Tweet
Try 'Dudus' Here - Solicitor General Told Lightbourne
Published: Sunday | August 22, 20100 Comments and 0 Reactions
Arthur Hall, Senior Staff Reporter
It appears the Government quickly shot down a proposal from Solicitor General Douglas Leys that alleged drug kingpin Christopher 'Dudus' Coke should be tried in Jamaica.
Leys made the suggestion in his initial memorandum to Attorney General and Justice Minister Dorothy Lightbourne 25 days after the United States sent an extradition request for Coke.
"In order to avoid an outright refusal and prevent a diplomatic stand-off, the minister should indicate to the United States (US) that if it is willing to withdraw the request for Mr Coke's extradition it would be prepared to give an undertaking to submit to the director of public prosecutions for decision as to prosecution of the charges in the Jamaican courts provided that the US authorities agree to turn over all the evidence to the prosecuting authority in Jamaica," Leys wrote.
Former National Security and Justice Minister K.D. Knight had made a similar proposal at the height of the extradition controversy.
"There is the possibility of prosecuting the person locally. If there is the evidence and you don't want to send the person abroad and the evidence was gathered here in accordance with the Interception of Communica-tions Act, then prosecute the person here. You don't have to extradite the person," Knight said then.
But that issue appears not to be have been explored by the Government, and neither Lightbourne nor Prime Minister Golding has indicated what became of that proposal.
In her chronology of events leading up to the extradition of Coke, which she presented in the Senate, Lightbourne made no reference to this option.
According to Lightbourne, diplomatic negotiations centred around the failure of the US to honour its obligations under the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty and other agreements.
While agreeing with Light-bourne that the information provided by the US was not enough to cause her to sign the document for the extradition hearing to begin, Leys made several proposals about how the process could be handled.
He also raised a number of questions about the US handling of the matter.
Among the questions raised by Leys was that there was a significant delay in seeking the extradition of Coke and this could be prejudicial to him.
"We should ask the US authorities to explain the delay," Leys said.
Request
He also raised concerns that the US had made known the request for the extradition of Coke to "unauthorised persons before the minister of justice received the request through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade".
The unauthorised persons referred to by Leys would be then Police Commissioner Rear Admiral Hardley Lewin and the Chief of Defence Staff Major General Stewart Saunders.
Lewin has since gone public to indicate that he received word of the extradition request and informed National Security Minister Dwight Nelson and Golding.
Leys' memorandum was sent to officials of the US law firm Manatt, Phelps & Phillips in what, he said, was an attempt to send it to local attorney Harold Brady.
Published: Sunday | August 22, 20100 Comments and 0 Reactions
Arthur Hall, Senior Staff Reporter
It appears the Government quickly shot down a proposal from Solicitor General Douglas Leys that alleged drug kingpin Christopher 'Dudus' Coke should be tried in Jamaica.
Leys made the suggestion in his initial memorandum to Attorney General and Justice Minister Dorothy Lightbourne 25 days after the United States sent an extradition request for Coke.
"In order to avoid an outright refusal and prevent a diplomatic stand-off, the minister should indicate to the United States (US) that if it is willing to withdraw the request for Mr Coke's extradition it would be prepared to give an undertaking to submit to the director of public prosecutions for decision as to prosecution of the charges in the Jamaican courts provided that the US authorities agree to turn over all the evidence to the prosecuting authority in Jamaica," Leys wrote.
Former National Security and Justice Minister K.D. Knight had made a similar proposal at the height of the extradition controversy.
"There is the possibility of prosecuting the person locally. If there is the evidence and you don't want to send the person abroad and the evidence was gathered here in accordance with the Interception of Communica-tions Act, then prosecute the person here. You don't have to extradite the person," Knight said then.
But that issue appears not to be have been explored by the Government, and neither Lightbourne nor Prime Minister Golding has indicated what became of that proposal.
In her chronology of events leading up to the extradition of Coke, which she presented in the Senate, Lightbourne made no reference to this option.
According to Lightbourne, diplomatic negotiations centred around the failure of the US to honour its obligations under the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty and other agreements.
While agreeing with Light-bourne that the information provided by the US was not enough to cause her to sign the document for the extradition hearing to begin, Leys made several proposals about how the process could be handled.
He also raised a number of questions about the US handling of the matter.
Among the questions raised by Leys was that there was a significant delay in seeking the extradition of Coke and this could be prejudicial to him.
"We should ask the US authorities to explain the delay," Leys said.
Request
He also raised concerns that the US had made known the request for the extradition of Coke to "unauthorised persons before the minister of justice received the request through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade".
The unauthorised persons referred to by Leys would be then Police Commissioner Rear Admiral Hardley Lewin and the Chief of Defence Staff Major General Stewart Saunders.
Lewin has since gone public to indicate that he received word of the extradition request and informed National Security Minister Dwight Nelson and Golding.
Leys' memorandum was sent to officials of the US law firm Manatt, Phelps & Phillips in what, he said, was an attempt to send it to local attorney Harold Brady.
