David Abdulah, president of the Federation of Independent Trade Unions (Fitun), who was arrested last December 18 around the Red House while protesting against the proposed property tax, was yesterday cleared by a magistrate, who described the prosecution as an abuse of process.
Immediately after the ruling, Abdulah told reporters that his arrest and prosecution were political. He said the last time he was arrested, in 1986, the then People's National Movement (PNM) Government was toppled by the NAR. Yesterday, Abdulah predicted the same thing would happen to the PNM at the polls next Monday. Abdulah, a key member of the People's Partnership, was arrested on Knox Street, Port-of-Spain, on December 18, 2009, while he and other members of the trade union movement were protesting against the Government's plans to introduce the property tax, and to establish the Trinidad and Tobago Revenue Authority (TTRA) to replace the Board of Inland Revenue and the Customs and Excise Division. Abdulah was charged with obstructing the free passageway. After two policemen testified for the prosecution, and a video recording was tendered into evidence, Douglas Mendes, SC, attorney for Abdulah, made a no-case submission yesterday.
In an oral ruling just before 4 pm yesterday, Magistrate Lucina Cardenas-Ragoonanan, presiding in the Port-of-Spain Fourth Magistrates' Court, ruled that Abdulah's arrest and prosecution were an abuse of process. She said the evidence adduced by the prosecution was manifestly unreliable and there were too many inconsistencies. She said the video recording showed no offence was committed. She said the police verbally told Abdulah that he was free to march around the Red House, but that he should keep the noise down so as not to disturb the House of Representatives which was in session. She said Abdulah was arrested after the witnesses said the defendant used the words, "block the police." But Cardenas-Ragoonanan said after viewing the video recording, no such remark was made by the defendant.
"There was ample opportunity for the prosecution to stop the further prosecution of this case, but this did not happen," she said. The magistrate said what occurred around the Red House may have constituted an offence of disturbing the peace, but no charges were laid. She pointed out that at the close of the prosecution's case, the prosecution wanted to bring further evidence, but decided against it. "The abuse seemed to have continued after the defendant was brought to court...There has been an abuse of the process in respect to the prosecution of this matter," she said. As far as she was concerned, she said, this charge should never have been brought. She then dismissed the matter, saying that nothing would be recorded against Abdulah. One of the three state attorneys who was present in court indicated that the State intended to appeal. After the decision, Abdulah wanted to know why he was arrested in the first place, and why did the State continue with the prosecution. "All the evidence showed I was not obstructing," he said. "It was political, the politicians got involved in this matter."
Abdulah said when he was being processed at the Central Police Station, acting Deputy Commissioner of Police Gilbert Reyes apologised for what had happened. Prakash Ramadhar, one of Abdulah's attorneys, said his client was a victim of abuse. He said it was now an insult to the court and the administration of justice for the State to appeal.
?FLASHBACK?
On December 22, 2009, acting Commissioner of Police James Philbert, at a news conference, said he was sending a file and a video tape to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) to see whether other offences were committed on the day when Abdulah was arrested.
In his statement, Philbert said: "I said it was a regrettable situation that something like that should have happened. There is, in fact, an investigation, and I want that investigation to come to me quickly, so I can ask to send it to the DPP to get some advice in the matter, to see whether we should go further with it or not." Philbert felt the police behaved in a very generous way that Friday. He said the police were deployed to the Red House after the Speaker of the House, Barry Sinanan, complained that Parliament was being disturbed.
Philbert said: "It is an offence to do that. Parliament is the highest court in the land. Parliament must not be disturbed at all. "We have had incidents in the past where people directed their attention to Parliament, and so when the Speaker complained, a message came that the proceedings were being disturbed, something had to be done to deal with that disruption," he said.