Magistrate Ann Mc Lennan has dispelled allegations that she had instructed police officers to bar reporters from entering the Wales Magistrate’s courtroom last Friday.
Last Friday the police had asked a Stabroek News reporter and later other media operatives to leave the court/Wales Police Station compound saying that Magistrate Mc Lennan had ordered media representatives not to enter her courtroom.
Speaking to Stabroek News from her chambers at the Christianburg Magistrate’s Court in Linden, Mc Lennan said that she learnt of the allegations the following day. She said that the court is a public place and she does not have the authority to bar anyone from entering the courtroom. She noted that a person or persons could be ordered out of a courtroom only if they interrupted proceedings or behaved in a disorderly manner.
Mc Lennan said she had no prior knowledge that murder accused Deonarine Rafick would have been making a court appearance on the day in question and she carried out her duties as normal.
Speaking in brief on the procedures followed in the matter, she said that the defendant had said that he had sustained injuries to the head and he removed the bandage to reveal the extent of the injury. “He also claimed that he had injuries on his back, and I asked him to take off his shirt to exhibit the injuries and he complied. He then said he had injuries to his foot and I told him not to bother to take off his pants.”
Mc Lennan said that the allegations against her came as a surprise because she never issued such orders.