HEAD of the Presidential Secretariat Dr. Roger Luncheon yesterday indicated that Cabinet, when it met on Tuesday, examined calls in some media and other quarters for action to be taken by the government in fast-tracking legal proceedings against treason accused Mark Benschop.
Benschop was charged with the capital offence on July 3, 2002 following the deadly invasion at the Office of the President complex in Georgetown and since then he has been on remand in jail because, like murder, such accused are not allowed pre-trial freedom.
The remanded prisoner was, however, tried before Justice Winston Moore but the jury verdict, on December 9, 2004, was in the proportion of 11 to 1, not unanimous as required by law.
That judge, therefore, had no alternative but to order a new trial and, from then, a number of constitutional motions have failed to secure the retrial or Benschop’s liberty, through a withdrawal of the indictment by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).
While acknowledging that there are hurdles in the legal system and a long list of back-logged cases, Luncheon yesterday hinted that Benschop’s retrial will have to wait its turn, especially given the seriousness of the offence.
“First of all, we have to recognise that from the background to this matter, it was indeed serious.”
“Undoubtedly, this invasion of the office of the Head of State and Government of the Republic of Guyana parallels the mutiny and the invasion of Parliament in our sister CARICOM country, Trinidad and Tobago where death and destruction occurred during both events,” Luncheon posited.
He also said the timing of the invasion of the Office of the President in July 2002, allowed the Heads of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) who were here in Guyana at the time for their annual conference, “to pronounce on this matter and issue their now well-known statement on the situation in Guyana in which they abhorred the happenings and called for respect of the rule of law”.
“Those who now pretend that that event was an inconsequential and trivial occurrence not warranting the application of the full course of the legal remedies or the law, are deluding themselves,” Luncheon declared.
He also noted that the impact of the present state of affairs and the functioning of the criminal justice law enforcement system was recognised by Cabinet during the meeting, including the fact that not only Benschop but many other prisoners are languishing in jail awaiting trial.
“Note must be taken, however, that Cabinet continues to work to correct that situation,” he said, while alluding to the appointment of more judges and magistrates and providing more assets to help clear that backlog.
“Cabinet then rejects the contentions of all those who outright claim some deliberate discrimination of any prisoner, Mr. Benschop for that matter, so adversely affected.”
He assured the public that Cabinet is continuing to do its utmost to improve the functioning of the service and the system. Luncheon said such improvement will lessen, if not prevent, “further Benschop type experiences” for prisoners in general within the court system in Guyana.
Benschop was charged jointly with Phillip Bynoe who is yet to be arrested after being on the run for some five years so far.