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SINGAPORE – The Attorney General’s Office (AGC) issued a demand letter to attorney M. Ravi to apologize and retract comments he had made about a case involving a drug dealer who escaped from the gallows.
In a video interview with alternative news site The Online Citizen (TOC) on Monday (October 19), Ravi had made “false and highly inflammatory” allegations against the prosecution in the case, the AGC said Tuesday.
This came after the five-judge Court of Appeals on Monday reversed a 2018 decision to convict Ravi’s client, Gobi Avedian, on a capital charge.
Ravi had told TOC that the prosecutor had been “too enthusiastic” in prosecuting Gobi, which “has led to the death sentence” for his client. He also said that “it was worrying” that the prosecution took different cases before the High Court and the Court of Appeal.
Ravi asked the prosecutor and others to apologize to Gobi for the suffering he experienced, adding that “the justice of the prosecution is challenged” by the higher court.
On Tuesday, the AGC said in a statement that it had sent Ravi a letter earlier in the day demanding that he apologize and unconditionally retract the allegations he had made.
“These are serious allegations that the prosecutor has acted in bad faith or maliciously in the prosecution of the plaintiff (Gobi),” the AGC said.
“They are false and highly inflammatory. It is highly improper and completely contrary to Mr. Ravi’s duties as an officer of the court for him to make these baseless, baseless and misleading accusations.”
The AGC noted that the Court of Appeal did not make any adverse findings against the prosecutor or the Gobi prosecution.
“In fact, the Court of Appeal stated in the judgment that the initial decision to convict the plaintiff was’ correct at the time (it was) taken ‘and that none of the arguments considered in the judgment’ could have been made in view of the legal position as it was understood then, ‘”said the AGC.
The AGC added that the higher court in its ruling had explicitly highlighted the fact that at the time of the trial, the court that made the initial decision did not have the benefit of the guidance set forth in a later case involving a Nigerian man, Adili . Chibuike Ejike, who also escaped from the gallows after he was acquitted of drug import charges last year.
The AGC gave Ravi until noon on October 22 to respond.
Later, Ravi posted the demand letter on his Facebook page, adding that he had received instructions from his client and will begin proceedings against Attorney General (AG) Lucien Wong, Deputy Prosecutor Hri Kumar Nair, and Senior Attorney Mohamed Faizal. Mohamed Abdul Kadir. a deputy chief prosecutor of the AGC who led the prosecution’s case.
“I will file the summons in the next few days, both personally against the three government attorneys mentioned above and against their offices where they have a public appointment,” Ravi said in office.
“They have to be held accountable to Gobi and his family in court and subjected to rigorous cross-examination and scrutiny of their conduct in the Gobi case.”
Mr. Ravi also said that he would respond to the demand letter accordingly and initiate proceedings against the Law Society “if it does not do its part to protect lawyers and the independence of the profession, if it receives more complaints (or) participates in any harassment by the AG ”.
“I have taken an oath to fulfill my duties with my profession and with my clients, to fulfill my duties without any fear or favor. If one day I am suspended or terminated because of this complaint filed by the attorney general, so be it, ”said Mr. Ravi.
“I have a regional firm in Myanmar with caring colleagues and several alliances in neighboring countries to which I can contribute positively.”
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