Court Proceedings against Leading LALIT members continue

01.12.2004

Judgement in the case where the police have laid trumped up charges against Ram Seegobin and Lindsey Collen was due to have been handed down on Tuesday, 30 November in the case against Ram Seegobin. Judgement has been delayed until 13 January 2005. Lindsey Collen's case is still being heard. It will continue on 19 January, 2005.


The police have laid separate charges of ‘molesting police officer' and ‘obstructing a public officer in the course of his duty' against these two leading Lalit members. The charges relate to a meeting of the Common Front against the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act which was meeting to plan demonstrations when George Bush, US President was due to have visited Mauritius for the opening of the AGOA forum.


The cases have been fraught with mysteries and maladministration. Firstly, it is not at all clear why there are two cases. The joke goes that there are two different laws in Mauritius, one to say you are not allowed to call the police ‘dogs' and another to say you are not allowed to call the police ‘maggots'. These are the details in the charges that the police have literally made up against the two Lalit members. Then, Ram Seegobin was insufficiently and incorrectly summonsed to appear in Court and Lindsey Collen was not summonsed to be in Court at all, when the case started. She was just present in the crowd of Lalit members supporting her husband and colleague, Ram Seegobin, when her name was called for her to be in the box.