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.
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.
