By Breaking Belize News Staff (HP): Attorney Mike Peyrefitte, who represents Alberto August, says his client should never have been arrested, but suggests the episode may have inadvertently led to what he describes as the exposure of wider troubles within the government.
August, a former UDP chairman, was arrested and charged under the Cybercrime Act following a complaint by then Minister Oscar Mira, a case that has since been discontinued on the direction of the Director of Public Prosecutions. Speaking with 7News, Peyrefitte offered his view of how events unfolded in the aftermath.
“Mr. August was unceremoniously put in jail behind us, detained for a number of hours, but I think even Mr. August could say, if I could guess what he could say, is that as a result of that, corruption is being exposed in the PUP,” Peyrefitte told 7News. He went on to reference recent political developments, framing them as connected fallout. “We see the fall of Marin, we see the fall of Mira, following the fall of Mai,” he said, adding a pointed warning: “I think Musa and Martinez need to be very careful because the M’s are not doing very well in this PUP government.”
It should be noted that these are Peyrefitte’s characterisations. The procurement matter connected to Mira remains under audit, with no findings made at this stage.
Peyrefitte was firm in his stance that August’s arrest was unjustified. “So the entire scenario is unfortunate. It should never have happened,” he said. “There is no way that police officers, armed police officers, should have stormed Alberto’s house, threatened his family with arrest and detention, detain him for more than 48 hours almost, just to come here and say, ‘Well, you know what? Oops, we shouldn’t have done that.’”
Perhaps his most resonant point spoke to fairness for ordinary citizens. Peyrefitte argued that August’s public profile meant his case drew attention that others might not receive. “Attention would be paid to something like that, but what happens when it happens to the regular man on the street? A regular person on the street,” he said. “Not everybody has an audience like Alberto August. Not everybody is established like Alberto August.”
The post Peyrefitte says August’s arrest exposed PUP troubles appeared first on Belize News and Opinion on www.breakingbelizenews.com.
By Breaking Belize News Staff (HP): Attorney Mike Peyrefitte, who represents Alberto August, says his client should never have been arrested, but suggests the episode may have inadvertently led to what he describes as the exposure of wider troubles within the government. August, a former UDP chairman, was arrested and charged under the Cybercrime Act
The post Peyrefitte says August’s arrest exposed PUP troubles appeared first on Belize News and Opinion on www.breakingbelizenews.com.