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Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar has criticised the tame response of the Law Association of TT (LATT) after serious questions of misconduct were raised against former attorney general Faris Al-Rawi which led to the collapse of the criminal case against former UNC attorney general Anand Ramlogan and former UNC senator Gerald Ramdeen.
In a release on Saturday, she said, "The council of the LATT has wasted the opportunity to use their weight as protectors of the rule of law and promoters of the administration of justice to firmly call out those members of their own Bar who have been found wanting and to publicly denounce their conduct."
Persad-Bissessar said LATT's statement was long overdue and had to be "dragged out of them" but it repeated what was already known.
On Friday, LATT said Attorney General Reginald Armour had questions to answer regarding the role of Al-Rawi in negotiating a plea deal with Vincent Nelson, the main witness against Ramlogan and Ramdeen, among six other areas of concern.
The statement followed an emergency meeting of the council on October 20 to discuss the allegations which were revealed after the criminal case was discontinued by Director of Public Prosecutions Roger Gaspard on October 10.
The case was stopped because of a purported indemnity agreement signed by Al-Rawi and Nelson and the refusal of the witness to testify until a civil case filed against the State claiming a breach of that agreement had been determined.
In her response, Persad-Bissessar said it was pointless that LATT was calling on Armour to answer questions via a press release, without saying if they have written to him demanding answers.
She described the situation as a "chilling moment for the democracy of Trinidad and Tobago."
The case was dropped because the State's main witness convicted Nelson said he was unwilling to testify until a civil case he filed against the State seeking over $100 million was determined.
Nelson claimed he has suffering loss of earnings after being expelled from a firm in the UK. Some of the losses incurred are loss of insurance benefits; $2.5 million fine he was ordered to pay when he pleaded guilty; and additional sums if the UK authorities demands it for alleged unpaid taxes.
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