The Colombian immigrant Eliana Rubashkyn a.k.a Luis Alexander Bermudez Rubashkyn a.k.a Eliana Golbertstein a.k.a Sasha Rubashkina appeared before Judge Kirsten Lummis in September to faces two counts of common assault for the pre-meditated political violence he perpetrated against two women in March the previous year. The victims are British women’s right’s activist Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull and event organiser Tania Sturt.
Rubashkyn maintained his innocence for eighteen months, changing his plea to guilty in July of this year. Judge Lummis factored in Rubashkyn’s late acceptance of his culpability despite the length of time it took to arrive at it, and discounted his sentence, eventually arriving at Conviction and Discharge.
In New Zealand’s hyper-lenient criminal justice system this means Rubashkyn has two convictions recorded against his name for common assault but faces no further penalty.
Even so, his convictions for pre-meditated political violence outraged the left wing, particularly his comrades in the Green party, who consider Rubashkyn a hero of the Left and his convictions a travesty of justice. With their support he appealed his convictions, the convictions to which he had initially pled guilty to earn the sentencing discount, in the High Court.
Justice David Johnstone declined the appeal and upheld Rubashkyn’s convictions, while also accepting Rubashkyn’s unevidenced tales of woe.
Rubashkyn has appealed Justice Johnstone’s decision at the Court of Appeal, a hearing date is yet to be set. Beyond that court lies the Supreme Court.
There has been much speculation on Rubashkyn’s continued absorption of large amounts of court time seeking to overturn convictions he has admitted and of which he is obviously guilty. These include:
Rubashkyn believes his pre-meditated political violence to be entirely justified, telling reporters outside court “only God can judge me.”
His allies on the left, particularly the Green party, are encouraging him to overturn convictions they perceive as miscarriages of justice.
He’s hopeful that New Zealand’s notoriously leftwing judiciary and prosecution service will eventually intercede on his behalf.
He wants his barrister James Olsen to be able to say that his previous convictions for violence are under appeal if he is sentenced in the other criminal case he is facing.
Personally I suspect it’s a combination of factors but primarily the latter. Rubashkyn has pled innocent to charges of dangerous driving and assaulting a male police officer with a blunt instrument (a vehicle) and his trial is set down for March 10th 2025. I believe he’s hopeful that his Barrister James Olsen will be able to argue in mitigation that his previous assault convictions are “under appeal” at sentencing if he is convicted on those charges.
Meanwhile the long-suffering Kiwi taxpayer pays the bill for a Colombian immigrant with a highly dubious backstory and a history of violence, to manipulate the New Zealand judicial system.
-SRA. Auckland, 20/xii 2024.
Great article Simon
There is only one response. Deport him.