Reprinted from Caribbean Net News
caribbeannetnews.com

Trinidad reporters come under scrutiny for communicating with prisoners

Thursday, November 16, 2006

by: Stephen Cummings
Caribbean Net News Trinidad and Tobago Correspondent
Email: stephen@caribbeannetnews.com

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad: There is a controversy brewing in Trinidad and Tobago about a reporter's right to accept cell phone calls from prisoners.

The issue stemmed from a reported prison riot last week at the Trinidad maximum state prison in Arouca, south Trinidad.

Inmates were reportedly beaten and shots fired after it was alleged that they were planning to protest against random cell searches by the authorities for weapons and illegal contraband.

During the commotion last week one inmate telephoned one of the local television stations and spoke about abuses against prisoners during a live television newscast.

The incident has since brought strong reaction from the Trinidad and Tobago's Prisons Commissioner, John Rougher, who said reporters and, in particular, the newscaster in question were breaking the law by accepting such calls from prisoners.

The local media association has also reacted calling on the Prisons Commissioner to say where in the laws of the country a reporter is barred from communicating with an inmate via a cell phone.

Currently in Trinidad and Tobago there is no clearly defined law which states that it is illegal for a reporter to speak with an inmate in such a case.

Minister in the Ministry of National Security, Fitzgerald Hinds, says security has been tightened at the Remand Yard at Golden Grove, Arouca, following the unrest among prisoners.

Hinds said the increase in security was also as a result of inmates using cellphones to call media houses to voice their concerns about how they are being treated by prison officers.

The Minister also agreed with Prison Commissioner Rougier's statement that media personnel were engaging in unlawful communication with prisoners, saying that prison regulations stated that prisoners were forbidden to use cell phones to communicate with those beyond the prison walls.

The local media body is now seeking legal advice on whether there was an attack on reporters and freedom of the press in Trinidad and Tobago, since press freedom is an enshrined right in the nation's Constitution.

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