Words matter, especially from a Minister, and these words were inappropriate according to the Director of Public Prosecutions, Christopher Pryde while speaking about Minister for Women, Rosy Akbar.
In his latest statement issued today, Pryde says it is reassuring that the Minister has no plans to interfere with the judicial process in sentencing but he says the Minister was not misquoted and her own statement published in the Fiji Sun on Saturday refers to “lobbying for harsher penalties”.
Pryde says Akbar claims she was “lobbying” as a woman but she was not invited to make a speech as a woman but as the Minister for Women, a critical distinction.
The DPP says if she had been misquoted by the Fiji Times, the correct procedure would have been to make a complaint and request a correction.
Pryde says she has not done this so they are entitled to rely on the article as an accurate report of what she said at the consultation.
He says in any event, she has not denied that she was lobbying and the Fiji Times have confirmed the content was lifted directly from her speech at the consultation.
The DPP says boundaries need to be respected and the judiciary needs to be allowed to function without interference however well-intentioned the motive.
On the issue of speaking to child witnesses, Pryde says his original comment stands.
The DPP maintains that the Minister should not be meeting and talking to state witnesses when a police investigation is ongoing.
Pryde says this has the potential to taint the evidence and potentially jeopardise any future prosecution.
He says there are well-established procedures for dealing with child witnesses by trained professionals to ensure there is no re-traumatising of the victim and the integrity of the evidence is protected.
