By Prior Beharry
OPPOSITION LEADER Kamla Persad-Bissessar is calling on Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley to say if he knew about the indemnity agreement signed between State witness King’s Counsel Vincent Nelson and then attorney General Faris Al-Rawi.
She made the call on Wednesday after Al-Rawi refused to say whether Dr Rowley or the Cabinet knew about the agreement with Nelson who was the main witness in a criminal case against former attorney general Anand Ramlogan and former UNC senator Gerald Ramdeen. The case was dismissed after Nelson refused to testify in the matter pending the outcome of a lawsuit he has filed regarding the indemnity.
On Wednesday, Al-Rawi held a press conference to respond to what Persad-Bissessar said the previous day.
In her release on Wednesday, Persad-Bissessar said, “Rowley must tell the nation if he knew about the indemnity agreement and was thus part of this malicious conspiracy.”
She said, “Today a shell-shocked former AG Faris Al-Rawi tried to wriggle out of the mess he had created in the Nelson fiasco. He unsuccessfully tried to defend the wicket and malicious persecution of political opponents at his press conference.
“This entire scandal of political persecution reeks of a devious arrangement among senior PNM government officials, PNM-affiliated attorneys and a few PNM-affiliated public officials. It is only due to the decency and integrity of DPP Roger Gaspard that this devious persecution was confronted and stopped.”
Persad-Bissessar said Al-Rawi desperately evaded crucial questions and the press conference, seeking refuge in adverse pretrial publicity for a case that now exists “only in his imagination.”
She asked, “How could there be adverse pretrial publicity when there is no case before the court?”
Persad-Bissessar said, “He constantly used the fig leaf of seeking legal advice from the Prime Minister’s personal friend, lawyer and golf buddy Gilbert Peterson and attorney Douglas Mendes. Mr Mendes and Mr Peterson must provide the legal advice they proffered to Mr Al Rawi. These two senior attorneys who are closely associated with the PNM must also account for their advice in this scandal.”
She said some questions for Al-Rawi:
- Did the Prime Minister know about the indemnity agreement? And if so, did he approve it?
- Did he discuss the indemnity agreement with any other government minister or did he act alone in committing the state to this limitless financial risk exposure to Vincent Nelson, KC?
- Why did Al-Rawi in his letter of December 7, 2020, tell the DPP that he was concerned about the perception of “undue influence” as a result of these payments?
- Why did Al-Rawi pay Nelson’s lawyers such exorbitant sums instead of heeding the warning from the DPP contained in the DPP’s letter of December 16, 2020?
- Why did Al-Rawi agree to pay all damages and legal costs for Nelson if Ramlogan and Ramdeen successfully sued Nelson for defamation of character?
- Why did Al-Rawi agree to hide Nelson’s tax fraud from the UK government as part of the indemnity agreement?
See related stories below:
Al-Rawi Refuses to Say if Cabinet Approved Indemnity Agreement
