Natural Resources Minister Vickram Bharrat is demanding a retraction and apology over a misleading Facebook post that claims he was detained and questioned by authorities in the United States.
On Friday, seasoned journalist Enrico Woolford posted on his Facebook page that the minister was escorted and questioned by Federal agents at the John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York upon his arrival there on Thursday evening.
However, Bharrat denied the allegation, saying to this publication on Friday that he was neither “detained nor interrogated.” He further explained that it was on an emergency trip to New York to visit his father who has been hospitalised and was assisted by US authorities to expedite his immigration clearance process.
Consequently, the minister, through his lawyer, has since written Woolford demanding a full and public apology.
The letter, which was sent by Attorney Sanjeev Datadin, informed Woolford that his “…account of what transpired is totally false. Your allegation and insinuation [are] utterly false and without merit.”
“Your libellous publication was maliciously posted to deliberately cause damage to my client’s reputation and character. I am instructed to inform you that your statement is defamatory and has caused injury to my client’s reputation and good character.”
The lawyer indicated to Woolford that he has to issue a “clear, unqualified and unconditional apology and retraction in a form, manner and terms to be agreed on or before the 14th July, 2024 at 2 pm.”
In addition to the apology, Datadin is also seeking on behalf of his client “substantial compensation and reasonable legal costs” given the gravity of the false allegations that were made.
