Government is moving to table a witness protection bill that will see the establishment of safe houses and new identities for persons who put their lives at risk to testify in court, Minister of Governance Raphael Trotman announced yesterday.
During a post-Cabinet press briefing at the Ministry of Presidency, Trotman said Cabinet has given the nod for the bill to be submitted to the National Assembly. He said the Witness Protection Bill will establish a programme for the protection of witnesses who give evidence in the court, including the protection of their families against intimidation and/or physical harm during and after their involvement in court proceedings.
According to Trotman, among the proposed measures are the establishment of safe houses, granting of assistance to participants and the provision of new identities, where necessary.
Asked how many countries are going to be involved in the scheme, given that Guyana may be too small to hide or grant any person and his family total protection from harassment, Trotman pointed to Trinidad, Barbados and Jamaica working with each other with regards to moving witnesses during and after trials between each territory.
“I have no doubt that Guyana will avail itself of the opportunity to do so if it believes that it is necessary to have persons in other jurisdictions… it is a Caricom initiative. Guyana is now coming on stream but Trinidad and Jamaica, to a larger extent, and, to a smaller extent Barbados, have already been collaborating at that level. So, this legislation would give us a sense of uniformity and allow us to enter into that existing framework,” he added.
Trotman also suggested that assistance could be had from the US, through the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative, and from the UK, which recently announced a substantial grant for projects in the Caribbean. “Security features large in that grant and so is training and maybe even construction of facilities and other processes,” he said, while adding that in some cases he had seen the appearances of some witnesses having to be altered. “No doubt these will be available from the more developed countries,” he further said. Witness protection has traditionally been a source of frustration for the justice system, since witnesses are often reluctant to come forward with information for fear of reprisals.
