ATTORNEY CLAIMS WITCH HUNT

Attorney for St Vincent opposition politician claims witch hunt amid charges

KINGSTOWN, St Vincent (CMC) — A lawyer for opposition politician Ben Exeter says the three charges brought against his client are part of a political witch hunt, intended to prevent him from contesting future elections in St Vincent and the Grenadines.

Exeter, who was the New Democratic Party’s (NDP) candidate in the December 9 general elections, pleaded not guilty to the charges and is scheduled to reappear in court on January 25, for trial.

Exeter was arrested in Kingstown as NDP supporters protested the election results while the ceremonial opening of the 10th Parliament was taking place.

The politician is charged with three counts of assaulting a police officer.

Exeter, who contested the Central Leeward seat on an NDP ticket, lost by 313 votes to the Unity Labour Party’s (ULP) Sir Louis Straker, but the NDP is claiming victory in that constituency and that it is the duly elected government.

On Monday, the High Court denied an application to grant Exeter access to certain electoral documents relating to the election in Central Leeward.

“It is no secret that Benjamin Exeter has been involved in a matter that emanated from the elections of 2015,” said the politician’s lawyer, Israel Bruce.

“Whether or not there is a clandestine approach by the authority to seek to have a criminal record laid against Ben Exeter so that any prayerful consideration by whoever is praying about whether elections will be re-called in 2017, if that is the objective, all we can say, that objective will be defeated and will be defeated in the court of law.

“So, I think it is a witch hunt to criminalise Ben and to avoid him the possibility to re-contest Central Leeward. That is how we feel about that,” Bruce said.

“But, in the due course of time, that will be addressed,” he said.

Exeter was granted station bail when he appeared in court on Tuesday .

Meanwhile, Shabazaah GunMunro George, 17, an NDP activist, was also arrested on Tuesday. George was reportedly arrested while seeking to use a camera to tape the attempted arrest of Exeter.

He has been charged with obstructing a police officer and using what was called a zapper, which is a laser-type equipment.

Bruce said the defence, which includes lawyer Kay Bacchus-Browne, “will see what comes out of that.

“But, if it is that in this modern society a young man cannot take out his camera and snap a picture but any other person can take pictures, that becomes an offence to the police officers of this state, then it says that we have an understanding why the Police and Criminal Evidence Act was repealed, because police ought not to be operating as if they have some sort of authority that is unrestricted. Those are the issues that the police will have to deal with.”

The Police and Criminal Evidence Act (PACE) instituted a legislative framework for the powers of police officers as well as providing codes of practice for the exercise of those powers.

The aim of PACE was to establish a balance between the powers of the police and the rights and freedoms of the public.