Nassau, Bahamas - The following is a statement by FNM Senator Michael C. Pintard:

It has come to the attention of the Free National Movement that there is an allegation that Alfred Gray, MP for MICAL and the Minister responsible for Local Government may have called, ordered or induced a Family Island Administrator under his ministerial control to release a prisoner who had been convicted by that Administrator, in his judicial capacity as Local Magistrate, despite the fact that the prisoner had already been sentenced to a term of incarceration and was merely awaiting transportation to Nassau to commence serving the three months sentence.

The Free National Movement calls for the immediate and impartial investigation of this allegation on the part of the Office of the Attorney General. The FNM wishes to remind the Hon. Attorney General of the provisions of Section 442 (2) of the Penal Code, under the Title “Rescue, Escape, Compounding Crime, etc.”, which makes it a misdemeanour criminal offence for any person to “rescue” another person from lawful custody, even if that prisoner was only convicted of a misdemeanour.

At a time when violent crime is at epidemic levels it would be tragic if a senior government official were to interfere, or to be perceived as having interfered, with the proper dispensing of justice. The Free National Movement stands in solidarity those residents who have expressed outrage and dismay over the undermining of the authority of the Island’s Magistrate, Administrator and the Police Force.