Lords Of Murder

Is it time to abandon the Privy Council?

In recent times, some Bahamians have been intensely engaged in a debate over the June 15 Privy Council ruling in the matter of the Maxo Tido murder case.

The Privy Council held that the circumstances that led to the death of 16-year-old Donnell Conover were not gruesome enough to mandate the death sentence on the convicted murderer.

Conover’s skull was crushed and her body was burnt.

Many people have denounced the reasoning of the court and have expressed open disappointment in the decision.

This has led to a renewed call in some circles for The Bahamas to sever its links with the Privy Council as our final court of appeal.

Since our independence in 1973, the Privy Council has maintained this position as the head of the Bahamian judicial system.

Article 105 (1) of the Constitution of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas states: “Parliament may provide for an appeal to lie from decisions of the Court of Appeal established by Part 2 of this Chapter to the Judicial Committee of Her Majesty’s Privy Council or to such other court as may be prescribed by Parliament under this Article, either as of right or with the leave of the said Court of Appeal, in such cases other than those referred to in Article 104 (2) of this Constitution as may be prescribed by Parliament.”

As noted on its website, the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council originated as the highest court of civil and criminal appeal for the British Empire.

It now fulfills the same purpose for many current and former Commonwealth countries, as well as the United Kingdom’s overseas territories, crown dependencies, and military sovereign base areas.

The judicial experience of the foreign Law Lords has been garnered from their experiences at the bar and on the courts in the United Kingdom.

In recent years, members of the Privy Council have traveled to The Bahamas on the invitation of the former President of the Court of Appeal retired Madam Justice Dame Joan Sawyer and have sat in The Bahamas and have heard and determined cases.

During their 2009 visit, then Attorney General and now Chief Justice Sir Michael Barnett noted that the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council affects “the lives of Bahamians, the region and people in the wider common-law world.”

The Law Lords’ visits have perhaps been the executive’s and the judiciary’s way of familiarizing the Privy Council with some of the customs and norms that we enjoy in The Bahamas.

Activist in Pakistan Wrongly Accused of Murder After Trying to ...

PAKISTAN – Veerji Kohli, a Hindu activist in Pakistan has been accused of murder after trying to stand up for Hindu rights in Islamabad Pakistan.

Veerji is a well-known human rights activist who particulary focuses on the issues related to bonded labour. Recently, he helped to release a number of children, women and men from the hands of feudal lords in a community where many Kohli families live. He helped to release the men, women and children from a brutal environment where they were being treated unfairly by feudal lords, to do work in unlivable conditions for a next to nothing pay. He has been successful in getting many individuals out of such trouble while helping them to find better positions that are more suitable to their needs.

By taking a stand against the biased attitude of Pakistani police in a rape case of a Hindu girl by the name of Kastoori Kohli, Veerji Kohli has gotten into trouble. He has realized from this incident that taking a stance against a case involving feudal lords has its share of consequences. After being held in custody wrongfully for a few weeks, a high-level inquiry proved Veerji Kohli to be innocent while proving the police officers to be biased thus losing their jobs.

The feudal lords that are involved in the case are members of the local Muslim majority community, Raees Ghani Khan Khosa, and Bachal Khan Khosa who retaliated against Kohli by kidnapping him and keeping him in a dungeon for over four days. After serious pressure from some community members including prominent politicians, senior police officers, journalists and human rights activists, Kohli was released by the feudal lords. However, this did not mean their grudge had repealed.

The feudal lords set Kohli’s car on fire followed by framing him for a murder case that took place in Nagarparkar although Kohli was in Hyderabad at the time of the murder. Using their power and political ties, the Khan Khosa’s pressured the police to issue punishment under section 302 of the Pakistan Penal Code. Kohli, was once again in trouble–but now for killing something who he knew nothing about. All this followed from the night he decided to help his fellow community members from working under feudal lords who mistreated them and enslaved them like animals.

Kohli, since has asked his supporters and everyone in Islamabad to support his cause and case, after releasing a report to the public. He has told people to stay strong and continue to fight for human rights and injustices that victimize people in a way they should not be victimized. Regardless of consequences, Kohli still stands by all his decision made and is encouraging others to do what is right.

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