By Denise Clarke, Staff ReporterWESTERN BUREAU:
OVER 50 persons led by attorney-at-law Don Foote staged a demonstration outside the Westmoreland constituency office of Prime Minister P.J. Patterson last weekend to protest the police searching of the offices two Jamaican lawyers under a warrant issued under the Mutual Assistance (Criminal Matters) Act.
Mr. Patterson himself was not at his Darliston office but a member of his staff was handed a petition from the group calling for the Prime Minister to immediately intervene in defence of citizens' rights and demanding a meeting to discuss this and other matters affecting the rights of nationals.
"We strongly condemn the recent joint action of the police raiding the offices of two Jamaican attorneys, resulting in the seizure and confiscation of privileged and confidential information," said Mr. Foote. "We regard such action by the authorities acting as servant or agent of a foreign state as a rape of a fundamental right of the Jamaican people."
In a subsequent statement, Mr. Foote said the constitutional right to legal representative of one's choice guarantees an entitlement to every citizen of Jamaica, the right to consult his attorney without fear.
"Therefore, to raid and forcefully take away people's property left by them in the custody of their attorney without due process of law is a disgraceful rape of a sacred right of the Jamaican people to judicial protection of professional confidence, committed under the supervision of foreign forces on Jamaican soil," Mr. Foote said.
"We can't but feel betrayed and let down by the Government of Jamaica which is under your stewardship, being so insensitive to this wrong," said Mr. Foote. "Such action is unknown to our democratic system and is more a feature or tool used to gather evidence under tyrannical system of Government."
Two weeks ago, the police raided and searched the offices of attorneys-at-law Ernest Smith and Hugh Thompson, following a request from the Canadian authorities for documents to assist proceedings and investigations against Robert Bidwell, a Canadian national, wanted by that country on drug-related charges and money laundering.
Both lawyers, who are representing Bidwell in extradition proceedings, have accused the police of removing a large number of files belonging to other clients.
