Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, has offered his full support for the magistrate who fined a domestic violence victim after she refused to testify against her alleged abuser. Speaking during his weekly ‘Issues in the News’ programme, Nandlall firmly stated that the law must be allowed to take its course.
His comments came in response to the case of Joanna Ramoutar, a young mother who Magistrate Michelle Matthias fined a total of $60,000 at the New Amsterdam Magistrate’s Court. Ramoutar had previously made a public plea for help, claiming she endured six years of abuse from her husband, 25-year-old businessman Karran Sukhan.
When the case was called, Ramoutar declined to provide evidence against Sukhan and instead asked the court to issue a warning to him. After confirming that she had not been coerced or compensated to withdraw her testimony, Police Prosecutor Sergeant Sherry Williams urged the court to fine her for wasting the court’s time.
“I want to commend the approach of this magistrate but $60,000, I believe may have been too lenient.
“I am hoping it doesn’t happen but 9 out of 10 times this abuse will return. I am not wishing that on anybody but I have dealt with enough and you know, you live in this society, you know how domestic violence unfolds,” Nandlall stated. He described the situation as a “classic case of abused victim syndrome.”
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“The victim begging for the abuser has never solved the issue, has never reduced domestic violence, has never done anything to help it,” the Attorney General stressed.
He further noted that under the Family Violence Act, victims who condone abuse or refuse to testify can also be charged.
“As a government, when these things happen, the law must take its course.
“One can take into account the views of the woman or the victim, but the abuser must be dealt with in accordance with the law,” he said.
Nandlall reiterated that the government remains committed to enforcing the law and protecting victims of domestic abuse, but added that meaningful progress requires victims to cooperate with the justice system.
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