Canadian YouTuber charged with sedition

CANADIAN YouTuber Christopher Hughes, better known as Chris Must List, has been charged under the Sedition Act with publishing a seditious audio/video publication on social media.

The charge was laid under section 4(1)(c) of the Sedition Act.

Hughes was arrested on May 28, at a residence in Flagstaff, Long Circular, by officers of the Special Investigations Unit.

On summary conviction, he could be fined $3,000 or serve two years in prison. If convicted in the High Court, Hughes would face a $25,000 fine, five years in prison, and the seditious material seized.

In November 2023, the Privy Council ruled Trinidad and Tobago’s sedition laws stand as it dismissed the Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha (SDMS) challenge to the constitutionality of the pre-independence legislation.

The SDMS had challenged the lawfulness and constitutionality of certain provisions of the Sedition Act, particularly sections 3, 4 and 13, which it said were vague, uncertain and therefore illegal.

Section 3 sets out what is considered a seditious act, while section 4 details the particulars of the offences and section 13 deals with search warrants.

In 2020, after judge Frank Seepersad upheld the SDMS challenge, the Office of the Attorney General successfully applied for a stay of the judgment to protect two pending matters being prosecuted by the Office of the DPP, one of which was the sedition charge against Jamaat-al-Muslimeen leader Yasin Abu Bakr.
Bakr died in October 2021.

While the decision on the suspension was still pending, Public Services Association (PSA) president Watson Duke successfully applied to then chief magistrate Maria Busby-Earle-Caddle to be discharged of the sedition charge against him.

Hughes was arrested by the Special Investigation Unit on May 28 under the Anti-Gang Act.

The 45-year-old travel vlogger has been in Trinidad and Tobago for several weeks documenting gang culture and violence, among other things. In some of his videos, civilians can be seen with guns and discussing ongoing gang wars.

He is expected to appear before a court on June 3.

Hughes has said he felt his detention was politically motivated.

"I am loved in this country. I want to keep it that way. I have done nothing wrong. It seems like a political ploy for some reason. Someone in the government is upset," he told his lawyer Criston J Williams on May 29. Williams released an audio of Hughes to the media.

The Canadian High Commission, also on May 29, said it was aware of Hughes' arrest and was working with the authorities.