Defence Force given until Wednesday to provide info

Failure to provide the information will result in the matter being taken to court. Maharaj told Newsday yesterday that when he applied for a copy of the report under the Freedom of Information Act, he was told there will be a waiting period and he decided to wait until the deadline date before seeking any legal redress in the matter.

He said he has also been in con tact with members of the Defence Force in the hope that his request for the report is made available so he could clear his name. He again described as “erroneous” a statement from the Defence Force accusing him of acting on his own volition in authorising the shooting practice. The allegation was contained in a letter in response to United National Congress senator Wayne Sturge who submitted a request for information after photographs of Al-Rawi’s children posing with, what appeared to be, high-powered rifles belonging to the TTDF were made public.

In a letter dated April 25 and addressed to Sturge, former chief of defence staff Brigadier Rodney Smart said based on evidence adduced by the board of inquiry, Al-Rawi’s children accompanied him to the Regiment’s Cumuto Barracks on October 31, 2015. Smart said Al-Rawi was invited to witness a tactical display so that he would become familiar with the set of actions his security team may have to employ in the event of an incident.

Smart said the board of inquiry deduced that Al-Rawi’s children were not allowed to have high powered weapons belonging to the TTDF in the presence of Al-Rawi and members of the TTDF and there was no evidence that anyone in the TTDF was complicit in the performance of their duties.

“It was established that the former chief of defence staff Major General Kenrick Maharaj, acting on his own volition, authorised the range practice,” Smart said.