Martin Joseph on CJ's arrest:

National Security Minister, Martin Joseph, yesterday categorically denied that he, or Prime Minister, Patrick Manning, had anything to do with the laying of criminal charges against Chief Justice, Sat Sharma.

Joseph’s denial came after he was persistently pressed by the media about the matter at yesterday’s post-Cabinet media briefing.

Asked to respond to speculation that he was involved in coercing the Commissioner of Police (CoP) to charge the CJ, the minister replied firmly, “I have nothing to do with the commissioner exercising his duty.

There is a clear line between operational activities and policy directives. I thought the CoP was clear about that too. And the same applies for other persons about whom there was speculation, like the Prime Minister. He does not interfere in the activities of the police service.”

Asked if he wasn’t even informed, as a matter of courtesy, of the decision to arrest the CJ, he said, “The Commissioner exercising his duty has nothing to do with courtesy. There is no such thing as courtesy in terms of informing in advance about an arrest the police are going to make.”

Asked why President George Maxwell Richards was informed of the decision to arrest Sharma, and he (Joseph) wasn’t, he said he couldn’t hazard a guess.