Bevans Attorney Gives More Details of the Case

Dean Barrow

According to Barrow, PM Briceño’s defense also argued that as the Prime Minister of the country he is entitled to offer his position on affairs. Barrow says RSV Limited found itself in hot water for not rescinding the comments made at the time by PM Briceño.

Dean Barrow, Attorney for Karen Bevans

“Even if, and there was a question, you have a public duty to give this kind of information, which maligned this lady, and held her as being the exemplary of the kind of abuse and corruption that you say the last administration was saddled with, you had a duty to say this. When on the facts the lady is number one, she is not a politician, is not in fact “guilty” of what you are accusing her, what you are saying she is guilty of. Our defense must fail, because even if you have a public duty to communicate on a particular matter, what you communicate can’t be, as it were, a tissue to communicate on a particular matter. What you communicate, can’t be a tissue of falsehoods, a tissue of wrongful allegations. Furthermore, we must for that defense to succeed, if you are a defendant, also show that even if what I said turned out not to be true, I have an honest belief of what I was saying is true. Again, in this case the Prime Minister simply couldn’t establish that. The facts showed otherwise. He had the contract in hand, not literally. He knew the contents of the contract when he gave that interview. So, what he said, the contract in fact did. What he said about the circumstances in which the contract was given, all that was entirely untrue. And, he could not say, ok, what I said turns out to be untrue, but at the time I honestly believed it to be true. So, he knew or ought to have known what you were saying was untrue. Look, politicians, public figures must be careful, and you, when you are talking as a public official, especially the highest official in the land, you have a duty to yourself, as well, to members of your organization, and to any person that you choose to speak about, to be careful to choose your words properly and judiciously.”

PM Briceño was represented by Senior Counsel Andrew Marshalleck and Stacey Castillo. RSV Limited was represented by Deshawn Arzu-Torres.