| 10 Years Ago, Faber Was Tossed Like A Thug |
| Fri, April 24, 2015 |
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| Last week we looked back at the Troubles of 2005, when Belize was roiled by civil unrest. In mid-April, the phone, lights and electricity went down - and by the end of April, the discontent with the Musa Administration was erupting on all sides. On the 28th of April, then Prime Minister Musa was supposed to address University students at the UB Gymnasium, but because every public appearance attracted rage from the unions and opposition - crowd control was a must. So police tightly screened those going into the UB compound - which included the then opposition member for Collet Patrick Faber. Police took him down like a common thug - in one of the most memorable - and actually quite funny - moments of 2005.
Faber was arrested and charged with two counts of Aggravated Assault. Those charges were later dropped.
But he did make a constitutional challenge of that event - saying he was denied his right to liberty and freedom of movement. But, in 2009 former Chief Justice Abdulai Conteh found, quote, "Freedom of movement is not a license to trespass."
Conteh found that police were in fact justified in their actions under the Police Act and the Criminal Code. He said that Faber was, "obstructing police...inviting them to arrest him..." As the CJ put it, the forum was organized just for UB students and staff, and Faber, "had no right to be there..."
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