopardy rule, by providing that retrials may be ordered if "new and compelling evidence" comes to light after an acquittal for a serious crime. Also the Criminal Procedure and Investigations Act 1996 permits a "tainted acquittal" to be set aside in circumstances where it is proved beyond reasonable doubt that an acquittal has been obtained by violence or threats of violence to a witness or juror/s.

In modern England and Wales, and in all countries that substantially follow English criminal procedure, an acquittal normally results in the immediate liberation of the defendant from custody, assuming no other charges against the defendant remain to be tried. However, until 1774 a defendant acquitted by an English or Welsh court would be remanded to jail until he had paid the jailer for the costs of his confinement. It was known for acquitted persons to die in jail for lack of jailer's fees.^[2]

United States[link]

With one exception, in the United States an acquittal cannot be appealed by the prosecution because of constitutional prohibitions against double jeopardy. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled:

If the judgment is upon an acquittal, the defendant, indeed, will not seek to have it reversed, and the government cannot. U. S. v. Sanges, 144 U.S. 310 (1892). Ball v. U.S., 163 U.S. 662, 671 (1896)

A verdict of acquittal, although not followed by any judgment, is a bar to a subsequent prosecution for the same offense. Ball, supra, at 672.

Society's awareness of the heavy personal strain which a criminal trial represents for the individual defendant is manifested in the willingness to limit the Government to a single criminal proceeding to vindicate its very vital interest in enforcement of criminal laws. United States v. Jorn, 400 U.S. 470, 479 (1971)

Whether the trial is to a jury or, as here, to the bench, subjecting the defendant to postacquittal factfinding proceedings going to guilt or innocence violates the Double Jeopardy Clause. Smalis v. Pennsylvania, 476 U.S. 140 (1986)

It was decided in Fong Foo v. United States, 369 U.S. 141 (1962) that a judgment of acquittal by a jury cannot be appealed by the prosecution. In United States v. Jenkins, 420 U.S. 358 (1975), this was held applicable to bench trials. In Arizona v. Rumsey, 467 U.S. 203 (1984), it was ruled that in a bench trial, when a judge was holding a separate hearing after the jury trial, to decide if the defendant should be sentenced to death or life imprisonment, the judge decided that the circumstances of the case did not permit death to be imposed. On appeal the judge's ruling was found to be erroneous. However, even though the decision to impose life instead of death was based on an erroneous interpretation of the law by the judge, the finding of life imprisonment in the original case constituted an acquittal of the death penalty and thus death could not be imposed upon a subsequent trial. Even though the acquittal of the death penalty was erroneous in that case, the acquittal must stand.

The only exception to an acquittal being final is if the defendant was never in jeopardy at all at trial. If a defendant bribes a judge and obtains acquittal as a result of a bench trial, the acquittal is not valid because the defendant was never in jeopardy in the first place. Harry Aleman v. Judges of the Criminal Division, Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois, et al., 138 F.3d 302 (1998).

An acquittal, while conclusive as to the criminal law, does not necessarily bar private civil actions in tort or on some other grounds as a result of the facts alleged in the charge. For example, O.J. Simpson was held civilly liable for wrongful death even after being tried and acquitted of murder. In federal states it also does not bar prosecution for the same offenses under a statute of a different jurisdiction. For example, in the United States someone acquitted of a state murder charge can be retried for the same actions on a federal charge of violating civil rights.

Look up acquittal in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

References[link]

Garry Kasparov (Гарри Кимович Каспаров)
Country	Russia
Born	(1963-04-13) 13 April 1963 (age 49) Baku, Azerbaijan SSR, Soviet Union
Title	Grandmaster
World Champion	1985–93 (Undisputed) 1993–2000 (Classical)
FIDE rating	2812 (May 2012) (inactive)
Peak rating	2851 (July 1999, January 2000)

Garry Kimovich Kasparov (Russian: Га́рри Ки́мович Каспа́ров, Russian pronunciation: [ˈɡarʲɪ ˈkʲiməvʲɪtɕ kɐˈsparəf]; born Garik Kimovich Weinstein,^[1] 13 April 1963) is a Russian (formerly Soviet) chess grandmaster, a former World Chess Champion, writer, political activist, considered by many to be the greatest chess player of all time.

Kasparov became the youngest ever undisputed World Chess Champion in 1985 at the age of 22 by defeating then-champion Anatoly Karpov.^[2] He held the official FIDE world title until 1993, when a dispute with FIDE led him to set up a rival organization, the Professional Chess Association. He continued to hold the "Classical" World Chess Championship until his defeat by Vladimir Kramnik in 2000. He was the first world champion to lose a match to a computer under standard time controls, when he lost to Deep Blue in 1997.

Kasparov's ratings achievements include being rated world No. 1 according to Elo rating almost continuously from 1986 until his retirement in 2005 and holding the all-time highest rating of 2851.^[3] He was the world No. 1 ranked player for 255 months, by far the most of all-time and nearly three times as long as his closest rival, Anatoly Karpov. Kasparov also holds records for consecutive tournament victories and Chess Oscars.

Kasparov announced his retirement from professional chess on 10 March 2005, to devote his time to politics and writing. He formed the United Civil Front movement, and joined as a member of The Other Russia, a coalition opposing the administration of Vladimir Putin. He was considered to become a candidate for the 2008 Russian presidential race, but later withdrew. Although he is widely regarded in the West as a symbol of opposition to Putin, support for him in Russia is low.^[4]

Early career[link]

Kasparov at age 11, Vilnius, 1974.

Garry Kasparov was born Garik Kimovich Weinstein (Russian: Гарик Вайнштейн) in Baku, Azerbaijan SSR, Soviet Union; now Azerbaijan, to an Armenian mother and Russian father.^[5][6][7] He first began the serious study of chess after he came across a chess problem set up by his parents and proposed a solution.^[8] His father died of leukemia when he was seven years old.^[9] At the age of twelve, he adopted his mother's Armenian surname, Gasparyan, modifying it to a more Russified version, Kasparov.^[10]

From age 7, Kasparov attended the Young Pioneer Palace in Baku and, at 10 began training at Mikhail Botvinnik's chess school under noted coach Vladimir Makogonov. Makogonov helped develop Kasparov's positional skills and taught him to play the Caro-Kann Defence and the Tartakower System of the Queen's Gambit Declined.^[11] Kasparov won the Soviet Junior Championship in Tbilisi in 1976, scoring 7 points of 9, at age 13. He repeated the feat the following year, winning with a score of 8½ of 9. He was being trained by Alexander Shakarov during this time.

In 1978, Kasparov participated in the Sokolsky Memorial tournament in Minsk. He had been invited as an exception but took first place and became a chess master. Kasparov has repeatedly said that this event was a turning point in his life, and that it convinced him to choose chess as his career. "I will remember the Sokolsky Memorial as long as I live", he wrote. He has also said that after the victory, he thought he had a very good shot at the World Championship.^[12]

He first qualified for the Soviet Chess Championship at age 15 in 1978, the youngest ever player at that level. He won the 64-player Swiss system tournament at Daugavpils over tiebreak from Igor V. Ivanov, to capture the sole qualifying place.

Kasparov rose quickly through the FIDE (World Chess Federation) rankings. Starting with an oversight by the Russian Chess Federation, he participated in a Grandmaster tournament in Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina (then part of Yugoslavia), in 1979 while still unrated (He was a replacement for Viktor Korchnoi who was originally invited but withdrew due to threat of boycott from the Soviet). He won this high-class tournament, emerging with a provisional rating of 2595, enough to catapult him to the top group of chess players (at the time, number 15 in the World^[13]). The next year, 1980, he won the World Junior Chess Championship in Dortmund, West Germany. Later that year, he made his debut as second reserve for the Soviet Union at the Chess Olympiad at La Valletta, Malta, and became a Grandmaster.

Toward the top[link]

Kasparov becomes World Junior Champion at Dortmund in 1980

As a teenager, Kasparov twice tied for first place in the USSR Chess Championship, in 1980–81 and 1981–82. His first win in a superclass-level international tournament was scored at Bugojno, Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1982. He earned a place in the 1982 Moscow Interzonal tournament, which he won, to qualify for the Candidates Tournament.^[14] At age 19, he was the youngest Candidate since Bobby Fischer, who was 15 when he qualified in 1958. At this stage, he was already the No. 2-rated player in the world, trailing only World Chess Champion Anatoly Karpov on the January 1983 list.

Kasparov's first (quarter-final) Candidates match was against Alexander Beliavsky, whom he defeated 6–3 (four wins, one loss).^[15] Politics threatened Kasparov's semi-final against Viktor Korchnoi, which was scheduled to be played in Pasadena, California. Korchnoi had defected from the Soviet Union in 1976, and was at that time the strongest active non-Soviet player. Various political maneuvers prevented Kasparov from playing Korchnoi, and Kasparov forfeited the match. This was resolved by Korchnoi allowing the match to be replayed in London, along with the previously scheduled match between Vasily Smyslov and Zoltán Ribli. The Kasparov-Korchnoi match was put together on short notice by Raymond Keene. Kasparov lost the first game but won the match 7–4 (four wins, one loss).

In January 1984, Kasparov became the No. 1 ranked player in the world, with a FIDE rating of 2710. He became the youngest ever world No. 1, a record that lasted 12 years until being broken by Vladimir Kramnik in January 1996; the record is currently held by his former pupil, Magnus Carlsen.

Later in 1984, he won the Candidates' final 8½–4½ (four wins, no losses) against the resurgent former world champion Vasily Smyslov, at Vilnius, thus qualifying to play Anatoly Karpov for the World Championship. That year he joined the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU), as a member of which he was elected to the Central Committee of Komsomol in 1987.

1984 World Championship[link]

The World Chess Championship 1984 match between Anatoly Karpov and Garry Kasparov had many ups and downs, and a very controversial finish. Karpov started in very good form, and after nine games Kasparov was down 4–0 in a "first to six wins" match. Fellow players predicted he would be whitewashed 6–0 within 18 games.^[16]

In a strange period, there followed a series of 17 successive draws, some relatively short, and others drawn in unsettled positions. He lost game 27, then fought back with another series of draws until game 32, his first-ever win against the World Champion. Another 15 successive draws followed, through game 46; the previous record length for a world title match had been 34 games, the match of José Raúl Capablanca vs. Alexander Alekhine in 1927.

Kasparov won games 47 and 48 to bring the scores to 5–3 in Karpov's favour. Then the match was ended without result by Florencio Campomanes, the President of Fédération Internationale des Échecs (FIDE), and a new match was announced to start a few months later. The termination was controversial, as both players stated that they preferred the match to continue. Announcing his decision at a press conference, Campomanes cited the health of the players, which had been strained by the length of the match.

The match became the first, and so far only, world championship match to be abandoned without result. Kasparov's relations with Campomanes and FIDE were greatly strained, and the feud between them eventually came to a head in 1993 with Kasparov's complete break-away from FIDE.

World Champion[link]

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Kasparov after winning the FIDE World Championship title in 1985.

The second Karpov-Kasparov match in 1985 was organized in Moscow as the best of 24 games where the first player to win 12½ points would claim the World Champion title. The scores from the terminated match would not carry over. But in the event of a 12–12 draw, the title would remain with Karpov. On 9 November 1985, Kasparov secured the title by a score of 13–11, winning the 24th game with Black, using a Sicilian defence. He was 22 years old at the time, making him the youngest ever World Champion, and breaking the record held by Mikhail Tal for over 20 years. Kasparov's win as Black in the 16th game has been recognized as one of the all-time masterpieces in chess history.

As part of the arrangements following the aborted 1984 match, Karpov had been granted (in the event of his defeat) a right to rematch. Another match took place in 1986, hosted jointly in London and Leningrad, with each city hosting 12 games. At one point in the match, Kasparov opened a three-point lead and looked well on his way to a decisive match victory. But Karpov fought back by winning three consecutive games to level the score late in the match. At this point, Kasparov dismissed one of his seconds, Grandmaster Evgeny Vladimirov, accusing him of selling his opening preparation to the Karpov team (as described in Kasparov's autobiography Unlimited Challenge, chapter Stab in the Back). Kasparov scored one more win and kept his title by a final score of 12½–11½.

A fourth match for the world title took place in 1987 in Seville, as Karpov had qualified through the Candidates' Matches to again become the official challenger. This match was very close, with neither player holding more than a one-point lead at any time during the contest. Kasparov was down one full point at the time of the final game, and needed a win to draw the match and retain his title. A long tense game ensued in which Karpov blundered away a pawn just before the first time control, and Kasparov eventually won a long ending. Kasparov retained his title as the match was drawn by a score of 12–12. (All this meant that Kasparov had played Karpov four times in the period 1984–87, a statistic unprecedented in chess. Matches organised by FIDE had taken place every three years since 1948, and only Botvinnik had a right to a rematch before Karpov.)

A fifth match between Kasparov and Karpov was held in New York and Lyon in 1990, with each city hosting 12 games. Again, the result was a close one with Kasparov winning by a margin of 12½–11½. In their five world championship matches, Kasparov had 21 wins, 19 losses, and 104 draws in 144 games.

Break with and ejection from FIDE[link]

Kasparov and Viswanathan Anand in a publicity photo on top of the World Trade Center in New York.

With the World Champion title in hand, Kasparov began fighting against FIDE—as Bobby Fischer had done 20 years earlier but this time from within FIDE. Beginning in 1986, he created the Grandmasters Association (GMA), an organization to represent professional chess players and give them more say in FIDE's activities. Kasparov assumed a leadership role. GMA's major achievement was in organizing a series of six World Cup tournaments for the world's top players. A somewhat uneasy relationship developed with FIDE, and a sort of truce was brokered by Bessel Kok, a Dutch businessman.

This stand-off lasted until 1993, by which time a new challenger had qualified through the Candidates cycle for Kasparov's next World Championship defense: Nigel Short, a British Grandmaster who had defeated Anatoly Karpov in a qualifying match, and then Jan Timman in the finals held in early 1993. After a confusing and compressed bidding process produced lower financial estimates than expected,^[17] the world champion and his challenger decided to play outside FIDE's jurisdiction, under another organization created by Kasparov called the Professional Chess Association (PCA). This is where a great fracture in the lineage of World Champions began.

In an interview in 2007, Kasparov would call the break with FIDE the worst mistake of his career, as it hurt the game in the long run.^[18]

Kasparov and Short were ejected from FIDE, and played their well-sponsored match in London. Kasparov won convincingly by a score of 12½–7½. The match considerably raised the profile of chess in the UK, with an unprecedented level of coverage on Channel 4. Meanwhile, FIDE organized a World Championship match between Jan Timman (the defeated Candidates finalist) and former World Champion Karpov (a defeated Candidates semifinalist), which Karpov won.

There were now two World Champions: PCA champion Kasparov, and FIDE champion Karpov. The title would remain split for 13 years.

Kasparov defended his title in a 1995 match against Viswanathan Anand at the World Trade Center in New York City. Kasparov won the match by four wins to one, with thirteen draws. It was the last World Championship to be held under the auspices of the PCA, which collapsed when Intel, one of its major backers, withdrew its sponsorship in retaliation for Kasparov's choice to play a 1996 match against Deep Blue, which augmented the profile of IBM, one of Intel's chief rivals.^[19]

Kasparov tried to organize another World Championship match, under another organization, the World Chess Association (WCA) with Linares organizer Luis Rentero. Alexei Shirov and Vladimir Kramnik played a candidates match to decide the challenger, which Shirov won in a surprising upset. But when Rentero admitted that the funds required and promised had never materialized, the WCA collapsed.

This left Kasparov stranded, and yet another organization stepped in—BrainGames.com, headed by Raymond Keene. No match against Shirov was arranged, and talks with Anand collapsed, so a match was instead arranged against Kramnik.

During this period, Kasparov was approached by Oakham School in the United Kingdom, at the time the only school in the country with a full-time chess coach,^[20] and developed an interest in the use of chess in education. In 1997, Kasparov supported a scholarship programme at the school.^[21] Kasparov also won the Marca Leyenda trophy that year.

Losing the title and aftermath[link]

Kasparov playing against Vladimir Kramnik in the Botvinnik Memorial match in Moscow, 2001.

The Kasparov-Kramnik match took place in London during the latter half of 2000. Kramnik had been a student of Kasparov's at the legendary Botvinnik/Kasparov chess school in Russia, and had served on Kasparov's team for the 1995 match against Viswanathan Anand.

The better-prepared Kramnik won Game 2 against Kasparov's Grünfeld Defence and achieved winning positions in Games 4 and 6. Kasparov made a critical error in Game 10 with the Nimzo-Indian Defence, which Kramnik exploited to win in 25 moves. As White, Kasparov could not crack the passive but solid Berlin Defence in the Ruy Lopez, and Kramnik successfully drew all his games as Black. Kramnik won the match 8½–6½, and for the first time in 15 years Kasparov had no world championship title. He became the first player to lose a world championship match without winning a game since Emanuel Lasker lost to Capablanca in 1921.

After losing the title, Kasparov won a series of major tournaments, and remained the top rated player in the world, ahead of both Kramnik and the FIDE World Champions. In 2001 he refused an invitation to the 2002 Dortmund Candidates Tournament for the Classical title, claiming his results had earned him a rematch with Kramnik.^[22]

Kasparov and Karpov played a four game match with rapid time controls over two days in December 2002 in New York City. Karpov surprised the experts and emerged victoriously, winning two games and drawing one.^[23]

Due to Kasparov's continuing strong results, and status as world No. 1 in much of the public eye, he was included in the so-called "Prague Agreement", masterminded by Yasser Seirawan and intended to reunite the two World Championships. Kasparov was to play a match against the FIDE World Champion Ruslan Ponomariov in September 2003. But this match was called off after Ponomariov refused to sign his contract for it without reservation. In its place, there were plans for a match against Rustam Kasimdzhanov, winner of the FIDE World Chess Championship 2004, to be held in January 2005 in the United Arab Emirates. These also fell through due to lack of funding. Plans to hold the match in Turkey instead came too late. Kasparov announced in January 2005 that he was tired of waiting for FIDE to organize a match and so had decided to stop all efforts to regain the World Championship title.

Retirement from chess[link]

After winning the prestigious Linares tournament for the ninth time, Kasparov announced on 10 March 2005 that he would retire from serious competitive chess. He cited as the reason a lack of personal goals in the chess world (he commented when winning the Russian championship in 2004 that it had been the last major title he had never won outright) and expressed frustration at the failure to reunify the world championship.

Kasparov said he may play in some rapid chess events for fun, but intends to spend more time on his books, including both the My Great Predecessors series (see below) and a work on the links between decision-making in chess and in other areas of life, and will continue to involve himself in Russian politics, which he views as "headed down the wrong path".

Kasparov has been married three times: to Masha, with whom he had a daughter before divorcing; to Yulia, with whom he had a son before their 2005 divorce; and to Daria, with whom he also has a child.^[24][25]

Post-retirement chess[link]

On 22 August 2006, in his first public chess games since his retirement, Kasparov played in the Lichthof Chess Champions Tournament, a blitz event played at the time control of 5 minutes per side and 3 second increments per move. Kasparov tied for first with Anatoly Karpov, scoring 4½/6.^[26]

Garry Kasparov and Anatoly Karpov played a 12-game match from 21–24 September 2009, in Valencia, Spain. It consisted of four rapid (or semi rapid) games, in which Kasparov won 3–1 and eight blitz games, in which Kasparov also won 6–2, winning the match with total result 9–3. The event took place exactly 25 years after the two players' legendary encounter at World Chess Championship 1984.^[27]

Kasparov actively coached Magnus Carlsen for approximately one year beginning in February 2009. The collaboration remained secret until September 2009.^[28] Under Kasparov's tutelage, Carlsen in October 2009 became the youngest ever to achieve a FIDE rating higher than 2800, and has risen from world number four to world number one. While the pair initially planned to work together throughout 2010,^[29] in March of that year it was announced that Carlsen had split from Kasparov and would no longer be using him as a trainer.^[30] According to an interview with the German magazine Der Spiegel, Carlsen indicated that he would remain in contact and that he would continue to attend training sessions with Kasparov,^[31] but in fact no further training sessions were held and the cooperation gradually fizzled over the course of the Spring.^[32]

In May 2010 it was revealed that Kasparov had aided Viswanathan Anand in preparation for the World Chess Championship 2010 against challenger Veselin Topalov. Anand won the match 6½–5½ to retain the title.^[33]

Also in May 2010 he played 30 games simultaneously, winning each one, against players at Tel-Aviv University in Israel.^[34]

In January 2011, Kasparov began training the American Grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura. The first of several training sessions was held in New York just prior to Nakamura's participation in the Tata Steel Chess tournament in Wijk aan Zee, the Netherlands.^[35] In December 2011, it was announced that the cooperation had come to an end.^[36]

Kasparov played two blitz exhibition matches in the Fall of 2011. The first, in September against French grandmaster Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, in Clichy (France), which Kasparov won 1½-½. The second was a longer match consisting of eight blitz games played on October 9, against English grandmaster Nigel Short. Kasparov won again by a score of 4½-3½.

Politics[link]

Kasparov joined the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) in 1984 and in 1987 was elected to the Central Committee of Komsomol. But in 1990 he left the party and in May took part in the creation of the Democratic Party of Russia. In 1991, Kasparov received the Keeper of the Flame award from the Center for Security Policy (a US think tank) for his contributions "to the defence of the United States and American values around the world".^{[25][37][38][39][40]} Kasparov was in June 1993 involved with the creation of the "Choice of Russia" bloc of parties and in 1996 took part in the election campaign of Boris Yeltsin. In 2001 he voiced his support for the Russian television channel NTV.^[6]

In April 2007, it was asserted^[41] that Kasparov was a board member of the National Security Advisory Council of Center for Security Policy,^[37] a "non-profit, non-partisan national security organization that specializes in identifying policies, actions, and resource needs that are vital to American security".^[38] Kasparov confirmed this and added that he was removed shortly after he became aware of it. He noted that he did not know about the membership and suggested he was included in the board by accident because he received the 1991 Keeper of the Flame award from this organization.^[39][40] But Kasparov maintained his association with the leadership by giving speeches at think tanks such as the Hoover Institution.^[25]

After his retirement from chess in 2005, Kasparov turned to politics and created the United Civil Front, a social movement whose main goal is to "work to preserve electoral democracy in Russia."^[42] He has vowed to "restore democracy" to Russia by toppling the Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, of whom he is an outspoken critic.^[43][44][45]

Kasparov was instrumental in setting up The Other Russia, a coalition which opposes Putin's government. The Other Russia has been boycotted by the leaders of Russia's mainstream opposition parties, Yabloko and Union of Rightist Forces as they are concerned about its inclusion of radical nationalist and left-wing groups such as the National Bolshevik Party and former members of the Rodina party including Viktor Gerashchenko, a potential presidential candidate. But regional branches of Yabloko and the Union of Rightist Forces have opted to take part in the coalition. Kasparov says that leaders of these parties are controlled by the Kremlin,^[46] despite the fact that they both publicly oppose to the president's policies.

On 10 April 2005, Kasparov was in Moscow at a promotional event when he was struck over the head with a chessboard he had just signed. The assailant was reported to have said "I admired you as a chess player, but you gave that up for politics" immediately before the attack.^[47] Kasparov has been the subject of a number of other episodes since.^[48][49]

Kasparov at the third Dissenters March in Saint Petersburg on 9 June 2007.

Kasparov helped organize the Saint Petersburg Dissenters' March on 3 March 2007 and The March of the Dissenters on 24 March 2007, both involving several thousand people rallying against Putin and Saint Petersburg Governor Valentina Matviyenko's policies.^[50][51] On 14 April, he was briefly arrested by the Moscow police while heading for a demonstration, following warnings by the prosecution office on the eve of the march, stating that anyone participating risked being detained. He was held for some 10 hours and then fined and released.^[52]

He was summoned by FSB for questioning, allegedly for violations of Russian anti-extremism laws.^[53] This law was previously applied for the conviction of Boris Stomakhin.^[54][55]

Speaking about Kasparov, former KGB general Oleg Kalugin in 2007 remarked: "I do not talk in details—people who knew them are all dead now because they were vocal, they were open. I am quiet. There is only one man who is vocal and he may be in trouble: [former] world chess champion [Garry] Kasparov. He has been very outspoken in his attacks on Putin and I believe that he is probably next on the list."^[56]

On 30 September 2007, Kasparov entered the Russian Presidential race, receiving 379 of 498 votes at a congress held in Moscow by The Other Russia.^[57]

In October 2007, Kasparov announced his intention of standing for the Russian presidency as the candidate of the "Other Russia" coalition and vowed to fight for a "democratic and just Russia". Later that month he traveled to the United States, where he appeared on several popular television programs, which were hosted by Stephen Colbert, Wolf Blitzer, Bill Maher, and Chris Matthews.

On 24 November 2007, Kasparov and other protesters were detained by police at an Other Russia rally in Moscow. This followed an attempt by about 100 protesters to break through police lines and march on the electoral commission, which had barred Other Russia candidates from parliamentary elections.^[58] He was subsequently charged with resisting arrest and organising an unauthorized protest and given a jail sentence of five days. He was released from jail on 29 November.^[59] Putin spoke briefly about the incident in an interview with Time magazine later that year, saying: "Why did Mr. Kasparov, when arrested, speak out in English rather than Russian? When a politician works the crowd of other nations rather than the Russian nation, it tells you something."^[60]

On 12 December 2007, Kasparov announced that he had to withdraw his presidential candidacy due to inability to rent a meeting hall where at least 500 of his supporters could assemble to endorse his candidacy, as is legally required. With the deadline expiring on that date, he explained it was impossible for him to run. Kasparov's spokeswoman accused the government of using pressure to deter anyone from renting a hall for the gathering and said that the electoral commission had rejected a proposal that separate smaller gatherings be held at the same time instead of one large gathering at a meeting hall.^[61]

Kasparov was among the 34 first signatories and a key organiser of the online anti-Putin campaign "Putin must go", started on 10 March 2010.

On January 31, 2012 Kasparov hosted a meeting of opposition leaders planning a mass march on February 4, 2012, the third major opposition rally held since the disputed State Duma elections of December 2011. Among other opposition leaders attending were Alexey Navalny and Yevgenia Chirikova.^[62]

Chess ratings achievements[link]

• Kasparov holds the record for the longest time as the No. 1 rated player.
• Kasparov had the highest Elo rating in the world continuously from 1986 to 2005. However, Vladimir Kramnik did equal him in the January 1996 FIDE ratings list.^[63] He was also briefly ejected from the list following his split from FIDE in 1993, but during that time he headed the rating list of the rival PCA. At the time of his retirement, he was still ranked No. 1 in the world, with a rating of 2812. His rating has fallen inactive since the January 2006 rating list.^[64]
• In January 1990 Kasparov achieved the (then) highest FIDE rating ever, passing 2800 and breaking Bobby Fischer's old record of 2785. He has held the record for the highest rating ever achieved, ever since (as of 2012). On the July 1999 and January 2000 FIDE rating lists Kasparov reached a 2851 Elo rating, the highest rating ever achieved.^[65]
• There was a time in the early 90s when Kasparov was over 2800 and the only person in the 2700s was Anatoly Karpov.
• According to the unofficial Chessmetrics calculations, Kasparov was the highest rated player in the world continuously from February 1985 until October 2004.^[66] He also holds the highest all-time average rating over a 2 (2877) to 20 (2856) year period and is second to only Bobby Fischer's (2881 vs 2879) over a one-year period.

Olympiads and other major team events[link]

Kasparov played in a total of eight Chess Olympiads. He represented the Soviet Union four times and Russia four times, following the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991. In his 1980 Olympiad debut, he became, at age 17, the youngest player to represent the Soviet Union or Russia at that level, a record which was broken by Vladimir Kramnik in 1992. In 82 games, he has scored (+50 −3 =29), for 78.7% and won a total of 19 medals, including team gold medals all eight times he competed. For the 1994 Moscow Olympiad, he had a significant organizational role, in helping to put together the event on short notice, after Thessaloniki canceled its offer to host, a few weeks before the scheduled dates. Kasparov's detailed Olympiad record, from,^[67] follows.

Kasparov at Valletta in 1980

• Valletta 1980, USSR 2nd reserve, 9½/12 (+8 −1 =3), team gold, board bronze;
• Lucerne 1982, USSR 2nd board, 8½/11 (+6 −0 =5), team gold, board bronze;
• Dubai 1986, USSR 1st board, 8½/11 (+7 −1 =3), team gold, board gold, performance gold;
• Thessaloniki 1988, USSR 1st board, 8½/10 (+7 −0 =3), team gold, board gold, performance gold;
• Manila 1992, Russia board 1, 8½/10 (+7 −0 =3), team gold, board gold, performance silver;
• Moscow 1994, Russia board 1, 6½/10 (+4 −1 =5), team gold;
• Yerevan 1996, Russia board 1, 7/9 (+5 −0 =4), team gold, board gold, performance silver;
• Bled 2002, Russia board 1, 7½/9 (+6 −0 =3), team gold, board gold.

Kasparov made his international teams debut for the USSR at age 16 in the 1980 European Team Championship and played for Russia in the 1992 edition of that championship. He won a total of five medals. His detailed Euroteams record, from,^[68] follows.

• Skara 1980, USSR 2nd reserve, 5½/6 (+5 −0 =1), team gold, board gold;
• Debrecen 1992, Russia board 1, 6/8 (+4 −0 =4), team gold, board gold, performance silver.

Kasparov also represented the USSR once in Youth Olympiad competition, but the detailed data is incomplete at http://www.olimpbase.org/1981k/1981in.html; the site http://www.chessmetrics.com, the Garry Kasparov player file, has his individual score from that event.

• Graz 1981, USSR board 1, 9/10 (+8 −0 =2), team gold.

Other records[link]

Kasparov holds the record for most consecutive professional tournament victories, placing first or equal first in 15 individual tournaments from 1981 to 1990.^{[citation needed]} The streak was broken by Vasily Ivanchuk at Linares 1991, where Kasparov placed 2nd, half a point behind him. The details of this record winning streak follow:^[14]

• Frunze 1981, USSR Championship, 12½/17, tie for 1st;
• Bugojno 1982, 9½/13, 1st;
• Moscow 1982, Interzonal, 10/13, 1st;
• Nikšić 1983, 11/14, 1st;
• Brussels OHRA 1986, 7½/10, 1st;
• Brussels 1987, 8½/11, tie for 1st;
• Amsterdam Optiebeurs 1988, 9/12, 1st;
• Belfort (World Cup) 1988, 11½/15, 1st;
• Moscow 1988, USSR Championship, 11½/17, tie for 1st;
• Reykjavik (World Cup) 1988, 11/17, 1st;
• Barcelona (World Cup) 1989, 11/16, tie for 1st;
• Skelleftea (World Cup) 1989, 9½/15, tie for 1st;
• Tilburg 1989, 12/14, 1st;
• Belgrade (Investbank) 1989, 9½/11, 1st;
• Linares 1990, 8/11, 1st.

Kasparov won the Chess Oscar a record eleven times.

Books and other writings[link]

Early writings[link]

Kasparov has written a number of books on chess. He published a somewhat controversial^[69] autobiography when still in his early 20s, originally titled Child of Change, later retitled Unlimited Challenge. This book was subsequently updated several times after he became World Champion. Its content is mainly literary, with a small chess component of key unannotated games. He published an annotated games collection in 1985: Fighting Chess: My Games and Career^[70] and this book has also been updated several times in further editions. He also wrote a book annotating the games from his World Chess Championship 1985 victory, World Chess Championship Match: Moscow, 1985.

He has annotated his own games extensively for the Yugoslav Chess Informant series and for other chess publications. In 1982, he co-authored Batsford Chess Openings with British Grandmaster Raymond Keene and this book was an enormous seller. It was updated into a second edition in 1989. He also co-authored two opening books with his trainer Alexander Nikitin in the 1980s for British publisher Batsford—on the Classical Variation of the Caro-Kann Defence and on the Scheveningen Variation of the Sicilian Defence. Kasparov has also contributed extensively to the five-volume openings series Encyclopedia of Chess Openings.

In 2000, Kasparov co-authored Kasparov Against the World: The Story of the Greatest Online Challenge^[71] with grandmaster Daniel King. The 202-page book analyzes the 1999 Kasparov versus the World game, and holds the record for the longest analysis devoted to a single chess game.^[72]

[edit] My Great Predecessors series

In 2003, the first volume of his five-volume work Garry Kasparov on My Great Predecessors was published. This volume, which deals with the world chess champions Wilhelm Steinitz, Emanuel Lasker, José Raúl Capablanca, Alexander Alekhine, and some of their strong contemporaries, has received lavish praise from some reviewers (including Nigel Short), while attracting criticism from others for historical inaccuracies and analysis of games directly copied from unattributed sources. Through suggestions on the book's website, most of these shortcomings were corrected in following editions and translations. Despite this, the first volume won the British Chess Federation's Book of the Year award in 2003. Volume two, covering Max Euwe, Mikhail Botvinnik, Vasily Smyslov and Mikhail Tal appeared later in 2003. Volume three, covering Tigran Petrosian and Boris Spassky appeared in early 2004. In December 2004, Kasparov released volume four, which covers Samuel Reshevsky, Miguel Najdorf, and Bent Larsen (none of these three were World Champions), but focuses primarily on Bobby Fischer. The fifth volume, devoted to the chess careers of World Champion Anatoly Karpov and challenger Viktor Korchnoi, was published in March 2006.

[edit] Modern Chess series

His book Revolution in the 70s (published in March 2007) covers "the openings revolution of the 1970s–1980s" and is the first book in a new series called "Modern Chess Series", which intends to cover his matches with Karpov and selected games. The book "Revolution in the 70s" concerns the revolution in opening theory that was witnessed in that decade. Such systems as the controversial (at the time) "Hedgehog" opening plan of passively developing the pieces no further than the first three ranks are examined in great detail. Kasparov also analyzes some of the most notable games played in that period. In a section at the end of the book, top opening theoreticians provide their own "take" on the progress made in opening theory in the 1980s.

[edit] Garry Kasparov on Garry Kasparov series

Kasparov is publishing three volumes of his games.

Other post-retirement writing[link]

In 2007 he wrote How Life Imitates Chess, an examination of the parallels between decision-making in chess and in the business world.

In 2008 Kasparov published a sympathetic obituary for Bobby Fischer, writing "I am often asked if I ever met or played Bobby Fischer. The answer is no, I never had that opportunity. But even though he saw me as a member of the evil chess establishment that he felt had robbed and cheated him, I am sorry I never had a chance to thank him personally for what he did for our sport."^[73]

He is the chief advisor for the book publisher Everyman Chess.

Kasparov works closely with Mig Greengard and his comments can often be found on Greengard's blog (apparently no longer active).

Kasparov is currently collaborating with Max Levchin and Peter Thiel on The Blueprint, a book calling for a revival of world innovation, due out in February 2012 from W. W. Norton & Company.

Chess against computers[link]

Deep Thought, 1989[link]

Kasparov defeated the chess computer Deep Thought in both games of a two-game match in 1989.^[74]

Deep Blue, 1996[link]

In February 1996, IBM's chess computer Deep Blue defeated Kasparov in one game using normal time controls, in Deep Blue - Kasparov, 1996, Game 1. However, Kasparov was still able to gain three wins and two draws and win the match.

Deep Blue, 1997[link]

In May 1997, an updated version of Deep Blue defeated Kasparov 3½–2½ in a highly publicised six-game match. The match was even after five games but Kasparov was crushed in Game 6. This was the first time a computer had ever defeated a world champion in match play. A documentary film was made about this famous match-up entitled Game Over: Kasparov and the Machine.

Kasparov claimed that several factors weighed against him in this match. In particular, he was denied access to Deep Blue's recent games, in contrast to the computer's team that could study hundreds of Kasparov's.

After the loss Kasparov said that he sometimes saw deep intelligence and creativity in the machine's moves, suggesting that during the second game, human chess players, in contravention of the rules, intervened. IBM denied that it cheated, saying the only human intervention occurred between games. The rules provided for the developers to modify the program between games, an opportunity they said they used to shore up weaknesses in the computer's play revealed during the course of the match. Kasparov requested printouts of the machine's log files but IBM refused, although the company later published the logs on the Internet.^[75]

Kasparov's loss to Deep Blue inspired the creation of a new game called Arimaa.^[76]

Deep Junior, 2003[link]

Kasparov played with 3D glasses in his match against the program X3D Fritz.

In January 2003, he engaged in a six game classical time control match with a $1 million prize fund which was billed as the FIDE "Man vs. Machine" World Championship, against Deep Junior.^[77] The engine evaluated three million positions per second.^[78] After one win each and three draws, it was all up to the final game. After reaching a decent position Kasparov offered a draw, which was soon accepted by the Deep Junior team. Asked why he offered the draw, Kasparov said he feared making a blunder.^[79] Originally planned as an annual event, the match was not repeated.

X3D Fritz, 2003[link]

In November 2003, he engaged in a four-game match against the computer program X3D Fritz, using a virtual board, 3D glasses and a speech recognition system. After two draws and one win apiece, the X3D Man-Machine match ended in a draw. Kasparov received $175,000 for the result and took home the golden trophy. Kasparov continued to criticize the blunder in the second game that cost him a crucial point. He felt that he had outplayed the machine overall and played well. "I only made one mistake but unfortunately that one mistake lost the game."^[80]

Books[link]

• The Test of Time (Russian Chess), (1986, Pergamon Pr)
• World Chess Championship Match: Moscow, 1985 (1986, Everyman Chess)
• Child of Change: An Autobiography (1987, Hutchinson)
• London–Leningrad Championship Games (1987, Everyman Chess)
• Unlimited Challenge (1990, Grove Pr)
• The Sicilian Scheveningen (1991, B.T. Batsford Ltd)
• The Queen's Indian Defence: Kasparov System (1991, B.T. Batsford Ltd)
• Kasparov Versus Karpov, 1990 (1991, Everyman Chess)
• Kasparov on the King's Indian (1993, B.T. Batsford Ltd)
• Garry Kasparov's Chess Challenge (1996, Everyman Chess)
• Lessons in Chess (1997, Everyman Chess)
• Kasparov Against the World: The Story of the Greatest Online Challenge (2000, KasparovChess Online)
• My Great Predecessors Part I (2003, Everyman Chess)
• My Great Predecessors Part II (2003, Everyman Chess)
• Checkmate!: My First Chess Book (2004, Everyman Mindsports)
• My Great Predecessors Part III (2004, Everyman Chess)
• My Great Predecessors Part IV (2004, Everyman Chess)
• My Great Predecessors Part V (2006, Everyman Chess)
• How Life Imitates Chess, (2007, William Heinemann Ltd)
• Garry Kasparov on Modern Chess, Part 1: Revolution in the 70s, (2007, Everyman Chess)
• Garry Kasparov on Modern Chess, Part 2: Kasparov vs Karpov 1975–1985, (2008, Everyman Chess)
• Garry Kasparov on Modern Chess, Part 3: Kasparov vs Karpov 1986–1987, (2009, Everyman Chess)
• Garry Kasparov on Modern Chess, Part 4: Kasparov vs Karpov 1988–2009, (2010, Everyman Chess)
• Garry Kasparov on Garry Kasparov, part I; (2011, Everyman Chess)
• The Blueprint: Reviving Innovation, Rediscovering Risk, and Rescuing the Free Market; (2013, W. W. Norton & Co)

See also[link]

	Chess portal
	Biography portal

• Kasparov versus the World
• List of people who have beaten Garry Kasparov in chess
• List of chess games between Kasparov and Kramnik
• Committee 2008

Notes[link]

Further reading[link]

• Borik, Otto (1991). Kasparov's Chess Openings: A World Champion's Repertoire. Trafalgar Square Pub. ISBN 0-943955-39-4. 
• Stohl, Igor (2005). Garry Kasparov's Greatest Chess Games, Volume 1. Gambit Publications. ISBN 1-904600-32-8. 
• Stohl, Igor (2006). Garry Kasparov's Greatest Chess Games, Volume 2. Gambit Publications. ISBN 1-904600-43-3. 
• Károlyi, Tibor; Aplin, Nick (2007). Kasparov's Fighting Chess 1993–1998. Batsford. ISBN 0-7134-8994-4. 
• Károlyi, Tibor; Aplin, Nick (2007). Kasparov's Fighting Chess 1999–2005. Batsford. ISBN 978-0-7134-8984-2. 
• Károlyi, Tibor; Aplin, Nick (2009). Kasparov: How His Predecessors Misled Him About Chess. Batsford. ISBN 978-1-906388-26-3. 

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Garry Kasparov

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Garry Kasparov

• Garry Kasparov player profile at ChessGames.com
• Grandmaster Games Database – Garry Kasparov
• The Other Russia, Civic Coalition for Democracy – Official site
• (Russian) Другая Россия – Official site
• (Russian) Сайт «Марш несогласных» – March of the Discontented
• (Russian) Итоговое заявление участников конференции «Другая Россия» Concluding statement by the participants, kasparov.ru
• United Civil Front, a civic political movement to ensure Democracy in the Russian Federation, initiated by Garry Kasparov
• Garry Kasparov, "Man of the Year?", OpinionJournal, 23 December 2007
• Edward Winter, List of Books About Fischer and Kasparov
• (Russian) Garry Kasparov's LiveJournal
• The Chess Master and the Computer article by Kasparov from The New York Review of Books

Amanda Marie Knox (born July 9, 1987) is an American woman who was accused of the murder of Meredith Kercher in Perugia, Umbria, Italy. She served four years of a 26-year sentence before the murder conviction was overturned on October 3, 2011. Raffaele Sollecito, Knox's boyfriend at the time of the murder, was also accused of the murder and had his conviction overturned on appeal.^[1][2][3][4] The jury upheld Knox's calunnia conviction for falsely implicating bar owner Patrick Lumumba. For this Knox was sentenced to three years in prison, which she had already served, and was ordered to pay Lumumba's court costs of about 22,000 euros.^[5]

Early life[link]

Knox was born in Seattle, Washington, to Edda Mellas, a math teacher, and Curt Knox, a vice president of finance at Macy's. The couple divorced when Knox was a toddler. Knox attended Seattle Preparatory School, from which she graduated in 2005. In 2005 she began studies at the University of Washington.^[6]

Meredith Kercher murder case[link]

In 2007 Knox moved to Perugia, Italy, to study Italian, German, and creative writing at the University for Foreigners for one year.^[7][6] She shared a house with Meredith Kercher, a student from England, as well as two Italian women.^[6] In mid-October 2007 she began a romantic relationship with an Italian engineering student, Raffaele Sollecito, from Bari, Apulia.^[6]

On November 1, 2007, Meredith Kercher was murdered in the apartment she shared with Knox. On November 6, 2007, Knox was arrested by the Italian police and, along with Sollecito, charged with the murder of Kercher. During the subsequent four-year trial and appeal process she was held under cautionary detention (carcerazione preventiva) at the Capanne prison in Perugia. In 2009, Knox and Sollecito were convicted of sexual assault, murder and simulating a burglary at the first level (primo grado) of trial (see Italian Criminal Procedure). However, according to Italian law, she would not be considered guilty until the verdict was confirmed by higher courts.^[8] During her appeal at the second level (secondo grado) of trial, which concluded on October 3, 2011, the original conviction was overturned, she was found innocent of the murder and she was released from prison.^[9][10]

Related legal proceedings[link]

Knox was ordered to pay Patrick Lumumba, the man originally accused by Knox of murdering Kercher, €10,000 in restitution as a result of her conviction for calunnia and €40,000 as compensation for Lumumba's legal expenses he incurred to be represented at the first trial.^[11][12] The decision was upheld by the appeals court and Knox was sentenced to three years imprisonment, and ordered to pay a further €22,000.^[13][5]

Shortly before her trial Knox began legal action against Fiorenza Sarzanini, the author of a best selling book about her that had been published in Italy. The book included accounts of events as imagined or invented by Sarzanini, witness transcripts not in the public domain and selected excerpts from Knox's private journals, which Sarzanini had somehow obtained. Lawyers for Knox said that the book had "reported in a prurient manner, aimed solely at arousing the morbid imagination of readers."^[14][15][16] According to US legal commentator Kendal Coffrey, "In this country we would say, with this kind of media exposure, you could not get a fair trial".^[17] In March 2010, Knox won a civil case against Fiorenza Sarzanini, author of a book about the Kercher case, Amanda e gli altri (Amanda and the Others), and her publisher for violation of her privacy and illegal publication of court documents. The book contained long excerpts from Knox's diary, as well as from witness interviews that were not in the public domain, and intimate details professing to be about Knox's sex life. Knox was awarded €40,000 in damages.^[15]

Following an investigation into Knox's statements that she was slapped by police during questioning about the murder, another case for calunnia was opened against her on June 1, 2010, for falsely implicating police. Knox has claimed she was hit and put under pressure by police when she was questioned in the aftermath of Kercher's November 1, 2007, slaying. She said police repeatedly called her a "stupid liar". Police denied misconduct and filed charges saying Knox's comments were slanderous.^[18] The trial was adjourned until November 15, 2011. According Italian Penal Code, for this crime she can be imprisoned from two to six years.

In February 2011, Knox's parents, Curt Knox and Edda Mellas, were indicted on charges of criminal slander as a result of an interview published by The Sunday Times in 2009, in which they said their daughter "had not been given an interpreter, had not received food and water, and had been physically and verbally abused" by police officers after her arrest.^[19] They sought to have the charges dismissed on the grounds that there was no intent.^[20] On July 4, 2011, Judge Paolo Micheli resigned from the case, citing his involvement in the trial of Knox and Sollecito. Knox's parents' trial was adjourned until January 24, 2012.^[19]

After Knox was found innocent of the murder, several media outlets reported that Kercher's family were suing her for $12 million. Kercher's family have stated that the reports are incorrect and that they do not believe anyone should profit from the murder.^[21]

Prison life[link]

Capanne Prison in Perugia, where Knox was held from 2007 to 2011

Knox spent almost four years in jail while she waited for her first trial and appealed the initial verdict. Soon after arriving in prison, following a blood test, Knox was mistakenly told she was HIV positive.^[22][23] Officials prompted her to write a list of previous lovers, which they later leaked to the media.^[22][23]

Knox has stated that during her time in prison she was sexually harassed and intimidated by prison officials.^[24][25] Knox said that a high-ranking prison administrator would take her to his office alone at night and make inappropriate statements to her, which left her feeling terrified.^[24] Furthermore, prison guards forced her to have unwanted sexual conversations.^[22][25] ABC News reported that one male guard entered Knox's cell alone and made sexual remarks to her.^[22][25]

While Knox was in prison, she frequently met a local lawmaker named Rocco Girlanda. He later published a book about his conversations with Knox while she was in prison.^[26] Knox also befriended the members of a local Italian band that played at the prison three times while she was an inmate. She wrote a screenplay for one of their videos.^[27]

Support for Knox[link]

In late 2008, a number of Seattle-area residents, including lawyer Anne Bremner, founded the "Friends of Amanda", a support group to raise money and awareness.^[28][29] Maria Cantwell, United States Senator for Washington, issued a statement on December 4, 2009, that the evidence against Knox was inadequate, that she had been subjected to harsh treatment after her arrest, and that there had been negligence in the handling of the evidence.^[30] The Idaho Innocence Project, a non-profit investigative organization dedicated to proving the innocence of wrongly convicted people through the use of DNA testing, volunteered to work for the Knox defense. On May 23, 2011, Dr. Gregory Hampikian, director of the project, announced that, based on its independent investigation and review, DNA samples taken at the crime scene all pointed to African drifter Rudy Guede and excluded Knox and Sollecito.^[31]

On May 26, 2011, 11 members of the Italian parliament, led by Rocco Girlanda and all members of The People of Freedom Party founded by Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, issued a document as an act of parliament addressed to Justice Minister Angelino Alfano. The document criticized the evidence that resulted in the Knox/Sollecito guilty verdicts, and the extended detention to which they were subject.^[32][33] Girlanda also addressed a letter to President Giorgio Napolitano, in Girlanda's capacity as president of the Italy-USA Foundation, in which he wrote, "These distortions, not without reason, are fuelling accusations against the administration of justice in our country."^[34]

Release[link]

ANSA's news alert announcing Knox's conviction being overturned was made using the character size and style reserved for the most important events. According to Italy's national TV broadcaster, this last happened when Pope Benedict XVI was elected in 2005.^[35]

Amanda Knox leaving the prison in Perugia in a car with Corrado Maria Daclon, secretary general of the Italy–USA Foundation

According to Corrado Maria Daclon, secretary general of the Italy-USA Foundation, who became a close friend of Knox's while she was in prison and managed Knox's departure from the penitentiary to the airport, when Knox returned to her former prison after her appeal, "[a]ll the prisoners, 500 or 600 of them, started to greet Amanda from the windows, like soccer stardom." She then said goodbye to her cellmate, other prisoners, and some of the guards. The next day she flew home to Seattle.^[36][37] Upon her arrival, Knox gave a brief press conference in which she thanked those who had supported her and her family.^[38]

Knox wrote a letter to Corrado Maria Daclon the day after regaining her freedom:

To hold my hand and offer support and respect throughout the obstacles and the controversy, there were Italians. There was the Italy-USA Foundation, and many others that shared my pain and that helped me survive, with hope. I am eternally grateful for their caring hospitality and their courageous commitment. To those that wrote me, that defended me, that stood by me, that prayed for me... I am forever grateful to you.^[39]

Public image[link]

Due to the allegations made against her, Knox became the focus of worldwide media coverage, especially in Italy, the United Kingdom and the United States. Supporters of Knox and certain members of the US media criticized Italian and British newspapers' coverage of the story as constituting character assassination and demonization.^[40] According to author Candace Dempsey, the press reported a number of falsehoods and distortions in their articles about the case.^[41] In order to address these perceived inaccuracies, Knox's family engaged the services of David Marriott of Gogerty Stark Marriott, a Seattle-based public relations firm.^[42]

In June 2009, due to all her televised court hearings, an Italian television poll listed Amanda Knox as a bigger personality than Carla Bruni.^[43] Barbara Walters named Knox as one of the ten most fascinating people of 2011.^[44]

Official and unofficial media projects[link]

In February 2011, Lifetime, an American television network, produced a television film about the case, titled Amanda Knox: Murder on Trial in Italy. It focused on Knox, who was played by American actress Hayden Panettiere. Kercher was played by the British actress Amanda Fernando Stevens. The Kercher family condemned the film and described its images as "horrific and distressing".^[45] Before the film was broadcast, lawyers for both Knox and Sollecito formally demanded that Lifetime abandon the production.^[46][47]

In December 2011, it was reported that Knox had secured the services of Washington, DC-based lawyer Robert Barnett in order to negotiate an official book deal.^[48] On February 16, 2012, HarperCollins announced that Knox had signed with them to write her memoir in a deal that will pay her $4 million.^[49]

Documentaries about Amanda Knox[link]

• A Long Way From Home: CBS 48 Hours documentary, broadcast in April 2008 in the United States^[50]
• American Girl, Italian Nightmare: CBS 48 Hours documentary, broadcast in April 2009 in the United States,^[51]
• The Trial of Amanda Knox: NBC Dateline NBC documentary, broadcast on December 4, 2009, in the United States^[52]
• The Trials of Amanda Knox: The Learning Channel documentary, broadcast on March 24, 2010, in the United States^[53]
• Beyond the Headlines: Amanda Knox: Lifetime documentary, broadcast on February 21, 2011, in the United States^[54]
• Cold Blood: Life Behind Bars For Amanda Knox: Investigation Discovery Cold Blood documentary, broadcast on April 20, 2011, in the United States^[55]
• Murder Abroad: The Amanda Knox Story: CNN Presents documentary, broadcast on May 8, 2011, in the United States^[56][57]
• Amanda Knox: The untold story, CBS 48 Hours documentary October 8, 2011, 7:45 PM^[58]

See also[link]

	Biography portal
	Italy portal

References[link]

Yang Berhormat Dato' Seri Anwar Ibrahim MP
Leader of the Opposition of Malaysia Leader of Pakatan Rakyat
Incumbent
Assumed office 28 August 2008
Monarch	Mizan Zainal Abidin Abdul Halim
Prime Minister	Abdullah Ahmad Badawi Najib Tun Razak
Preceded by	Wan Azizah Wan Ismail
Member of the Malaysian Parliament for Permatang Pauh
Incumbent
Assumed office 28 August 2008
Preceded by	Wan Azizah Wan Ismail
Majority	15,671
In office 29 March 1982 – 14 April 1999
Preceded by	Zabidi Ali
Succeeded by	Wan Azizah Wan Ismail
7th Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia
In office 1 December 1993 – 2 September 1998
Monarch	Azlan Shah Tuanku Ja'afar
Prime Minister	Mahathir bin Mohamad
Preceded by	Ghafar Baba
Succeeded by	Abdullah Ahmad Badawi
Personal details
Born	(1947-08-10) 10 August 1947 (age 64) Cherok Tok Kun, Penang, Malayan Union
Political party	Parti Keadilan Rakyat – PR (2006–present) United Malays National Organisation – BN (1982–1998)
Spouse(s)	Wan Azizah Wan Ismail
Children	Nurul Izzah Anwar Ehsan Anwar Nurul Nuha Anwar 3 others
Alma mater	University of Malaya
Profession	Politician
Religion	Sunni Islam

Dato' Seri Anwar bin Ibrahim (born 10 August 1947) is a Malaysian politician who served as Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister from 1993 to 1998.

Early in his career, Anwar was a close ally of Prime Minister Mahathir bin Mohamad but subsequently emerged as the most prominent critic of Mahathir's government.

In 1999, he was sentenced to six years in prison for corruption, and in 2000, to another nine years for sodomy. In 2004, the Federal Court reversed the second conviction and he was released. In July 2008, he was arrested over allegations he sodomised one of his male aides, but was acquitted of the charge in January 2012.^[1]

On 26 August 2008, Anwar won re-election in the Permatang Pauh by-election and returned to Parliament as leader of the Malaysian opposition. He has stated the need for liberalisation, including an independent judiciary and free media, to combat the endemic corruption that he considers pushes Malaysia close to failed state status.^[2]

Early career[link]

From 1968 to 1971, as a student, Anwar was the president of a Muslim students organisation, Persatuan Kebangsaan Pelajar Islam Malaysia (PKPIM). Around the same time, he was also the president of Persatuan Bahasa Melayu Universiti Malaya (PBMUM). He was one of the protem committee of Angkatan Belia Islam Malaysia (ABIM) or Muslim Youth Movement of Malaysia which was founded in 1971. He was also elected President of the Malaysian Youth Council or Majlis Belia Malaysia (MBM). In 1974, Anwar was arrested during student protests against rural poverty and hunger. This came as a report surfaced stating that a family died from starvation in a village in Baling, in the state of Kedah, despite the fact that it never happened. He was imprisoned under the Internal Security Act, which allows for detention without trial, and spent 20 months in the Kamunting Detention Centre.

In 1968–1971, he was first groomed in the National Union of Malaysian Muslim Students (Persatuan Kebangsaan Pelajar Islam Malaysia, PKPIM) as the president of the Union. In 1982, Anwar, who was the founding leader and second president of a youth Islamic organisation called Angkatan Belia Islam Malaysia (ABIM), shocked his liberal supporters by joining the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), led by Mahathir bin Mohamad, who had become prime minister in 1981. He moved up the political ranks quickly: his first ministerial office was that of Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports in 1983; after that, he headed the agriculture ministry in 1984 before becoming Minister of Education in 1986. By then, speculation was rife about Anwar's ascent to the Deputy Prime Minister's position as it was a commonly-occurring phenomenon in Malaysia for the Education Minister to assume the position of Deputy PM in the near future.

During his tenure as Education Minister, Anwar introduced numerous pro-Malay policies in the national school curriculum. One of his major changes was to rename the national language from Bahasa Malaysia to Bahasa Melayu. Non-Malays criticised this move as it would cause the younger generation to be detached from the national language, since they would attribute it to being something that belongs to the Malays and not to Malaysians.

U.S. Secretary of Defense William Cohen (right) meets with Anwar Ibrahim (left) in his Pentagon office.

In 1991 Anwar was appointed Minister of Finance. In 1993, he became Mahathir's Deputy Prime Minister after winning the Deputy Presidency of UMNO against Ghafar Baba. There is report on Anwar using large cash payments to win support. Anwar is alleged to have resorted to money politics to secure his position as deputy president of UMNO. Anwar's followers were witnessed by even foreign journalists handing out packets of money to acquire support of UMNO division leaders. These followers are said to be working under Anwar's instructions.^[3] Anwar was being groomed to succeed Mahathir as prime minister, and frequently alluded in public to his "son-father" relationship with Mahathir; in early 1997, Mahathir appointed Anwar to be acting Prime Minister while he took a two-month holiday.

Towards the end of the 1990s, however, the relationship with Mahathir had begun to deteriorate, triggered by their conflicting views on governance. In Mahathir's absence, Anwar had independently taken radical steps to improve the country's governing mechanisms which were in direct conflict with Mahathir's capitalist policies. Issues such as how Malaysia would respond to a financial crisis were often at the forefront of this conflict.

Anwar's frontal attack against what he described as the widespread culture of nepotism and cronyism within UMNO (and the ruling coalition as a whole) angered Mahathir, as did his attempts to dismantle the protectionist policies that Mahathir had set up. "Cronyism" was identified by Anwar as a major cause of corruption and misappropriation of funds in the country.

Teaching and non-profit work[link]

Since his release from prison, Anwar has held teaching positions at St Antony's College, Oxford, where he was a visiting fellow and senior associate member, at Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies in Washington DC as a Distinguished Senior Visiting Fellow, and in 2005–2006 as a visiting professor at the Prince Alwaleed Center for Muslim–Christian Understanding in the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University, where he continues as a Senior Fellow.^[4] In March 2006 he was appointed as Honorary President of the London-based organisation AccountAbility (Institute of Social and Ethical AccountAbility).^[5]

In July 2006, Anwar was elected Chair of the Washington-based Foundation For the Future.^[6] In this capacity, he signed the 1 October 2006 letter to Robin Cleveland of the World Bank, requesting the transfer of the secondment of Shaha Riza from the US Department of State to the Foundation for the Future. This transaction led to Paul Wolfowitz's resignation as president of the organisation.^[7] He was one of the signatories of A Common Word Between Us and You in 2007, an open letter by Islamic scholars to Christian leaders, calling for peace and understanding.

Financial crisis and fall from power[link]

During the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis Anwar, as finance minister, supported the International Monetary Fund (IMF) plan for recovery. He also instituted an austerity package that cut government spending by 18%, cut ministerial salaries and deferred major projects. "Mega projects", despite being a cornerstone of Mahathir's development strategy, were greatly curtailed.

Although many Malaysian companies faced bankruptcy, Anwar declared: "There is no question of any bailout. The banks will be allowed to protect themselves and the government will not interfere." Anwar advocated a free-market approach to the crisis, including foreign investment and trade liberalisation. Mahathir blamed currency speculators like George Soros and supported currency controls and tighter regulation of foreign investment.^[8]

In 1998 Newsweek magazine named Anwar the "Asian of the Year". However, in that year, matters between Anwar and Mahathir came to a head around the time of the quadrennial UMNO General Assembly. The Youth wing of UMNO, headed by Anwar's associate Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, gave notice that it would initiate a debate on "cronyism and nepotism". At the General Assembly, a book, 50 Dalil Kenapa Anwar Tidak Boleh Jadi PM ("50 Reasons Why Anwar Cannot Become Prime Minister") was circulated containing graphic allegations as well as accusations of corruption against Anwar. The book was written by Khalid Jafri, an ex-editor of the government-controlled newspaper Utusan Malaysia and former editor-in-chief of a failed magazine, Harian National. Anwar obtained a court injunction to prevent further distribution of the book and filed a lawsuit against the author for defamation. Police charged the author of the book with malicious publishing of false news.^[9] Among the allegations in the book was that Anwar is homosexual. The police were instructed to investigate the veracity of the claims. In what the Sydney Morning Herald termed a "blatantly political fix-up",^[10] Anwar was charged with sodomy and corruption and was convicted of both and given a 15-year prison sentence.

While he was in police custody in 1998, Anwar was beaten by the then Inspector General of Police, Rahim Noor. Rahim was subsequently found guilty of assault and jailed for two months in 2000. He made a public apology to Anwar and paid undisclosed damages.^[11]

In 1999, Anwar brought suit against Prime Minister Mahathir for defamation for allegedly uttering accusations of immoral acts and calling Anwar a homosexual at a news conference in Malaysia.^[12]

Release from prison[link]

The sodomy verdict was partially overturned in 2004, resulting in Anwar's release from prison as he had already served his sentence for the corruption offence.^[13] The original author of the book died in 2005 of complications from diabetes but not before the High Court found that he had committed libel and awarded Anwar millions of ringgit in compensation.^[14] The Federal Court on 8 March 2010 ruled that the 1998 dismissal of Anwar from his Cabinet posts by Mahathir was constitutional and valid, meaning Anwar had failed in his bid to challenge his sacking.^[15][16][17]

Although the point was by now moot, an appeal on the corruption charges was heard on 6 September 2004. Under Malaysian law a person is banned from political activities for five years after the end of his sentence. Success in this appeal would have allowed him to return to politics immediately. On 7 September, the court agreed to hear Anwar's appeal. However, on 15 September, the of Court of Appeal ruled unanimously that its previous decision to uphold a High Court ruling that found Anwar guilty was in order, relegating Anwar to the sidelines of Malaysian politics until 14 April 2008. The only way for Anwar to be freed from this stricture would have been for him to receive a pardon from the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.

Return to politics[link]

In November 2006, Anwar announced he planned to run for Parliament in 2008, after his disqualification expired. Anwar has been critical of government policies since his release from prison, most notably of the controversial New Economic Policy (NEP), which provides affirmative action for the Bumiputras. The policy sets a number of quotas, such as for units of housing and initial public offerings, that must be met.^[18]

Before he became re-entitled to run for Parliament in 2008, he acted as an "advisor" of Parti Keadilan Rakyat, the party of which his wife Dr. Wan Azizah is president. He was in the forefront in organising a November 2007 mass rally, called the 2007 Bersih Rally, which took place in the Dataran Merdeka Kuala Lumpur to demand clean and fair elections. The gathering was organised by BERSIH, a coalition comprising political parties and civil society groups, and drew supporters from all over the country.

The 2008 election date, however, was set for 8 March 2008, sparking criticisms that Barisan Nasional called for early elections in a bid to deny Anwar's plans for a return to Parliament. In response, Anwar's wife, Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, declared that she would step down should she retain her Permatang Pauh parliamentary seat to force a by-election in which Anwar himself would contest.^[19]

The 'Big Three Of Pakatan Rakyat'. (From left: Lim, Anwar, Abdul Hadi)

When asked about the possibility of Anwar becoming the next Prime Minister, former leader Tun Dr. Mahathir reacted by saying, "He would make a good Prime Minister of Israel".^[20]

On 14 April 2008, Anwar celebrated his official return to the political stage, as his ban from public office expired a decade after he was fired as Deputy Prime Minister. One of the main reasons the opposition seized a third of parliamentary seats and five states in the worst ever showing for the Barisan Nasional coalition that has ruled for half a century, was due to him leading at the helm.^[21] A gathering of more than 1,000 supporters greeted Anwar in a rally welcoming his return to politics. Police interrupted Anwar after he had addressed the rally for nearly two hours and called for him to stop the gathering since there was no legal permission for the rally.^[22]

On 29 April 2008, after 10 years of absence, he returned to the Parliament, albeit upon invitation as a spouse guest of Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, People's Justice Party and the first female opposition leader in Malaysian Parliament's history.^[23]

Permatang Pauh by-election[link]

Anwar Ibrahim was victorious in the Permatang Pauh by-election held on 26 August 2008. Muhammad Muhammad Taib, information chief of the UMNO, stated: "Yes of course we have lost . . . we were the underdogs going into this race."^[24] Anwar won by a large majority against Arif Shah Omar Shah of the Barisan Nasional coalition, according to Election Commission officials.^[25] Reuters reported "Anwar Ibrahim has won with a majority of 16,210 votes"; according to news website Malaysiakini, Anwar won 26,646 votes, while the government's Arif Omar won 10,436 votes.^[26] People's Justice Party spokeswoman Ginie Lim told the BBC: "We won already. We are far ahead."^[27]

Final results announced by the Election Commission revealed that Anwar Ibrahim won 31,195 of the estimated 47,000 votes cast in the district, while Arif Shah Omar Shah received 15,524 votes and a third candidate had 92 votes.^[28][29]

On 28 August 2008, Anwar, dressed in a dark blue traditional Malay outfit and black "songkok" hat, took the oath at the main chamber of Parliament house in Kuala Lumpur, as MP for Permatang Pauh at 10.03 am before Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia. He formally declared Anwar the leader of the 3-party opposition alliance. With his daughter Nurul Izzah Anwar, also a parliamentarian, Anwar announced: "I'm glad to be back after a decade. The prime minister has lost the mandate of the country and the nation."^[30][31] At that time Anwar needed 30 government lawmakers to defect to the Opposition in order to form the next government.^[32][33][34]

Member of Parliament[link]

Anwar Ibrahim speaks at an election campaign

Petition against Najib Razak[link]

Anwar continued to attack Najib first day as prime minister, stating he found inconsistencies in the latter's decision to release 13 Internal Security Act detainees. He said as long as the ISA existed, Barisan Nasional could still detain citizens at will.^[35]

Struggle to assemble a majority coalition[link]

Anwar has already missed several deadlines he himself set for the transfer of power, each of which came and went: the most recent was Tuesday 16 September 2008.^[36] Anwar said he would need more time, and the recalibration of his message has not gone unnoticed: Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak chose that day to initiate a broadband internet program Anwar opposes, saying that he had not doubted that the government would still be in office on 16 September.^[37] Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi too pointed out that Anwar had missed his own deadline, and dismissed his claim to have secured the defection of 30 MPs.^[38]

By 25 September Anwar had still not amassed enough votes, creating doubts for Malaysians about whether he was really ready to take power,^[39] particularly in light of his failure to meet his own 16 September deadline for the transition of power. In the interim, UMNO had its own party meeting^[40][41] to broker Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's step down from power in June 2009, a year earlier than previously promised^[42]

On 24 October 2008, Anwar admitted problems with his stalled bid to topple the UMNO's majority, saying that Pakatan Rakyat is running out of options to create a majority.^[43] His "credibility among ordinary Malaysians has been somewhat dented after Sept 16 and the new promise of forming the Government has not generated the sort of anticipation or excitement as before."^[44] Media within the country have taken an increasingly hostile view towards Anwar's protestations and failed threats to assemble a majority government.^[45]

On 30 March 2010, Anwar Ibrahim alleged in the Dewan Rakyat the 1Malaysia was mirrored after “One Israel” concept and designed by Mindteams Sdn Bhd, a branch in Malaysia of Apco Worldwide, an international public relations company engaged by the Malaysian government that also created the One Israel concept in 1999 for then Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak.^[46] Barisan Nasional government has claimed it was false and its lawmakers have tabled a motion to censure Anwar for misleading the Parliament over his 1Malaysia-One Israel allegations which was passed by the Parliament on 22 April 2010.^[47]

2008 allegations of sodomy[link]

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On 29 June 2008, online news portal Malaysiakini reported that an aide of Anwar Ibrahim had lodged a police report claiming that he had been sodomised by Anwar.^[48] Anwar said that the possibility of a prison sentence as a result of the allegations could be seen as an attempt to remove him from the leadership of the opposition following his growing support and by-election victories. He also reaffirmed his innocence and cited evidence in the form of medical reports.^[2] Anwar was found not guilty on 9 January 2012, almost two years after the trial started. The presiding judge Justice Mohamad Zabidin Mohd Diah found that the DNA evidence submitted by the prosecution was unreliable, and acquitted Anwar.^[49] Eleven days later, the prosecution filed an appeal against the acquittal.^[50]

Hidden sex tape allegation[link]

On 21 March 2011 a sex video appeared which claimed to feature Anwar Ibrahim. A day after that, Anwar Ibrahim denied his involvement in the incident and filed a police complaint.^[51] The police are currently conducting investigations against a trio of men dubbed the Datuk T trio, who screened the sex video in the first place. They are former Malacca chief minister Tan Sri Abdul Rahim Thamby Chik, businessman Datuk Shazryl Eskay Abdullah and former Perkasa treasurer Datuk Shuaib Lazim.^[52][53]

Salahuddin Ayub vice president of the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party ruled out suspending ties with Pakatan Rakyat stating that,"Everything is wrong about the whole scandal. The way the video was revealed was wrong and watching it is wrong. Islam does not accept this,".^[54] However the chief of PAS's Ulama council has stated that if the video is authentic they would consider reviewing ties with PKR.^[54] Lim Kit Siang, head of the Democratic Action Party stated that the Barisan Nasional reached "new depths in character assassination" and that the scandal was manufactured just in time for the Sarawak Elections.^[54] Chairman of UMNO's youth wing, Khairy Jamaluddin stated that the Barisan National never said that it was Anwar in the video, and that it was odd that the opposition automatically took a defensive attitude.^[55] Barisan Nasional MP, Abdul Rahman Dahlan stated that the matter should remain personal, and not be used for political purposes.^[55] On 4 April, part of the sex clip with a running time of nearly two minutes, was leaked online on anti-PKR blogsites and YouTube. A second part of the sex video was released on YouTube and a pro-UMNO blog website.^[56][57] The police and the government have been criticised for their slow response by the opposition in prosecuting the culprits who showed the sex video.

Remarks on Israel, APCO and 1Malaysia[link]

Anwar has made numerous remarks about a supposed conspiracy among the Malaysian government, APCO (a public relations firm retained by the Malaysian government), Israel, and the United States. Anwar has condemned the Malaysian government for seeking advice from APCO. He claims that the firm is linked to the “murder of Muslims in Palestine.” He further claims to have given proof that APCO is a front for the Israeli government to a disciplinary committee of the Malaysian parliament investigating his comments. On another occasion, Anwar, speaking from the parliament, claimed that the firm was controlled by Jews and working on behalf of the American government to influence Malaysian foreign policy. He further implied that changes in Malaysian foreign policy could only be explained if Jews were manipulating Malaysia for the United States.^[58]

On 22 April 2010 Anwar was censured by Malaysia's parliament for remarks he made during a press conference in parliament on 30 March 2010. During the press conference, Anwar claimed to have documents linking 1Malaysia, One Israel, and the public relations firm APCO but refused to allow access to the documents when challenged^[46] The Malaysian government and APCO have both strongly denied Anwar's allegations. The censure motion passed by the House of Representatives referred Anwar's case to the Rights and Privileges Committee which will recommend a punishment for approval by the full chamber. Such punishment could include being banned from parliament.^[47][59][60] However Anwar retaliated against the Malaysian government attacks by producing the two documents to back up his statements and refute the government's denials of links between APCO and 1Malaysia.^[59][60]

In a press conference at the London School of Economics Anwar made comments about Zionists and "nasty Jews". In the press conference he also stated that, "There are good Jews, there are bad Jews, there are good Muslims and bad Muslims."^[61]

In May 2010, B'nai B'rith International, a prominent Jewish human rights organisation condemned Anwar in a letter to the United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, claiming that Anwar was a "purveyor of anti-Jewish hatred" and asked the American government to suspend all contact with Anwar.^[62]

In Malaysia, Anwar has often been mocked for having "Jewish friends." Najib's mentor and predecessor, Mahathir, even went so far as to say Anwar "would make a good prime minister for Israel." In return, Anwar seized Najib's hiring of APCO as a chance to issue inflammatory remarks on the firm's supposed ties to Israel.

2012 Security Comments[link]

In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Anwar Ibrahim stated, "I think our policy should be clear--protect the security [of Israel] but you must be as firm in protecting the legitimate interests of the Palestinians."^{[citation needed]}