Senator Stuart Syvret of Jersey and I have had what might be called a difficult relationship. I wrote a lot of material for him for a number of years. Then he tried to turn Jersey law on me when I said so.
But now he has been the subject of an abuse of Jersey law - and had his house raided without a warrant by Jesey police acting on what appears to be a whim of senior politicians / law officers / civil servants in that supposedly well regulated island (where the boundaries between who is responsible for what are almost non-existent).
And what this proves is that the rule of law has ended in Jersey. The hierarchies word is all there is.
If you have a trust, bank account, or assets there be very worried. You're now in bandit country.
As I've always said.
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Richard
Your comments are way out if order. Syvret was arrested for allegedly committing serious and deliberate breaches of data protection laws. Why should he not be arrested? He also apparently made significant threats to the police, so the police went in heavy-handed, as of course they should do when somebody known to be so unstable is involved.
If you know anything at all about Jersey then you will know all about Syvret’s determination to destroy Jersey altogether, whatever the price. His track record on this front is crystal clear.
Rupert
You make yourself look a fool by saying that. Even the Jersey Evening Post says:
[A]lthough Senator Syvret resolutely refuses to play by the rules and might have gone as far as breaking the Data Protection Law in his determination to plough a lonely and obsessive furrow, he has just been treated badly, inappropriately and even absurdly by the forces of law and order.
There can be few Islanders unacquainted with events which unfolded on Monday when the Senator was arrested at his home in Grouville. It is nevertheless worth spelling out that a duly elected Member of the States of Jersey was arrested by a team of eight policemen who arrived in four police cars. He was then detained for more than six hours at police headquarters. During that time he was questioned for an hour and a half and his home was subjected to a comprehensive and inevitably intrusive search. Ultimately, he was released without charge, though inquiries continue.
This bizarre chain of events raises deeply troubling questions about the attitude and judgment of the States Police. Had it been launched in response to a serious crime or imminent danger to the public, it might be comprehensible and entirely justifiable. The same cannot be said of suspected offences of a kind which could be investigated less dramatically and aggressively.
The episode also raises questions about the level of seniority at which the decision was taken to subject a States Member, however provocative, to treatment of this kind and about the future implications for all citizens of this application of powers tucked away in the relatively new Police and Criminal Evidence Law.
Senator Syvret’s actions have on more than one occasion been irresponsible, unpleasant and legally questionable, but the heavy-handed approach adopted during his arrest and lengthy detention, as well as being excessive and plain wrong, have played directly into his hands, politically speaking. He has always appeared to want to be a martyr and his martyrdom in the eyes of those who share his ludicrous vision of a corrupt state bent on limitless cover-ups, victimisation and systematic injustice is now absolutely ensured.
I know Syvret well – and his unpredictability. But your suggestions are ludicrous – and even your bias press says so.
take your blinkers off and admit you’re living in a police state designed to promote abuse – something which, I have to admit, it does rather well.
Richard
Richard
You miss my point. What is the correlation between (allegedly) heavy-handed treatment of a controversial and (in your own words, unpredictable) law-breaking politician, and the safety of the assets held within structures and bank accounts there which you boldly state as being at risk ?
Would you say the same about the sleaze and corruption which we read about on a daily basis in the UK in relation to its politicians ? Is the City of London’s financial services industry at risk as a result ? I somehow don’t think so.
You are quite right to publicise the Syvret affair, and questions will and indeed are being properly asked, but I’m afraid that your conclusions of their effect are completely inappropriate and over the top, designed purely to satisfy your own agenda. Next you will be suggesting that the UK government should intervene a la Turks and Caicos !
Rupert
Syvret was arrested by 8 police in 4 cars
And yes – since there was no warrant, no authorisation and the abuse of the law for political ends I do think there should be intervention as la Turks & Caicos. Quite right I do
If the Queen wants her head on the stamp she should petition her privy Council to intervene – as they may – to ensure the law is respected
Richard
Please spare us the faux outrage, Mr Murphy. Yes, Senator Syvret’s treatment was highly disturbing, but then so was the arrest of Damian Green (which did, admittedly, involve a warrant – albeit a spurious one). I do not recall you expressing concern with the events that transpired then – in fact, you seemed rather pleased, as it confirmed some unsubstantiated speculations you were directing against the Shadow Chancellor. Really, on what rational basis could the UK Government intervene in this matter? How can it object to Jersey abusing its opposition politicians in the same manner as occurs onshore?
If only the Chagos Islands were a secrecy jurisdiction…
Nobody is above the law, even politicians. Questions are being asked, and answers will be attained. Trust me on this.
However, I feel that if you wish to criticize this affair you may also wish to look closer at home, especially at Terrorism Legislation.
The arrest of Senator Syvret and its manner raise grave concerns about the politicised nature of justice in the tax haven of Jersey. There are clear signs of a concerted campaign by the government there to harass the opposition through politically motivated prosecutions. Two Jersey Democratic Alliance Party States Deputies, Southern and Pitman, have already been prosecuted in relation to minor electoral infringements. The legislation under which they were charged was rushed through only weeks before the October 2008 elections with a view to disrupting their election.
Other opposition politicians and bloggers are under investigation with a view to prosecution. There is real concern amongst the island population. As they become more desperate in the face of external pressures on the tax haven, the Jersey Political Class react by suppressing internal dissent.
Expect more repression in Jersey.
Iliam
Damien Green was alleged to have handled property stolen by a civil servant.
Syvret has written a blog.
I’m not saying the UK is an exemplar of good practice – but we do still have checks and balances in our system. My suggestion is simple: Jersey does not. That’s the difference. It’s real, and it’s very big.
This has been coming for a long time. I am with ‘frightened’ on this one.
And remember, I too was the victim of Jersey’s laws when wholly falsely accused of a crime I never committed – by Syvret himself, which gives me no reason to defend him. Although I could prove the allegation was false with ease – in a few minutes – the Jersey police refused to drop the case until Syvret gave up the allegation. It was, of course, very convenient for them to leave it on the file. So they did.
Richard
Richard – You’re quite right when you say Jersey is a police state. The number of police per head of population is astronomical, one of the highest in the world. Bearing in mind that lesser crime is relatively low here, it is very strange to have so many police officers, many of whom are unpaid volunteers with little training.
Their behaviour over Syvret’s arrest is no big surprise, just standard procedure for them. But, their ways of doing things are not normally covered in the media, and mostly go unnoticed.
Richard,
Thank you for you support. We are desperately alone here. There is no sense of solidarity amongst the wider population and when they come for more of us, many will turn away. It’s only a matter of time. Dan is correct; the local media is tame and often hostile.
Exposure and criticism in the wider world is all that they fear and upon that rests our liberty.
Stay alert.
Dan, whilst I agree the search of Stuart Syvret’s home was probably unlawful, I don’t believe Jersey is a police state. I lived for 2 1/2 years, in East Germany, so I know a little about police states – you can’t compare Jersey with that. I speak as a retired police officer with over 30 years experience in law enforcement, so you’d expect me to defend my former colleagues. You can’t blame the average Mr. Plod, it is the managment that made the faux pas.