Commissioner of Police, Gary Griffith, has observed the increase in the number of voice notes, anonymous videos, and social media posts using pseudonyms. These voice notes and posts appear to incite and encourage the public at large to protest, riot, and rise up against the Police and State institutions. Such conduct, the CoP says, is clearly designed and geared toward instability, panic, and efforts to de-stabilize our democracy.
The Commissioner notes that such conduct ought not to go unabated and he is calling on the public to assist in identifying who these individuals and/or groups are, in an effort to bring these persons to justice.
The Commissioner advises that the law relative to such conduct is the Sedition Act Chapter 11:04 wherein it states that: -
4. (1) A person is guilty of an offence who— (a) does or attempts to do, or makes any preparation to do, or conspires with any person to do, any act with a seditious intention; (b) communicates any statement having a seditious intention; (c) publishes, sells, offers for sale or distributes any seditious publication; (d) with a view to its being published prints, writes, composes, makes, reproduces, imports or has in his possession, custody, power or control any seditious publication.
(2) Subject to subsection (3), a person guilty of an offence under this section is liable— (a) on summary conviction to a fine of three thousand dollars and to imprisonment for two years; or (b) on conviction on indictment to a fine of twenty thousand dollars and to imprisonment for five years, and any seditious publication, the subject matter of the charge, shall be forfeited.
Further Section 106 of the Summary Offences Act Chapter 11:02 which states: -
Any person who - (a) Sends any message by telephone which is grossly offensive or of an indecent, obscene, or menacing character; or (b) sends any message by telephone, or any telegram, which he knows to be false, for the purpose of causing annoyance, inconvenience or needless anxiety to any other person or; (c) Persistently makes telephone calls without reasonable cause and for any such purpose as mentioned above, Is liable on summary conviction to a fine of two hundred dollars or to imprisonment for one month.
Anyone with legitimate information regarding the identification of such individuals or groups referred to above, can WhatsApp the Commissioner of Police at 482-GARY (4279) or email him at cop@ttps.gov.tt.
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