Maroc - NEWSDAY.CO.TT - A la Une - 22/Sep 08:49

Gonzales: Probe allegations against Alexander

OPPOSITION Chief Whip Marvin Gonzales on September 20 called for an urgent investigation into allegations that Minister of Homeland Security Roger Alexander had met with imprisoned gang leaders, during his time on vacation leave as a senior superintendent of police and during his current tenure as a Cabinet minister. The allegations against Alexander are being levelled by an attorney for imprisoned acting Assistant Superintendent of Prisons Garth Guada. Gonzales sent a text to Newsday via WhatsApp. “There should be a swift and immediate investigation of these allegations by the Police Service and the Prisons Service, and the outcome of the investigation should be made available to the public. “This is a troubling matter with serious national security implications.” Gonzales said Alexander and Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar must not be allowed to evade the media and the public on this matter. “The public has a responsibility to determine and the judge the suitability of those of us who occupy public office especially an office relating to national security that provides the occupant with access to sensitive national security information.” In a pre-action letter issued to the minister on September 19, Krystal Primus accused the state of unlawfully detaining him under preventive detention orders signed by Alexander. Primus argued that the detention, on August 21, when police officers took him to the Eastern Correctional Rehabilitation Centre, was unlawful and tainted by bias. Guada was later moved to Teteron Barracks on September 4 under a revocation order and remains housed there, the letter said. The attorney alleged that Guada, who worked closely with the Police Service’s intelligence unit, became a target due to his supervision of high-risk inmates and his reporting of security threats. His attorney claimed that Alexander previously attempted, before he became a minister, to secure unsupervised visits with prisoners, including a member of a radical Islamic group. These attempts were denied by Guada, creating personal animosity that influenced the detention orders, the letter alleged. Primus said the attempts were contained in a report to former commissioner of prisons Carlos Coraspe who found it was without merit. Coraspe has since been sent on leave. “To date you have signed two preventive detention orders in respect of my client, accusing him of associations with gangs, allegations you know to be untrue. “ I am seeking the immediate revocation of all detention orders issued against my client. It is my client’s position that your decision was influenced by an improper motive and a clear conflict of interest due to a pre-existing relationship and personal animosity between you and my client, stemming from your recent visits to the Maximum Security Prison and information that were communicated to the TTPS Intelligence Unit about your affairs. “The principles of natural justice dictate that a public official must exercise their power impartially and without bias. “Your decision to detain my client, in light of this conflict of interest, is an egregious breach of this fundamental principle and goes directly to the root of a malicious prosecution. You have abused the powers granted to you under the state of emergency. Guada’s attorney warned of judicial review proceedings for a declaration that the orders were void, along with claims for damages and costs. Alexander has not responded to requests for comment. The post Gonzales: Probe allegations against Alexander appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.