Benjamin Exeter has pleaded not guilty to the charges brought against him by the Police and he is now scheduled to reappear at court on 25th January 2016. The NDP candidate was arrested during a protest for the ceremonial opening of the 10th Parliament.
Exeter’s lawyer, Israel Bruce says his client was charged with three offences of assaulting police officers.
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.
Exeter was granted station bail when he appeared in court on Tuesday.
On Tuesday 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police officers of this state, then it says that we have an understanding why the Police and Criminal Evidence Act was repealed, because police ought not to be operating as if they have some sort of authority that is unrestricted.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.
FACT: You cannot be seen to obstruct the police during the execution of their duties however freedom of rights and expression allows an individual to record or video the police whilst in a public place as long as they are not causing an obstruction.
No comments:
Post a Comment