No evidence to proceed with charges against Attorney General – DPP
Mr. Anil Nandlall
Mr. Anil Nandlall

THE Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Shalimar Ali-Hack yesterday recommended that no charges be filed against the Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, in the controversial private conversation between him and a senior Kaieteur News reporter.

The 19-minuute recording of the conversation on October 25 last, between the Attorney General the senior Kaieteur News reporter, Leonard Gildharie, a former schoolmate of the Attorney General, was released days after.

DPP Shalimar Ali-Hack
DPP Shalimar Ali-Hack

The release was done by publisher of the Kaieteur News, Mohan Lall, also known as Glenn Lall.
He subsequently made a report to the Deputy Police Commissioner, Mr. Balram Persaud, premised on the contention that the contents of the recording indicate that his life, the lives of his family and staff members, were under threat.

GROUNDS FOR RECOMMENDATION
Ali-Hack, in a statement issued to the media, said that the subject of the investigation was an alleged recording of a private conversation between Nandlall and Gildharie.
As such, based on the evidence contained in the police file, the DPP concluded that the recorded conversation was not between the Attorney General and the publisher of Kaieteur News, Glen Lall, who filed the police complaint against Nandlall.

Glenn Lall
Glenn Lall

She noted that Section 141 (a) Chapter 8:02 addresses threatening language with intent to provoke anyone else to commit a breach of the peace, that is provoking another person to do so.
However, the DPP said, “The threatening language must be such as is likely to provoke a breach of the peace by anyone else, that is the person to whom the threat is directed. For the threatening language to result in provocation, the threat must be directly communicated to the person to whom it concerns, that is, in his presence and hearing. There is no evidence of this contained in the police file.”
Ali-Hack added that Section 141 (b) Chapter 8:02 addresses a person use of abusive, insulting, obscene or profane language to the annoyance of another, that is, such language is used directly to the other person in his presence and annoys him.
However, in this case too, she concluded that there is no evidence of this.
“The alleged recording of a telephone conversation between the Attorney General and the Minister of Legal Affairs and Mr. Gildharie does not fall under Section 1a1 (a) or (b) Chapter 8:02,” the DPP said.
As it relates to the circumstances of the communication, Ali-Hack made it clear that the Kaieteur News reporter has not provided any “evidential basis” that can support the institution of criminal proceedings.
Ali-Hack stressed too that she continues to maintain the integrity of the DPP’s Chambers by giving legal advice according to the statements in the police files and the Laws of Guyana, and this is done regardless of race, religion, or political affiliation.
Additionally, the Attorney General, in a brief comment on the DPP’s recommendation, reiterated that from the inception he had insisted that he did not commit a criminal offence.
He said, “I did not threaten anyone and I never intended to threaten anyone. Any person who has a modicum of understanding of the law, or perhaps even basic common sense, ought to have come to the same conclusion.
“I hope that those who are maliciously peddling that I have threatened a newspaper and its staff will now stop libelling me.”
Noteworthy too is the fact that since the matter surfaced, concerns in several sections of society have surfaced over the privacy of confidential personal communications – a matter covered under several international treaties and obligations. Also, Guyana’s Constitution, Article 154 (A) makes it clear that local functionaries in the judicial system, including judges, are required to take into account international law and Guyana’s treaty obligations in their deliberations. Article 154 (A) addresses the protection of human rights.

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