A U.S. government secret document in possession of supporters of the Grenada 17 has revealed that the Prosecution Team of lawyers in the Maurice Bishop Murder Trial expected the judges of the Court of Appeal to free trade unionist John Chalky Ventour and former army officer Cecil Prime.

The document is one of many obtained under a Court Order in the U.S.A. The court order was obtained in accordance with the U.S. Freedom of Information Act. The Act, however, allows United States government agencies to invoke any of nine exemption clauses to withhold certain documents. The CIA, DIA, FBI and State Department, all of which are subject to this court order, have invoked all of the exemptions and have only handed over a small specimen of documents thus far. Efforts continue in the U.S. courts to force them to hand over the rest. Supporters of the Grenada 17 in the U.S. describe the documents so far handed over as "only the tip of the iceberg".

EXTREMELY DISTURBING

The unclassified documents, among other things, reveal a consistent pattern of involvement and interference by U.S. government officials in the legal process which landed 14 former revolutionary officials on death row. One top U.S. attorney has described the revelations as extremely disturbing and requiring a thorough investigation. He said that, were this in the US, somebody would be facing impeachment.

ACQUITTAL OF VENTOUR AND PRIME EXPECTED

In one of the several dozen documents, a message from the U.S. Embassy in Grenada to the U.S. State Department dated 28^th August 1990, it is stated inter alia that:

Director of Public Prosecutions of Grenada Vilma Hylton, told Poloff [the Political Officer of the US Embassy] on August 24^th that the final session of the Appellate Proceedings in the Maurice Bishop Murder Trial will be on September 21…Hylton told Poloff that she expects that the guilty verdict will be upheld in cases of twelve of the fourteen defendants convicted of murder. She said that she expects that the conviction of John Ventour will be overturned (a decision with which Hylton said she does not disagree). However, she said that the court may acquit Defendant Cecil Prime, an acquittal that she would find hard to accept.

In the final analysis neither Ventour nor Prime were acquitted. The death sentences were upheld against both and they still languish in prison.

OTHER REVELATIONS

* The secret documents also contain revelations of secret discussions between some  of the judges and US Embassy officials both in Grenada and Barbados.

* They reveal that the DPP was reporting to the US Embassy on a regular basis. Under the Grenada Constitution, the office of the DPP is an independent position. The DPP is not supposed to even report to the government of Grenada. Yet here the holder of the position was reporting to a foreign power in a political case which was being effectively financed by that foreign power and in whose outcome that power had a demonstrable interest.

* The US government was secretly approached by officials of the Grenada Government to help draw up guidelines for the conduct of the appeal following the death of the former President of the Court of Appeal, J.O.F Haynes.

* The US Embassy was privy to private discussions of the judges regarding the case during the eight month period after the completion of arguments when the judges were considering their verdicts.

* And that during that eight month period the three Court of Appeal judges were promised a further $650,000 US for the delivery of their judgement, over and above what they were entitled under their contracts. This additional sum was to be shared up among the three judges. Even so, despite repeated requests and the command of Section 8 of Grenada’s constitution, the Grenada 17 have been denied access to a copy of the judgement.

Supporters of the Grenada 17 intend to hand over the documents to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission which is due to begin sittings in Grenada soon. The Grenada 17 intend to request of the Commissioners that they seek diplomatic assistance to obtain access from the U.S. of all the documents referred to in the U.S. Court Order and which have not yet been handed over. Among the documents requested and which the 17 hope would be handed over to the TRC are:

1. All documents relating directly or indirectly to covert U.S. involvement in Grenada from the day of the 1979 revolution in Grenada; all documents relating directly or indirectly to the period from 1979 to 1983 when Maurice Bishop served as Prime Minister; and all documents relating directly or indirectly to the U.S. military invasion in October 1983 and the subsequent U.S. military occupation of Grenada
2. Documents provided to and/or created by President Reagan and any documents provided to and/or created by the Secretary of Defense Casper Weinberger concerning all phases of covert activity in Grenada from 1979 through 1983 concerning the planning of the U.S. invasion
3. Documents relating to and inquiries into the causes and circumstances of the assassination of Maurice Bishop in October, 1983
4. Documents provided to and/or created by President Reagan concerning the death of Maurice Bishop
5. Documents relating to the trial of Hudson Austin or any other person accused of the assassination of Maurice Bishop
6. Any and all records regarding Cletus St. Paul, a person who was a witness in the trial regarding the assassination of Maurice Bishop.

Released by Committee To Free The Grenada 17