By KHRISNA RUSSELL

Deputy Chief Reporter

krussell@tribunemedia.net

ENVIRONMENT Minister Romauld Ferreira revealed that he and his mother, who was on her deathbed, were victims of harassment and intimidation as a result of his advocacy work.

While not revealing much detail in the House of Assembly yesterday, the Marathon MP said receiving threats of death, having his tyres slashed and the harassment of his mother were the results of standing up for what he believed in. He referred to the appeal of the advocacy group Save the Bays, of which he was formerly a member, made to an international group last year calling for protection against threats and harassment due to the organisation’s position against the Christie administration and a private developer.

Save the Bays was also involved in a standoff with former Cabinet Minister Jerome Fitzgerald after he read personal e-mails of the group in the House of Assembly.

The matter ultimately went to the Supreme Court where it was ordered that Mr Fitzgerald, former education minister, pay $150,000 in damages for the breach.

A parliamentary privilege appeal lodged by the Crown under the former government was formally withdrawn and dismissed in the Court of Appeal in July.

“Mr Speaker, I have dedicated my entire life to serving my country to bring law and environment together,” Mr Ferreira said during his contribution to a Constitutional Amendment Bill to establish the independent Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions.

“Whether it was standing up for justice in the wake of the Marathon oil spill cover up or speaking out on behalf of the residents of Bimini, even leading judicial action to prevent the environmental destruction of their island.

“So, Mr Speaker, as a result of standing up for what I believed in or having the courage to face my own convictions placed in my heart by the Almighty, speaking out on behalf of those who had no voices or whose voices were stunned by fear, as a result of that, I experienced brutal victimisation.

“I endured threats of death, attempted break-ins at home and my office, car tyres slashed, harassment of my dear mother on her deathbed.

“Some of my colleagues endured much more than this.”

He continued: “Mr Speaker these criminal acts were reported, but no prosecutorial action was taken.

“Ultimately to ensure my safety and that of my family, we had to reach out to an international human rights group for help who urged the then government to ensure our safety and those of our colleagues.

“So I have a special interest in this legislation. Anything which strengthens the independence of the country prosecutorial system will get my support.”

Last November, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) called on the Christie administration to take steps to protect the lives and personal integrity of five Save the Bays members and their nuclear families following a petition made by the Grand Bahama Human Rights Association (GBHRA) members Fred Smith QC, journalist Francisco Nunez, activist Joseph Darville, singer Kirkland Bodie and Mr Ferreira.

The petition alleged the men have been subject to threats of harm, harassment and intimidation as a result of their advocacy and adversarial stance against the government and private developers on environmental issues, and that these actions have been endorsed by “official and unofficial” state agents.