State prosecutors to have security-risk training

News

STATE prosecutors are set to participate in security-risk training sessions in the coming days as part of immediate measures to address safety concerns after the assassination of their colleague, Randall Hector. Counselling services are also being provided to support them.

Newsday understands Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Roger Gaspard, SC, wrote to Chief Justice Ivor Archie asking for prosecutors to be excused from court duties on the day of Hector’s funeral, January 9, and on the dates scheduled for the counselling and security-risk sessions.

Newsday was told they had been attending to their cases.

Hector, 43, was shot multiple times in front of his wife and children outside the Seventh-Day Adventist Church on Stanmore Avenue, Port of Spain, on December 31. Moments earlier, he had delivered a New Year’s Eve sermon.

Church officials took Hector to hospital, but he later died of his injuries. No arrests have been made in connection with his killing, which has left prosecutors fearful for their safety.

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Hector, who served in the DPP’s office for a decade, also worked in the state’s civil law department and as legal director of the Strategic Services Agency (SSA). He prosecuted several gang-related cases and continued to provide legal advice to the SSA after opening his private law firm.

Authorities have been exploring enhanced protective measures for prosecutors, though details remain undisclosed.

Senior police sources told Newsday last week that the Special Branch was doing threat assessments on state attorneys involved in prosecuting people allegedly affiliated with gangs.

On January 5, Police Commissioner Erla Harewood-Christopher confirmed efforts to provide additional security to key stakeholders in the criminal justice sector.

Judges have also expressed concerns about their safety. On January 8, the Chief Justice met with judges, masters, magistrates and registrars to discuss their security concerns after a threatening video was posted on social media. In the video, a man called for attacks on judicial officers and their families.

During the meeting, judges were advised to be vigilant, change their routes, and avoid predictable patterns.

Sources said at the meeting on January 8, the CJ met with judges in two batches and he and the Court Executive Administration (CEA) indicated that there was absolutely no question of the state providing security and the government had said there was no possibility of security details for judges.

“The CJ and CEA basically said the government cannot provide security details for judges, so be cautious, trust your instinct, change your routes and do not be predictable,” Newsday was told on January 8.

Criminal court judges have been managing cases virtually and in-person trials are expected to resume by next week.

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In the video, which was posted to TikTok, the man, who was recently arrested in Tobago, called for judicial officers to be killed.

“Allyuh, don’t stop killing. If the magistrates (and) if the judges decide that they are going to arrest me, I want you all to target their families, I want you to target their homes (and) I want you all to execute them...

“If they so choose to charge me, kill them. Let the killings continue,” the man shouted.

After Hector’s death, the Law Association called for enhanced protection for prosecutors.

The Prime Minister affirmed the government’s commitment to supporting state officers.

“The government of TT will provide all the reasonable support to all the officers of state to ensure that the rule of law prevails in TT,” Dr Rowley said on January 3.