Grenada's Prime Minister accused of obstructing justice
by Leroy Noel
Wednesday, April 21, 2004
ST. GEORGE'S, Grenada: A group calling itself
"Families and friends of Grenada 17" has accused Prime Minister Dr. Mitchell
of obstructing justice and has called for the intervention of CARICOM Prime
Minister responsible for good governance and justice St. Lucian Prime Minister
Dr. Kenny Anthony. The accusation is levelled
at the Grenadian leader against the backdrop of his latest statement on the
decision of the High Court to free “forthwith” three members of The Seventeen
convicted for the tragic events of October 19th 1983 where Maurice Bishop and
several of his cabinet colleagues lost their lives.
On the night of March 23rd, 2004 (and repeated on March 28th) the Prime
Minister is quoted as saying in answer to a caller who accused him of playing
games in relation to the 17 “… if I was playing games that was the right time
to allow the decision to go, and allow the registrar and others to just
implement that decision.”
Meantime Legal Counsel for the 17 are
looking into the question of having Dr. Mitchell cited for Contempt of Court
and charged with the criminal offence of Obstruction of Justice, based on his
statement made on television on March 23rd, 2004.
The group is contending that the registrar of the Supreme Court is a judicial
officer and questioned on what basis was the Prime Minister in a position “to
allow” or not “to allow” a judicial officer to carry out the orders of the
High Court. A spokesperson for the group says
for eight hours between the time the judgment was delivered and when the State
eventually managed to obtain a Stay in very questionable circumstances, the
order of the court was not carried out.
The group believes that the statement of the
Prime Minister amounts to a confession to his personal role in obstructing the
registrar in carrying out his functions.
Videotapes of the PM’s “performance”, and, along with a written transcript of
same, are being sent to Dr. Kenny Anthony, the CARICOM Prime Minister
responsible for Justice and Good Governance, The Bar Associations of all
CARICOM members, regional and international media, International Human Rights
bodies such as Amnesty International, The Inter American Commission on Human
Rights, The United Nations Commissioner on Human Rights, Americas Watch, The
International Commission Of Jurists, The European Union, The Commonwealth
Secretariat and governments in the region and beyond.
The Prime Minister is accused of having stated publicly “the question of their
freedom is not a matter for any court but for the people of Grenada to
decide.” The group believes that Dr. Mitchell
has taken upon himself to decide that the courts have no jurisdiction in
matters relating to the seventeen.
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