AG: Panday’s arrest was strictly a police matter

This was according to Attorney General John Jeremie yesterday, as he defended both the arrest of Panday and the timing of the arrest — which took place during a visit of a 14-member delegation of the Indian Parliament (the Lok Sabha) to Trinidad and Tobago.

Speaking to the media at Whitehall, Jeremie stressed that Government had absolutely nothing to do with the arrest or its timing, since it was a police matter.

The AG said the decision to charge the UNC leader under the Prevention of Corruption Act was made by "a constitutionally independent officer — the DPP, arising out of police investigations which spanned two separate administrations — UNC and PNM.

Jeremie said the country owed a debt of gratitude to former attorney general Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj, who established the Anti-Corruption Bureau (then called the Special Investigation Unit). The AG stated that Panday "in his quiet moments" should know that his arrest had nothing to do with politics.

"The Police Service does its work. In principle every citizen is subject to the rule of law and a great deal of what is going on in the nature of crime could be attributed to the myopia which has attended the prosecution of certain individuals and groups in the society. It is a sign of a mature democracy that the rule of law is vibrant, that the institutions which are charged with maintaining the rule of law are vibrant, that you have an independent Judiciary. The State should never find itself in a position where it tells the police that ‘you ought not to arrest (an individual) at this time, or you ought to arrest at a particular time,’" the Attorney General stated.

Jeremie said that Panday was treated with "deference" and "respect" and was not handcuffed after he was arrested. Asked if there was a political decision to give the UNC leader special treatment while in prison, Jeremie stated: "this is a small country. The man was Prime Minister and you want to ensure that if he chooses to be in prison, that he is as safe and comfortable as the circumstances permit."

Jeremie said he was given the "courtesy" of being informed by the DPP that charges were imminent. But he was not told time and date, exactly who was going to be charged and what precisely the charges were going to be.

Jeremie dismissed allegations that the prosecution was politically motivated, or that the police were acting at the behest of the PNM. He said the investigative process could stand scrutiny, and was completely transparent.

Commenting on UNC statements that Government was pursuing UNC members, while leaving PNM minister Eric Williams and former minister Franklyn Khan, Jeremie said the Integrity Commission was investigating these ministers and had sought the services of former head of the Fraud Squad, now head of Special Branch, Wellington Virgil, to do the investigations. He said the Integrity Commission had played a serious role in investigating corruption in the past, and cited Panday’s first charge under the Integrity in Public Life Act. Jeremie said the only reason this matter had not been determined at the courts was because Panday had been avoiding facing the Magistrates’ Court, and instead had been seeking to derail the process by bringing unsuccessful constitutional motions.

Jeremie said had he referred the Khan/Williams/Dhansook issue to the Anti-Corruption Bereau, he said he is certain that the Opposition position would have been that the Bureau "falls under the office of the Attorney General and he (the AG) will make sure that the investigations go nowhere." Jeremie added that it was in the interest of transparency that these matters were referred to the Integrity Commission. If the Integrity Commission determines that the minister and former minister have a case to answer, the issue goes straight to the DPP.