http://www.trinidadexpress.com/news/SAS ... 31659.htmlSASHA GETS OFF
Police: DPP advised us not to charge PM's adviser
By Akile Simon
Story Created: Jun 30, 2011 at 11:44 PM ECT
Story Updated: Jun 30, 2011 at 11:44 PM ECT
SASHA MOHAMMED, adviser to Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, will not be charged with harassing Express editor-in-chief Omatie Lyder and reporter Anna Ramdass.
Director of Public Prosecutions, Roger Gaspard, last week advised the police not to lay any charges against Mohammed since there was insufficient evidence to successfully secure a conviction, police sources said yesterday.
Police were seeking to charge Mohammed under the Amendment of the Offences against the Persons Act Chapter 11:08 Act No. 11 of 2005 which deals with harassment.
According to police sources, had Mohammed sent the e-mail on more than one occasion to Lyder and Ramdass, she would have been charged with the offence.
The matter is therefore now closed, police sources said.
Section 30A (b) of the Act says "a course of conduct" involves conduct of the kind referred to in paragraph (a) carried out on at least two occasions.
Pressure has been mounting on Persad-Bissessar from various quarters, including factions of the coalition government and the Opposition People's National Movement, to fire Mohammed.
On January 30, a threatening e-mail was sent to Lyder and Ramdass by someone named using the name "Janice Thomas" in connection with the Reshmi Ramnarine story being investigated by the Express.
The e-mail, which targeted Lyder and Ramdass, was addressed to editors and reporters of the Express and staff of CCN-TV6 as well as other media houses, accused Lyder and Ramdass of a personal vendetta against Ramnarine.
The e-mail stated that "their day in the sun is over" and "this is the beginning...They will understand the consequences of their actions..."
The Express first broke the story of the questionable appointment of Ramnarine to the post of director of the Strategic Services Agency (SSA) and had at the time been investigating how she came to be hired as director of the SSA without the necessary qualifications.
Mohammed was warned by police on June 17, after a probe uncovered that the e-mail originated from the computer at her San Juan home. Mohammed, through her attorneys, denied issuing the emails.
Police sources said that Gaspard, after reviewing the file, noted that under 30A section (b) of the Offences Against the Persons Act (Amendment) 2005, the email which went set to them (Lyder and Ramdass) would have had to be sent on more than one occasion.
Earlier this month, Persad and Cpl Rennie Grant concluded their six-month long investigations into the threatening e-mail Mohammed allegedly sent to Lyder and Ramdass.
Then, police had intended, depending on the outcome of advice from the DPP, to prosecute Mohammed in relation to the offence after their investigations revealed that the emails were generated and issued from her home and an IP address assigned to her by internet provider Flow.
Contacted yesterday on the matter , Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of Anti-Crime Operations, Mervyn Richardson, confirmed the police had sought advice from Gaspard and they have adopted a certain course of action.
Even though there was an outcry by members of the public who criticised the police saying they should have laid charges against Mohammed, Richardson said he was very impressed with the manner in which Persad and Grant, who were led by Snr Supt Glen Hackett, conducted the investigations into the reports.
"They did extremely well and remained professional at all times as they pursued their investigations. I think it was done in an objective and dispassionate manner and to bring it to the best conclusion based on the advice we have received from the DPP," Richardson said.
Richardson said he was unable to state whether the office of Commissioner of Police, Dwayne Gibbs, had responded to a letter sent to him by Mohammed's attorneys last week requesting information regarding the police probe on their client.
Mohammed, a former journalist, joined the People's Partnership Government as engagements adviser to Persad-Bissessar, six months after the May 24 general elections last year.
On Tuesday, Persad-Bissessar stated that not enough evidence had been obtained to condemn Mohammed .
"From what I have read Miss Mohammed has denied the accusations. I do not have evidence which says that allegation is true and therefore it is a difficult situation to condemn someone, (for whom) you do not have evidence that they have done wrong," Persad-Bissessar said.
She added that Mohammed's employment contract is currently under review as a precautionary measure by the Permanent Secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister.