Victoria Charles-Clarke.
CMC – The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Victoria Charles Clarke, says she intends to follow the law and constitution of St Lucia as her office deals with a report of alleged extra judicial killings by police officers.
‘Any matter referred to me will be received and treated in accordance with our laws, I do not act on emotion or public opinion so I do not wish to join the discussion,” Charles-Clarke said on television.
On Sunday night, Prime Minister Dr Kenny Anthony in a nationwide radio and television broadcast said that Jamaican investigators probing alleged extra judicial killings by members of the Royal St Lucia Police Force (RSPF) had found that a “blacklist or death list” existed.
Anthony also said that the investigators had found that police had staged “fake encounters” to legitimize their actions and that “all police officers involved in the unlawful killings of citizens in respect of the files reviewed must be prosecuted.”
But Prime Minister Anthony said that his administration would not be making any statement regarding the guilt or innocence of the police officers involved and “whether anyone is to be prosecuted is solely for the Director of Public Prosecutions to determine after evaluating and assessing the probative value of the evidence placed before her.
“Likewise, it is for the courts to pronounce on the innocence or guilt of any person who may be charged. The most that the Executive Arm of the Government can do is to provide the resources to the Director of Public Prosecutions to carry out the duties and the responsibilities assigned to her by our Constitution. A copy of the report has now been made available to her.”
In 2013, the St Lucia government enlisted the help of the Jamaican police to investigate the RSLPF following a decision by the United States to withdraw security related assistance after claims of human rights violations.
In August 2013, Washington suspended all forms of assistance to the RSLPF, citing allegations of serious human rights violations.