Ramlogan calls on ex-AG to apologise in Naipaul-Coolman case

ATTORNEY Anand Ramlogan, SC, says the legal win for his clients – nine men once accused of the 2006 kidnapping and murder of businesswoman Vindra Naipaul-Coolman – after the Court of Appeal restored a $20 million payout against the State, is a “complete vindication.”

In a statement on June 9, Ramlogan blasted former attorney general Reginald Armour, SC, over claims that a court file related to the lawsuit had gone missing. He accused Armour of misleading the public and using the controversy to deflect from the State’s mishandling of the case.

“The scandal created by the PNM has backfired. Spectacularly and comprehensively,” Ramlogan said.

In a ruling on June 9, the Court of Appeal found that the State was fully aware of the case’s progress but failed to take timely action.

Ramlogan said a key point in the majority ruling was that “public opinion should not influence judicial decisions and reaffirmed the men’s constitutional right to be presumed innocent.”

Ramlogan demanded Armour publicly apologise for what he described as “disingenuous posturing” and “malicious accusations.”

“This judgment puts to rest the lie of the missing file,” Ramlogan said.

“It is a complete vindication for our clients and their legal team considering the insinuation and innuendo by Mr Armour who sought to deflect attention from the State’s incompetent handling of this case by claiming that the file had suddenly 'disappeared.'”

Ramlogan said the then-AG’s remarks gave the impression “our clients or their legal team might have had something to do with the sudden disappearance of this file. That lie has been exposed and can now be put to rest.”

At a press conference in February 2023, days after the $20 million compensation order was delivered, Armour, at a press conference, said, “I will not permit myself at this stage as a result of due process to utter what I think has occurred in this case, but it is sinister...I might go as far as to say, subject to the investigation, that it (the file) was caused to disappear, but I won’t say that just yet.”

Attorney General John Jeremie, SC, did not respond to questions whether his office intended to appeal the ruling.