05.07.2007
LALIT has received a communique from JUSTICE, which we are publishing in toto below:
JUSTICE, Association Against Violence by Officers of the State, expresses deep concern at the way in which Mr Cehl Meeah and his Barrister, Mr Nicholas Cook, QC are giving a testimonial for Mr Raddoah and his MCIT team, based solely on their behavior in the closely monitored trip from the airport to the MCIT Line Barracks.COMMUNIQUE from JUSTICE, Association Against Violence by Officers of the State
In particular, we deplore, inter alia, phrases in the press like Nicholas Cook, QC "Je peux meme affirmer, cela va vous faire rire, que quand quelqu'un se fait arreter, il devrait demander que ce soit le MCIT qui l'interroge". From the perspective of those who have suffered so much violence in their flesh and in their soul when " interrogated" by MCIT officers, the cheap humour of Mr. Cook is not funny. It is obscene.
Such blanket praise is abhorrent, especially when it is at the very time when the MCIT team is clearly being cornered for the torture it uses. At present:
1. Four MCIT officers, Sgt. Jugdawo, Corp. Potié, Corp. Maudarbacus, and Const. Levasseur, are being prosecuted right now in the Intermediate Court under the new anti-torture law, after the death in custody of Mr. Rajesh Ramlogun in 2006. Continuation is on 14 August.
2. Three officers of the MCIT, Sgt. Jagatpal, Const. Mutty and Const. Kalou, were suspended only last week after the violence suffered by Mr. Nitin Chinien in a high profile case.
3. Mr. Cook's client, Cehl Meeah, is being charged on the basis of two statements taken by the MCIT officers, and subsequently withdrawn by both witnesses by means of affidavits to the effect that the statements were made under torture. It is unbelievable that Mr. Meeah and Mr. Cook pretend that this reality does not exist. It exists and is known to exist.
4. The National Human Rights Commission only last week referred to the DPP for prosecution the case of violence by the CID Curepipe, another Raddoah team, on Sebastien Orange, a minor.
As everyone already knows, Mr. Radhooa also lost his case, and the State had to pay damages to the tune of Rs. 400,000 to Mrs. Martine Desmarais, when she sued him for illegal arrest and treatment amounting to torture. Previously, the same Radhooa and his henchmen officiating as police officers had been found guilty by the National Human Rights Commission of "inflicting inhuman and degrading treatment" upon the person of Martine Desmarais, "of denying her access to Counsel and of violating her constitutional rights".
According to our records, Mr. Radhooa and his team are also being sued by Barristers Speville, Herve Duval Jnr. and Jean Claude Bibi, Dr. Menagé, Mr. Tostée, Mr and Mrs Maigrot, Mrs Bindoo Ramlogun and Messrs. Suborrayan, Jolicoeur and Ajaree.
Mr. Said, who was suing, and who had received head injuries, later passed away in what may be the long-term consequences of injuries he suffered.
Mr. Meeah, himself, gave details of the most hideous torture he suffered at the hands of the MCIT, and it was printed in toto in a Sunday newspaper at the time. Mr. Meeah is free, if he so wishes, to forgive Raddhoa but he cannot possibly have forgotten the gravity of what he suffered. Only the guilty need forgiveness and it is imprudent to forgive and to forget what has not stopped. More citizens will be beaten up by officers of the MCIT who revel in the impunity they have enjoyed so far. It is only a matter of time.
So, it is most disturbing to see him and his QC lawyer from Britain, a member of Amnesty International to boot, getting involved in this white-wash operation.
Lindsey Collen for JUSTICE, 2 July, 2007