Misick ‘s Privy Council bid for jury trial fails

| 14/05/2015 | 14 Comments
Cayman News Service

Michael Misick, former premier of the Turks and Caicos Islands

(CNS): Michael Misick , the former premier of the Turks and Caicos Islands who is facing corruption allegations, has lost his appeal in the UK’s Privy Council for a jury trial in the increasingly controversial case. In comments that mirror those made by the Cayman Islands own former leader, McKeeva Bush, about the UK authorities, Misick said the British judicial system was rigged against him and his co-defendants “from top down” and accused the UK of political persecution of the territory.

Misick was charged in a corruption scandal exposed by a commission of enquiry, which led to the imposition of direct rule in the territory by the UK and a major investigation that has gone on for some five years.

After his appeal to the UK’s top legal panel was dismissed, the former TCI leader claimed “ranks were closed to protect the establishment”.

“It remains our position that these corruption cases are nothing more than a political witch-hunt that was carefully designed and orchestrated by the British establishment to destroy and discredit local politicians and their families and associates, while allowing wealthy white developers and other individuals who were implicated in the Commission of Inquiry and/or were previously charged, to pay their way in order to avoid justice,” Misick said in a press statement Thursday.

He pointed to the criticisms of the probe following an independent CARICOM review and said there was no way that any defendants could receive a fair trial when the system was working strongly against them in the case.

He said leading UK attorneys once working for Misick and his fellow defendants had quit because “they were not paid adequately or in a timely manner, and also because Special Prosecutor Helen Garlick and her Special Investigation and Prosecution Team significantly increased the number of pages of evidence given to the defence lawyers, but the system has refused to increase the payment for the said defence lawyers to match this increased work-load.”

Misick complained, “While the SIPT lawyers and prosecutors such as Andrew Mitchell, QC, are paid millions of dollars in British pounds, the defence lawyers from the UK are paid in US dollars and then they are highly taxed in accordance with English law.” He added, “All of this strikes at the heart of equality of arms, which is supposed to be the bedrock of justice systems all around the world.”

Misick indicated that he could not get a fair trial but he and his co-accused would continue the fight for justice and freedom, not just for them but for the country and “reveal the blatant injustices for the world to see”.

A new challenge to the appointment of Judge Paul Harrison has also been filed, Misick said on the grounds that it was “unlawful for him to be appointed retrospectively and for him to be appointed as a special tribunal”.

The former TCI leader said the team had also filed an appeal regarding Justice Harrison, who at 78 exceeds the constitutional limit in TCI for presiding judges of 70. In addition, as chair of the Jamaican Integrity Commission he has expressed views that mirror the facts in the Misick case on public platforms.

“Based on his public statements, it will be exceedingly difficult for Justice Harrison to judge us fairly and dispassionately, therefore, he should have done the honorable thing and removed himself from this case when we applied for him to do so,” Misick said as he thank supporters in the fight for justice “from one of the world’s strongest Empires, with diabolical dealings throughout centuries of its history”.

Press Statement by Michael Misick 11 May 2015

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Tags: ,

Category: Caribbean, Courts, World News

Comments (14)

Trackback URL | Comments RSS Feed

  1. Anonymous says:

    Why is he moaning about lawyers and tax? If his countrymen were up to the job he would not need English lawyers.

  2. Anonymous says:

    Let all say AMEN!

  3. marlguppy says:

    The White man only had to pay back money !… You lied and sold them Crown Land.; and personally pocketed the funds.

  4. Anonymous says:

    He still has McKeeva as a character reference.

  5. Anonymous says:

    By the “UK’s Privy Council” you mean the Privy Council?

  6. Anonymous says:

    Misick may be right here. One high-profile Tory backer (see YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYR-GtpH_SI – it’s in 4 parts, this is the first) has walked away from the whole TCI mess untouched.

    • Chris Johnson says:

      You need see the second part of the Panorama programme on Lord Ashcroft filmed in the TCI which covers the damage done to the country by his close friend Misick, a big time crook. So far the investigators have only scratched the surface or do not have the balls to take remedial action.

      • Jonas says:

        Say you .

        • Chris Johnson says:

          Yes you got it. You obviously have nothing constructive to say, probably because you have no idea as to what is taking place. You really need go back to reading your Beano.

          • Anonymous says:

            Ashcroft’s standard response to any challenge is to throw top-end lawyers backed by huge amounts of money at the other side. He’s tried to shut down at least one major UK newspaper this way because they published things he didn’t like.

            If I understand the situation in TCI he’s been caught hiding assets in blatant breach of the bankruptcy laws but SIPT are refusing to investigate him.

            Check out – http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/generalelection/did-conservative-peer-lord-ashcroft-quit-the-house-of-lords-to-become-a-nondom-10183145.html – to see the latest on him.

            • Chris Johnson says:

              Having been liquidating companies controlled by Ashcroft, you are well wide of the mark, I can assure you.
              He has not hidden any assets in TCI and certainly the bankruptcy laws in TCI have nothing to do with it. Bankruptcy relates to individuals having excess liabilities. Lord Ashcroft has a net assets in excess of one billion dollars.
              There is no evidence that SIPT will not prosecute for certain breaches of the law.
              The Independent article is dated April 16 and hardly news.
              He certainly has a formidable and expensive legal team and tries to bully plaintiffs. Much of his money has been made in immoral and unconventional ways and he hides his ownership of companies behind companies in BVI, Nevis,TCI and Belize. In the latter country he owned the concession to the Company registry where he made a ton of money. He pays taxes nowhere not just through avoidance but more especially through evasion.
              He takes no prisoners but is very vulnerable as he will find out later this year when his good frien Michael Misick is prosecuted.
              Anonymous 3.12, you are out of your depth believe you me.

  7. rgsager@gmail.com says:

    Fleeing to a foreign country seeking political asylum does not present an air of innocence.

Leave a Reply to Anonymous Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.