ST. GEORGE'S Grenada, Jan 10 (CMC) - Prime Minister Keith Mitchell Wednesday said that his administration had not yet taken a position on whether or not to release the remaining 13 prisoners from the so called 'Grenada 17'.
Mitchell, speaking on local radio, said that he had to address the issue because Grenadians were concerned that the prisoners would be set free after three had completed their sentences in December last year.
"While not taking a position on whether this has to happen or not, I just need to clarify some fundamental issues," Mitchell said.
"There are a number of local lawyers here who happen to be associated with the (parliamentary opposition) National Democratic Congress that have been taking initiatives and costing the government lots of money filing cases at all levels of the court system including the Privy Council to have the members up there released.
"We are a government of laws. There is a case right now before the Privy Council and if they rule in the 17's favour, we have no choice but to obey it. But it must be clear that the government has been defending what we perceive to be…the interest of the vast majority of Grenadians."
Mitchell said that his government was not yet prepared to take a position as to whether or not the prisoners should be released, since it could be interpreted as interfering with a matter which is before the courts.
"If the court rules, we have no choice but to obey the orders of the court," Mitchell reiterated.
Andy Mitchell, Vincent Joseph and Cosmos Richardson were released from the Richmond Hill Prison in December 2006.
They were among 17, including former Deputy Prime Minister Bernard Coard, who were convicted on 11 counts of manslaughter and sentenced to 30 years in prison for the murder of left wing Prime Minister Maurice Bishop and several other members of his cabinet during a palace coup in 1983.
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