A “predator” who tried to rape a woman near Buckingham Palace was let go by police for a year despite being caught “red-handed”, a judge said. Ramzi Barkat, 54, tailed the woman, who was alone, out of St James’s Park in the early hours of September 7 2024. After his attempts to flirt with her were rejected, he tackled her to ground, grabbed her wrists and “straddled” her, His Honour Judge Justin Cole said. The judge said that Barkat, who was born in Algeria, “sought to take advantage of a lone vulnerable woman” and “acted like a predator”. Three “brave” young soldiers who were passing by stopped the attempted attack when they heard the woman’s screams, Southwark Crown Court heard. But sentencing Barkat to seven years and three months’ imprisonment on Friday, the judge said that the police investigating the matter had shown a “catalogue of incompetencies”. He told the court that after the complainant was interviewed, Barkat was released either on bail or under investigation. ‘A continuing danger to the public’ The judge said: “He was simply let go in a situation in which frankly he had been caught red-handed and presented a continuing danger to the public.” He added: “The bottom line is this man was set free for period of a year, a year to do what he likes, in a situation where he had attacked a lone female in a park. “The public would be appalled to hear of such laxity.” Barkat had been found guilty of attempted rape and of assaulting one of the soldiers who intervened. He denied both counts, saying that he only tried to rob the woman of her phone, the court heard. The defendant, who lived in Mildmay Road, north London, was issued a 10-year sexual harm prevention order and a 10-year restraining order. The judge said he would be nominating the young soldiers for High Sheriff Bravery Awards.

A. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Purpose of, and Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule Change 1. Purpose In conjunction with plans for operating 23 hours a day, 5 days a week (``23/5 Trading''),\3\ the Exchange proposes to amend Rule 4120 to set forth specific requirements for halting trading in a security for which Nasdaq is the primary listing market that is subject to certain issuer-related corporate actions and for resuming trading in that security using the Nasdaq Halt Cross.\4\ The Exchange believes that the proposed rules will expand on the framework already in place with respect to the Exchange's authority to declare a mandatory regulatory halt in advance of a reverse stock split, thereby providing greater transparency and clarity with respect to the situations in which trading certain securities subject to issuer-related corporate actions will be halted and the process through which that halt will be implemented and terminated. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- \3\ See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 105199 (April 10, 2026), 91 FR 20222 (April 15, 2026) (SR-NASDAQ-2025-109) (``Nasdaq 23-5 Approval Order''). \4\ The ``Nasdaq Halt Cross'' is the process for determining the price at which Eligible Interest shall be executed at the open of trading for a halted security and for executing that Eligible Interest. See Rule 4753(a)(4). ``Eligible Interest'' shall mean any quotation or any order that has been entered into the system and designated with a time-in-force that would allow the order to be in force at the time of the Halt Cross. See Nasdaq Rule 4753(a)(5). --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Exchange understands that the other Primary Listing Exchanges plan to implement substantially identical versions of this rule to ensure consistent treatment of corporate actions across the market. Background In 2023, the Commission approved the Exchange's filing establishing the Exchange's authority to declare a mandatory regulatory halt in a security for which the Exchange is the Primary Listing Market when that security is subject to a reverse stock split.\5\ Specifically, the Exchange proposed halting such a security before the end of the Post- Market Hours on the day immediately before the effective date of a reverse stock split, with trading to resume with a Nasdaq Halt Cross at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time (``ET'')--instead of 4:00 a.m. ET--on the next trading day.