Trinidad and Tobago: CFWIJ welcomes the court decision against police raid on Trinidad Express office
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February 23, 2021- The Coalition For Women In Journalism welcomes the decision of Trinidad and Tobago high court against police raid, conducted at The Trinidad Express office on March 11, 2020. Police officers at the time raid checked the computer records, digital data, magazines and left the media house with four USB flash drives. The raid was executed after an investigative story of alleged corruption of acting police chief Irwin Haackshaw was published in The Daily Express. Following the incident, a complaint against the attorney general and police commissioner was filed by the editor-in-chief Omatie Lyder. Trinidad and Tobago high court ruled in favour of The Daily Express on January 13, 2021.
At the time of the raid on March 11, 2020, the editor-in-chief of The Trinidad Express, Omatie Lyder said that the police can search all they want, but the Newspaper is not going to reveal any sources. She said that it is unfortunate that the raid was carried out under the acting police chief, who is the centre of an investigation report regarding a suspicious financial transaction. Now after the court decision they have to pay the plaintiff for the cost in terms of compensation.
The Trinidad Express asserted that the search warrants issued against the media house were unconstitutional and unlawful. They also reiterated that the search warrants violated the right to freedom of press. In the final ruling, the judge also stated that, “search of a media house cannot be viewed as a norm. Such searches should only be sanctioned when they are essential for the administration of justice.
Omatie Lyder, Editor-in-Chief of Trinidad Express spoke to CFWIJ saying “The judge has ruled the police search of my office for the source of an investigative story to be unlawful and unconstitutional. It’s a strong signal to those who seek to intimidate and silence the media from holding public officials to account .Instead of focusing on probing the mysterious bank accounts of a senior police officer , who incidentally at the time was acting as the police commissioner, the police chose to raid my office for the source of the story. “
“We are neither fearful nor cowed into silence in pursuing the story which our reporter continues to probe one year later. Sources are the lifeblood of investigative journalism and those who alert us to possible corruption ought to know they are well protected . They can rest assured we have never publicly revealed our sources and never will .
There have been several attempts to muzzle and harass the Express in its investigative work but we remain fearless. Are we trying to be more careful? Well we certainly are more resolved to fiercely protect our sources and to relentlessly continue investigative journalism.” Omatie added.
Kiran Maharaj, the president of The Media Institute of the Caribbean, was heading the Trinidad and Tobago’s publishers and broadcasters associations at the time of the raid. She told CPJ that the verdict has set the pace for independent media to better assert itself. Kiran asserted that, “the case will better serve the overall position of journalistic purpose to report without fear or favour.”
The Coalition For Women In Journalism welcomes the court verdict against the unjustified police raid at The Trinidad Express office. We hope that decision will serve as a lesson for the police in future. We urge the government authorities and law enforcement in Port of Spain to not let abuse of power stop any journalist or media house from performing their duty.
