Peaceful Assembly
Court dismisses COVID-19 vaccine mandate protest charge
On 29th September 2023, the Kingstown Magistrate Court dismissed a 2022 protest-related charge against Dave Crosby, a man who held up a placard in the capital, Kingstown, during a protest at the COVID-19 vaccine mandate which came into effect in December 2021. In its ruling, magistrate John Ballah declared that the prosecution had not provided any evidence to support the charge that the accused, Crosby, a 54-year-old customs officer had organised, promoted, led or addressed the 14th January 2022 protest, as the prosecution alleged.
According to the news website iWitness News, Crosby was charged under Section 10 of the Public Order Act, which grants a police officer the authority “to require anyone who is addressing or addressed a meeting taking place within 200 yards of certain premises, or who is or appears to the police officer to be an organiser or promoter of it, to disperse”.
The magistrate in this case determined that the legal issue at hand was whether a group of people standing outside Parliament constituted a meeting. The defendant, Crosby, was not identified as a leader, coordinator or speaker at the gathering. The magistrate further clarified that simply holding and displaying a placard, while indicating protest, does not equate to addressing a meeting. Ultimately, the magistrate found that there was no evidence presented to prove that Crosby was a leader at the gathering, and thus, the issue of where he was properly arrested was deemed irrelevant:
“The prosecution almost alluded to it. Those issues, I believe, are important to the matter. It is whether or not a protest falls under the Public Order Act. The Public Order Act clearly speaks to meetings and processions. The notice must be given and the commissioner would respond in writing as to whether or not the route is via.”
Woman accused of throwing object during protest freed of charge
On 29th November 2023, the prosecution withdrew the charge against Annamay Lewis, a woman accused of ‘throwing missiles’ in Kingstown on 5th August 2021, the day when Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves was struck in the head and injured during protests in the city against a then-pending COVID-19 vaccine mandate.
Initially, she faced allegations of 'throwing missiles,' but the charge was later changed to wounding. However, following multiple adjournments, the prosecution decided to withdraw this charge as well. Lewis’s lawyer had previously expressed that they had no fear of the charge being reinstated due to the amount of time that had passed.
Expression
Attacks and intimidation against journalists reporting at the high-level meeting over Essequibo dispute
On 14th December, the press officer in the Office of the Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines stood in front of a Venezuela reporter while she was filing a report as the media waited for the commencement of a press conference after the event.
In addition, some Vincentian media outlets and journalists raised concerns regarding the lack of access to information concerning the meeting’s location and the procedures for coverage. This led to chaos at Argyle International Airport. Then, media outlets who were granted access complained about a physical tussle between Venezuelan media and security officials and police and heavy-handedness by Vincentian police officers toward members of the media.
After several weeks of tensions, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, Guyanese President Irfaan Ali, along with political leaders, convened in St. Vincent and the Grenadines to address the dispute over the Essequibo, a territory spanning approximately 160,000 square kilometres, renowned for its abundant natural resources. The tension surrounding this issue was recently exacerbated by the discovery of oil in Guyana. The dispute reached a critical point when Venezuela announced that its citizens had voted in a referendum on 3rd December 2023 to assert a claim over two-thirds of their smaller neighbour's territory.