Opposition leader Lennox Linton has asked the Skerrit-led administration to stop embarrassing Dominica over Mehul Choksi’s case and return him to Antigua. The Marigot MP said the continued detention of the Indian fugitive makes a mockery of the judicial system in the ECSC and undermines the rule of law upon which the country thrives.
Linton said Choksi must be returned forthwith to Antigua where he is a citizen through their CBI programme. He stated that the image of Dominica has suffered severely on account of colluding with Antigua to repatriate Choksi to India after arranging his kidnapping to the country. In a statement titled “Time to end the Mehul Choksi embarrassment on Dominica’s image”, Linton said Dominica has now become a rogue nation for violating the fundamental rights of the fugitive.
Citing that Antigua and Dominica are both under ECSC jurisdiction, Linton said it is a crime for one government to remove Choksi from one region of ECSC jurisdiction to another region of the same jurisdiction.
His alleged misdemeanor in India notwithstanding, it is a crime against humanity to violently remove Mr. Choksi from his constitutional rights and rule of law protection in one part of the ECSC jurisdiction to another part for the benefit of those who want to short-circuit the extradition proceedings for his return to India. He emphasized that Dominica is a law-abiding nation with respects for the rule of law. He said the DLP government must return Choksi to Antigua since he is a citizen of that nation, and that the court case against him must be quashed with immediate effect to salvage the international image of Dominica as a law-abiding country.
Lennox Linton, Leader of the United Workers Party (UWP)
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