By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS

Tribune Staff Reporter

lmunnings@tribunemedia.net

COALITION of Independents (COI) chairman Charlotte Green was questioned by police yesterday about her allegations regarding the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ handling of passports and visas, claims the ministry had asked police to formally investigate.

Ms Green told The Tribune she spent about 15 minutes at the Security Intelligence Branch, where officers compared her remarks with the ministry’s statement. She said she provided evidence, including press clippings, before being released.

“I gave them my evidence, and like I said, they have to investigate, but the evidence was presented and like I said, my statement that I had released, I stand by that. Everything I said, I stand by that,” she said.

She described the questioning as intimidation and warned it threatened free expression. “That’s an infringement on the freedom of speech for every Bahamian, because if it can happen to me, it can happen to others, and this is what victimisation looks like,” she said.

Her interview followed a August statement in which the Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed it had asked police to probe her allegations, saying she accused Minister Fred Mitchell of overseeing a rise in fraudulent passports and “selling visas like candy.” The ministry wrote to the Commissioner of Police requesting a formal investigation and urged Ms Green to present evidence. “If she cannot, the country will know that the allegations are bogus,” the ministry said at the time.

The ministry stressed yesterday that Mr Mitchell personally made no complaint, and that the referral to police was made through the Permanent Secretary “in the public interest”. It added that the matter is now strictly in the hands of law enforcement.

Police have not confirmed whether a formal investigation is underway.

Ms Green first made the allegations in an audio post on August 19, accusing the government of granting passports to foreigners without proper qualifications and pointing to alleged scandals involving visas. She also claimed Haitians with Bahamian passports were travelling daily to the Turks and Caicos despite not being able to speak English or complete immigration forms.