Killing of Trinidadian SC prompts call for increased security for prosecutors in SVG

The recent killing of a senior prosecutor in Trinidad ought to act as a catalyst for providing improved security for prosecutors and all court users in St Vincent and the Grenadines.{{more}}

This is the view of the St Vincent and the Grenadines Human Rights Association (SVGHRA), which in a release said it condemned the “senseless and heinous murder” of Dana Seetahal SC.

“Senior Counsel Dana Seetahal will be missed by members of the Legal fraternity, Human Rights activists and the public in general,” the release from the SVGHRA said.

Seetahal was a former president of the Law Association of Trinidad and Tobago, a tutor at the Hugh Wooding Law School and the author of several texts on criminal law and procedure and several legal articles.

“Dana Seetahal’s death ought to act as a catalyst for providing proper facilities for the users of the Court as well as proper security for our prosecutors and all court users here in St Vincent and the Grenadines,” the SVGHRA release, signed by its president Nicole Sylvester said. The SVGHRA also wished Seetahal’s family and friends deep condolences.

The St Vincent and the Grenadines Bar Association has also expressed its “shock” at learning of the “gruesome and violent death” of Seetahal.

“The sad news reached us that Dana Seetahal SC, a prosecutor, a former Law Lecturer and a former Independent Senator was shot several times in Woodbrook, just outside Port of Spain on the way home in the early hours of Sunday, May 4, 2014.

“…The relevant authorities of Trinidad and Tobago have promised a vigorous investigation into her killing,” the Bar Association said in the release.

The Bar Association also extended “heartfelt sympathies to Seetahal’s family, friends and colleagues.”