VZCZCXYZ0000
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHBE #0043/01 0192031
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 192031Z JAN 07
FM AMEMBASSY BELMOPAN
TO SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0172

UNCLAS BELMOPAN 000043 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR WHA/CEN (MACK) 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM CASC PREL PINR KCRM BH
SUBJECT:  Appointment of Director of Public Prosecution 
 
REF: 06 BELIZE 0901 
 
¶1.  Summary:  Ambassador and Consul called on Belize's 
newly-appointed Director of Public Prosecutions to review his plans 
for prosecution of several high-profile cases of interest to the 
USG.  During the meeting the DPP expressed interest in training 
opportunities for his staff to improve skills and professionalism. 
End summary. 
 
¶2. The Government of Belize (GoB) appointed Lutchman Sooknandan to 
be the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) on January 4, 2007. 
However, due to the failure to follow proper legal procedures, the 
appointment was not confirmed by the Senate until January 9. Mr. 
Sooknandan, who served as Acting DPP from 1993-95, has been in 
private practice for the past 11 years. He replaces Kirk Anderson, 
with whom the Ambassador had met several times to encourage closure 
on pending cases. 
 
¶3. Ambassador Dieter met with Mr. Sooknandan on January 16 to 
discuss several issues that concern the U.S. Embassy and U.S. 
policies: 1) Trafficking in Persons; 2) the Julia Minard murder 
case; and 3) training opportunities available through various U.S. 
programs and agencies. 
 
¶4. Trafficking in Persons: Belize was placed on Tier 3 for a short 
while in 2006 until the GoB could show a commitment to combating 
trafficking and trafficking-related activities.  Thus far, there 
have been only two cases charged. The first case involved Jitendra 
Chawla, a businessman of Indian descent who is well-known in the 
business community as Jack Charles.  Mr. Chawla was arrested in June 
2006 and charged with trafficking in persons after police discovered 
six illegal immigrants living in a warehouse owned by Mr. Chawla. 
The Indian nationals claimed their passports and other documents had 
been taken from them and were being held by Jack Charles.  Mr. 
Chawla was charged and released on bail pending his trial.  The 
trial was scheduled for January 10.  The case was subsequently 
thrown out of court because the six young Indian immigrants 
identified their employer as "Jack Charles" and the defense argued 
that the charges were filed against one "Jitendra Chawla".  The 
prosecutor, now under Lutchman Sooknandan, did not respond or 
address the name issue, resulting in all charges being dismissed. 
 
¶5. During the discussion of the Jack Charles case, Mr. Sooknandan 
did tell Ambassador Dieter that he was acquainted with Jitendra 
Chawla prior to this hearing on January 10, having been hired to 
check on the authenticity of the passports of the six illegal Indian 
immigrants. He did not indicate that the case would be re-opened 
with corrected documents. 
 
¶6. The second trafficking in persons case was brought against Amparo 
Zetina, the sister of the then-Director of Immigration Jose Zetina. 
Ms. Zetina was charged with trafficking in persons when a young 
Guatemalan girl reported to police that she was brought to Belize to 
work in a restaurant only to find out she was "obliged to work in a 
bar to entertain men."  The girl claimed she told Ms. Zetina she 
wanted to leave, was told she could not leave, and when she did try 
to leave to seek help, some of Ms. Zetina's employees assaulted her. 
Ms. Zetina was also released immediately on bail. Mr. Sooknandan 
assured Ambassador Dieter he would check on the status of that case 
which had been scheduled for January 2007. 
 
¶8. The Julia Minard murder case: The trial of Agrippo Ical (see 
reftel) who has been accused of assaulting and murdering U.S. 
citizen Julia Minard in November 2005 had been delayed from the 
anticipated November 2006 trial setting.  At that time, the former 
DPP and Attorney General Francis Fonseca assured Ms. Minard's mother 
that the trial would be held in the Spring Session, probably in 
March, 2007.  Mr. Sooknandan told the Ambassador that he would 
review the file and was sensitive to the need to not mishandle the 
matter.  On January 18 he called Consul and related that he was 
forwarding the file to the Southern Regional Court for their 
docket. 
 
¶9. Training opportunities: In discussions of available training, Mr. 
Sooknandan indicated that he would be most appreciative of training 
opportunities for his Crown Counsels and even talked about programs 
he himself had attended in the past.  In particular, he said that a 
workshop he had once attended, "Overview of Investigative 
Techniques," would be highly beneficial to his staff and members of 
the Belize Police Force.  He would welcome training in TIP 
prosecutions, DNA evidence and forensic evidence generally. 
 
¶10. Mr. Sooknandan has entered the office at a precarious time.  Mr. 
Anderson fell out of favor with the current Government when he 
insisted on charging Choyben Abou-Nehra, a member of a wealthy, 
well-connected family, with murder in connection with his shooting 
and killing an intruder in 2005.  Police charged Mr. Abou-Nehra with 
manslaughter, and rumors, still unproven, abounded that DPP Anderson 
was told by police and other unnamed government officials to change 
the DPP's charges to manslaughter.  Mr. Anderson refused and charged 
Mr. Abou-Nehra with murder. Shortly following that decision Mr. 
Anderson announced that he would be leaving the DPP office by the 
end of 2006.  Mr. Sooknandan stated that after he reviewed the file 
he would press for the appropriate charge even though Mr. Abou-Nehra 
failed to show for his preliminary hearing on January 16th. 
 
¶9. Comment:  The GoB's apparent lack of commitment to combating 
trafficking in persons was a critical factor in their 2006 Tier 3 
assessment and the DPP's lack of assertiveness in the "Jack Charles" 
case is disappointing to say the least.  On the other hand, Mr. 
Sooknandan's quick follow-up on the Minard case was an encouraging 
sign. 
 
DIETER