Special prosecutor in the treason inquiry against Phillip Bynoe and Mark Benschop, Sanjeev Datadin, fears for his life and the safety of his family.
In a letter to the Guyana Bar Association (GBA) he called on it to publicly denounce all conduct tending to undermine the function of Counsel, “whichever cause they are retained to represent.”
In the letter addressed to President of the Association Nigel Hughes, Datadin said that as a direct result of his involvement in the preliminary inquiry he had endured threats to his person, suffered physical assaults in the precincts of the court by the attendant crowds and other significant forms of harassment.
Maintaining that he was “committed to participate in the proceedings in the capacity of Counsel and no other,” he underscored his awareness of the political undertones accompanying the proceedings. “I find the current environment makes it difficult for me to represent my client `without fear or favour’”, he wrote, something which represented “a challenge to every practising Attorney-at-Law in Guyana.”
He urged that the Bar be allowed to perform its functions and not be “intimidated and harassed because the cause is one which has angered one or other section(s) of society.”
Further, he said that every attorney should be able to perform their duties without their safety being imperilled, since this undermined the rule of law and constituted an intimidation of the entire bar, threatening the integrity of the legal profession and the entire system of public justice.
Addressing another area of concern, he noted that the comments and public statements by Defence Counsel had also served to place his safety at risk.
“Since their imputation that I am in collusion with the government, the magistrate and other mechanisms which all conspire to pervert the course of justice and a fair trial only exacerbates the situation,” he said. He called for such statements to cease immediately.
Contacted for a response, Hughes said the association would condemn all attempts to undermine any practising member of the bar and all attempts to engage in the unnecessary delay of hearings; the GBA would also remind all members of the bar that they had a duty to act professionally.
He further said that an official statement from the association would be issued tomorrow.
Datadin’s absence on Wednesday, which was reportedly owing to a serious illness, according to his letter, had been a manifestation of his constant fear. His absence resulted in the adjournment of the proceedings until tomorrow, which had been set as the peremptory date for continuance.