Ex-army officer Oliver Hinckson was yesterday freed of the advocating the commission of a terrorist act charge, which was levelled against him last March.
Acting Chief Magistrate Melissa Robertson yesterday ruled that the preliminary inquiry (PI) had not established a prima facie case against Hinckson. Therefore, she said, there was nothing to commit Hinckson to a High Court trial.
The ex-army officer was freed of the charge yesterday afternoon.
Oliver Hinckson
Hinckson still has before him charges of sedition, possession of firearm, and possession of ammunition. Early last year, after the four Hinckson matters were moved to Magistrate Robertson’s court, the magistrate had indicated that she would deal with them consecutively.
The sedition matter is next in line and has been set for report on September 3.
Four witnesses, Magistrate Robertson said, during her ruling, were presented by the prosecution during the advocacy PI but two of those testimonies remained incomplete. The prosecution, she stated, failed to “establish and present sufficient evidence”.
One of the contributing factors to yesterday’s ruling was the testimony of Detective Sergeant Trevor Reid. Last July when Reid, the officer who arrested Hinckson last year, appeared before the court under oath and was asked how many witnesses he had interviewed in connection with the case. The detective sergeant, one of the state’s key witnesses, could not tell the court the number of witnesses he had interviewed.
In September last year Reid produced to the court what he had described as “a list of 15 virtual complainants (VCs)”. These VCs, Reid had said, had all witnessed, the then accused Hinckson, commit the offence in question.
However, as the PI continued, specially appointed State Prosecutor Sanjeev Datadin failed to present to the court the witnesses who were named on the list Reid had submitted.
The prosecutor’s steady absence and tardiness in both appearing before and presenting case-related materials to the court became an issue mid last month.
On June 11, following the state prosecutor’s absence, an application made by the defence for the Hinckson case to be closed was granted. Datadin on June 16 applied for the case to be reopened so that he could be allowed to present his final witnesses to the court.
His application was subsequently denied and Magistrate Robertson had stated that Datadin’s absence from court proceedings on June 11 to attend the Supreme Court, where he was filing an application against her, was disrespectful to the court.
Hinckson told Stabroek News yesterday that he feels “vindicated” and gives the credit to his panel of lawyers who include Nigel Hughes and Gregory Gaskin. He always felt safe in his lawyers’ hands, the ex-army officer said.
Hinckson was charged on March 11, last year with uttering seditious statements and advocating a terrorist act.
The charges stemmed from a statement he made at City Hall on February 11, 2008.
It’s about time this nonsense was thrown out. Congrats Oliver.
Now we are or should I say…we already know how stupid whosoever made up these charges are.
Their time will come.
This is not about stupid, Sand! This is about vindictiveness, pettiness and an abuse of state power. There never was a case against Oliver Hinckson or else Mayor Hamilton Green would also have been nailed as a facilitator.
And I have to thoroughly agree with you that ‘THEIR TIME WILL COME, and when it does I hope they remember what they did to Oliver Hnckson!
Hey Sandy you are back in the fold?
Agree with you on how stupid the ’some’ of the charges are! What about the “possession of firearm, and possession of ammunition” charges?
If the charges are proven, he must get the maximum sentence
Yea……SandHurst good to see you back
We must be the most passive, submissive, docile nation of people to first allow the PNC to walk all over us and now the PPP.
Where was the initial outrage when first Benschop then Hinckson and others have their basic human rights snatched from them, all so suddenly?
When Benschop was first hauled away and imprisoned on trumped up treason charges, the press, the people, everyone was silent. Why was that when there was so much at stake for our fragile democracy? Results, Jagdeo was given an inch and then he took a yard and now miles upon miles.
I will keep repeating this poem in my posts to warn Guyanese to speak up wherever you are. This is not the time to be silent. We were silent (not I)and look at what it got us, Mosely, Sharma TV, SN, Hinckson, no FOIB, 200 Guyanese gunned down without being given their fundamental right to face their accuser in court, the police acting as judge, jury and executioner, etc etc etc!
“In Germany, they came first for the Communists,
And I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Communist;
And then they came for the trade unionists,
And I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a trade unionist;
And then they came for the Jews,
And I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Jew;
And then… they came for me…
And by that time there was no one left to speak up.”–Pastor Martin Niemöller (1892–1984)
The ppp government has failed repeatedly to make Hinckson a pariah.Vindictiveness is ingrained within the strands of their dna.Their perjorative slander is baseless,acrid and obscene.
My brother do not let them immure your mind in mental slavery and freedom of expression.The crepuscular gloom hanging over our magnificient land by the dictators will cease come 2011.SO be patient.The LIGHT will illumine all the dark places of this marxist regime.
This man still making the news!! The arresting officer has done some sloppy work. Nothing new!!!!
The persecution continues against those who have an independent voice and are articulate in their criticism of the present dictatorship in Guyana. The chilling effect of these charges is an abridgment of freedom of speech and expression. The new dictators were able to silence Sharma by seizing his equipment and Stabroeknews has become so scared and toothless after removal of government advertisements, that innocuous blogs are overly and heavily censored. To kowtow to these bullies is like elixir to an ninety year old gigolo. I hope Oliver sues, for this is a clear case of prosecution misconduct which exposed him to worsening health through his lengthy remand. Congratulations and keep on expressing your views.
All the evidences lead against Hinckson are for SEDETION…The evidences are very strong to convict him on Sedetion.
You’ve got to be very slow in the brain. Read the second paragraph and ask someone with an ounce of sense to break it down for you: “Acting Chief Magistrate Melissa Robertson yesterday ruled that the preliminary inquiry (PI) had not established a prima facie case against Hinckson. Therefore, she said, there was nothing to commit Hinckson to a High Court trial.”
…so is the evidence of deportation from the United States “Soldier”
on the contrary soldier, if you were following this particular case, all the cases in which this guy was charged for, are all related in a sence and were brought by the govt in an attempted to silence a strongly critical voice of the ppp regime, political vindictedness so to speak.
Dandy,,, Why can’t you read and understand English Language my Friend, The magistrate said there is nothing to commit him to stand trial in the High Court for “Advocating a Terrorist Act however read this sentence Dummy “Hinckson still has before him charges of sedition, possession of firearm, and possession of ammunition.” Whose brain is more FOUL now???
Soldier, read this extraction, “Hinckson still has before him charges of sedition, possession of firearm, and possession of ammunition.”
The facts are that the government tried to link the previously outstanding possession of firearm and ammunition charges to the new sedition and terrorism charges in the hope of getting a lengthy prison sentence for Hinckson, but since the sedition and terrorism charges, though filed sparately, either happend at the same time or around the same time, the logic is that if one charge (terrorism) does not stick then the other (sedition) will not stick. That’s the gist of my point.
Now, since you are such a die-hard PPPite, tell me why should the government persist in pursuing Hinckson on fiream and ammunition charges knowing that Roger Khan, a confessed drug smuggler and conspirator to mass murder was arrested and charged with powerful weapons and a spy equipment in an armored vehicle at Good Hope, ECD, but the case was not only thrown out, but he had his confiscated stuff returned to him so he could resume his criminal activities?
Do you not see a double standard here or is it that you are such a PPP die hard, the PPP and its governemnt can do no wrong?
IT was only a matter of time. The charge against him was baseless. CHANGE IS COMING!! 2011 CHANGE IS COMING!!
Change. In your mind as a dreamer.Those who advocated change in 1964 were certain they had it made.Only to run away to the US from the vey change they said they loved.The AFC, dressed in PNC uniforms, fools nobody.
Dream on Commando,,, Tell us what happen when you wakeup !!!
Soldier what are you advocating.. they never had a case against the man.This was a totally trumped up charge against the man,its the regimes way of silencing anyone who goes against their way of being too open in condemnation of policies,corruption and nepotism.
Mark my words they will go after him and others,but the world is watching them.
One down and two to go. Good riddance to these ridiculous charges.
I say leave the charges.
Long over due?, hi there friends, had a rough time to blogg here, name changed, not my fault, ask SN
Glad name changed anyway, thought Oliver was in North