Mehul Choksi's lawyers seek Caricom intervention in his alleged kidnapping

LONDON: Indian fugitive businessman Mehul Choksi's lawyers have requested for the Caricom (Caribbean Community) grouping to intervene in his alleged kidnapping from Antigua and Barbuda to Dominica.

A request for a meeting with Secretary-General of Caricom, Irwin Larocque, has been made by Justice Abroad, who are the legal representatives of the diamantaire in the UK.

Justice Abroad's Director and London-based international barrister Michael Polak who is acting for Choksi as part of his legal team, said, "The secretary-general has been respectfully requested to speak out on this issue and a failure to do may reflect badly upon the Caricom region as somewhere where the rule of law and due process applies."

In a statement, Justice Abroad said that "given that one of CARICOM's missions is to create a community a where every citizen is secure and has the opportunity to realise his or her potential with guaranteed human rights and social justice the organisation has respectfully been called upon to speak out and take action in regard to these very worrying events which have drawn the world's attention to the region".

Polak said, "The kidnapping and rendition of Choksi from Antigua to Dominica has drawn the world's attention to the Caricom region, and we have yet to hear anything from this organisation on this tawdry affair and gross breach of an individual's human rights."

Choksi's legal team has urged Caricom to look into the "breach" of the rule of law and has also said that this is "a big test for the political bodies of the Caribbean Community."

Choksi had gone missing on May 23 from Antigua and Barbuda. He was captured in Dominica, where he is facing charges of illegal entry.

His lawyers have alleged that he was abducted forcibly from Antigua. On June 25, during the hearing at the Magistrate's Court, Choksi was denied a 'doctor of his choice' as was requested by his legal team in Dominica.

Choksi is wanted in India by Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the Rs 13,500 crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud case.

He had fled India in January 2018, days before the CBI registered a case against him and Nirav Modi for defrauding PNB. He had taken citizenship of Antigua and Barbuda in 2017. (IANS)

Also Read: Antiguan PM Gaston Browne faces questions on Choksi in Parliament

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