Another opposition politician arrested as police probe unlawful protest

ROSEAU (CMC):

The leader of the main opposition United Workers Party (UWP), Dr Thomson Fontaine, says he fears “several other individuals are being targeted by the police” after a former opposition legislator was arrested on Tuesday, as investigations continue into the unlawful protest outside the parliament building last week.

Police say that they have detained the former parliamentary representative for Roseau North, Danny Lugay, one day after a city magistrate released on EC$30,000 (one EC dollar = US$0.37 cents) bail, three people, including a former opposition leader, Hector John, for their involvement in the protest action. Bail had been denied to one other person.

They have all been charged with “unlawfully, riotously and tumultuously assembly together to the disturbance of the public”.

Last week Wednesday, police fired teargas and rubber bullets at protesters as the parliament debated and approved electoral reform legislation. The police had earlier warned that no permission had been granted to anyone to gather and protest outside the parliament building on the outskirts of the capital.

Fontaine told reporters that he had been informed that Lugay had been taken into “police custody” and that “there are several other individuals being targeted by the police”.

He said Lugay seemed to have been arrested “as part of a broader crackdown” and that he would not be surprised if he is on the police list of persons to be arrested.

“We talked this morning about this march towards a police state and a tyrant in government. It looks like it was closer than I could have imagined,” he said.

“What we see here is a police force involved in all sorts of human rights abuses that have been documented on video. It looks like it continues,” Fontaine said, urging the public to remain vigilant.

Earlier this month a High Court judge dismissed charges of incitement against three opposition persons, including former prime minister, Edison James and Fontaine, saying that the Dominica constitution provides for “the right to a fair trial in reasonable time”.

The three were charged following a meeting of the UWP on February 7, 2017, where they were alleged to have been involved in incitement by encouraging, persuading, or instigating by words, causing persons to jeopardise the safety or endanger the public peace.

During the meeting, calls were made for the resignation of Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit and following the public meeting, people took to the streets, confronting law enforcement officials with rocks and bottles, breaking store windows and causing looting.