PARAMARIBO--A strike by Prosecutors has caused the postponement of dozens of court hearings that were on the roll for Monday. “The Attorney General has announced that the Public Prosecutor is not coming,” Judge Ingrid Lachtijaran said as she postponed all her hearings by at least two weeks. The chair next to hers, where Prosecutor OvJ Nirmala Maikoe was supposed be seated, was empty.
The strike is the direct result of a decision by Justice and Police Minister Jennifer van Dijk-Silos, to withdraw all police protection from former Presidents, judges and members of the Prosecutor’s office, as well as several buildings. The dignitaries were not pleased.
In a terse statement they issued about their strike, the Prosecutors explained that their standpoint was unanimous and that it was a “matter of concern regarding non-existent conditions that were important for them to carry out their judicial tasks safely and responsibly.”
It is not clear how long the Prosecutors intend to stay on strike.
Judges and Prosecutors have received tight security details since the early ’90s, after threats were levied against members of the court.
