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PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, Nov 07 2015 –The Judiciary of Trinidad and Tobago Saturday denounced what it said was “the blatant and unbridled attempt to cast doubt on the integrity and independence of the judiciary” by Grenada-born freelance reporter Marcia Braveboy.
In a statement, the Judiciary said that the statements made by Braveboy on social media, “are totally false, scurrilously abusive and amount to contempt by scandalising the court in relation to the Election Petition appeals currently engaging the Court of Appeal.
“These unwarranted and nefarious attacks on the integrity and impartiality of the Judiciary and specifically the Honourable Chief Justice are calculated to engender public distrust in the probity of judicial officers and more so as they relate to the particular matters before the court,” the Judiciary said.
Braveboy had in her posting questioned the independence of the Chief Justice suggesting also that he attends functions involving the ruling People’s National Movement (PNM).
“The Judiciary is and continues to be independent and is committed, as it always has been, to preserving the rule of law. In this regard Ms Braveboy is urged to cease and desist from her reckless statements and insinuations which undermine the administration of justice and the rule of law.”
Earlier, the Law Association of Trinidad and Tobago (LATT) condemned the described as “scurrilous attacks on the judiciary of Trinidad and Tobago” by Braveboy.
“With clear reference to the election petition appeal being argued before Chief Justice Archie, Justices of Appeal Allan Mendonca and Peter Ramadhar, the attack suggests base motives on the part of the Honourable Chief Justice actuated by an ulterior politically partisan agenda,” the LATT said in a statement.
It said that “this represents a most serious attack on the Judiciary and one which warrants immediate attention by the relevant authorities, with all appropriate action, to protect the independence of the Judiciary of T&T and the confidence of the public in the administration of justice and the rule of law”.
But in a posting on her Facebook site following the release of the LATT statement, Braveboy, described in at least one newspaper here as an activist of the main opposition United National Congress (UNC), wrote “Why am I a target of the Law Association of Trinidad and Tobago and the PNM? It is not Marcia Braveboy alone who posted comments on facebook regarding Chief Justice Ivor Archie. So why target me alone? Doesn’t the PNM like Grenadians living in Trinidad and Tobago anymore?”
