Crime Watch video of Chief Justice removed

One day after attorneys representing Chief Justice Ivor Archie and his lunch companion issued pre-action protocol letters to television personality Ian Alleyne for footage he aired on his Crime Watch show on Monday, the video has been removed from YouTube.

The video, which up to 1.30 pm yesterday had 9,022 views, with 93 likes, 18 dislikes and seven comments, was removed from Alleyne’s official YouTube channel at about 2.20 pm yesterday.

Earlier, Archie’s lead attorney Keith Scotland said his legal team was working feverishly to have the video removed. The video of Archie and chartered accountant Steve Joseph was recorded by Alleyne at a restaurant in Chaguanas on Monday.

Alleyne also recorded Archie’s escort vehicles as they drove through the Price Plaza shopping mall in Chaguanas. In their letters, which were identical, attorneys representing Archie and Joseph demanded an unqualified public retraction of the allegations made and a proper apology agreeable to them. They also demanded the removal of the video from Alleyne’s Facebook page, YouTube channel and any other electronic, print or similar forum used to communicate to the public.

They accused Alleyne of intruding on their privacy and violating the standards of ordinary decency.

The two are seeking substantial damages “to demonstrate the baselessness of the allegations” made by Alleyne on his programme and to compensate them for the injury to their reputation, financial loss, and considerable distress.

Alleyne was given 28 days to respond. The lawyers for the two men also alleged slander, defamation and an invasion of privacy.

They further alleged that Alleyne uttered several offending words, the letter noted, and also quoted from a Bible verse. The words, innuendoes and imputations they complained of were aired on the Crime Watch programme later that day on the Synergy TV cable channel.

Speaking on the issue yesterday, Senior Counsel Israel Khan said he saw it as a storm in a teacup and the sending of the pre-action letter only raised a hornet’s nest. “It might have been better to leave it there. Knowing Trinidadian mentality, it would have blown over,” Khan said.

He noted, however, that Archie was in a public space, so invasion of privacy may not have been an issue, but what was “very unbecoming” was Alleyne’s innuendoes.

“The innuendoes suggesting he was doing something wrong may constitute a civil action for defamation,” Khan said, adding, however, that there was a fundamental right to freedom of the press.