‘I was targeted in murder-for-hire plot’

The plight of British solicitor and human rights activist Hannah Harris-Barrington, who had to flee Jamaica and return to England earlier this year because of death threats, false accusations and alleged corruption in the justice system, has caught the attention of British parliamentarians.

Last month, Member of Parliament David Rutley, the minister for the Americas and the Caribbean, wrote to Harris-Barrington seeking her consent to contact officials at the British High Commission in Kingston for them to seek the assistance of the Government to investigate her complaints.

Last week, Harris-Barrington told The Sunday Gleaner that she has consented.

She outlined that she came to Jamaica in 2008 with one purpose: to help the poor and underprivileged.

However, after working in several inner-city communities and fighting legal battles for the poor, including some Rastafarians who were being evicted from their homes, she came under severe attack.

“I was even reported twice to the General Legal Council (GLC) because I stood up for the rights of poor people. One of the complaints was withdrawn by my accuser on November 11 when the matter came for hearing before the GLC,” she said of the body that regulates the legal profession in Jamaica.

She said that to date, the person who withdrew the false complaint about a house sale has not been charged with making public mischief although she reported the matter to the police.

“The other complaint is pending before the GLC and I am positive that the disciplinary committee will find I did nothing wrong because I was just standing up for the rights of some Rastafarians who were served eviction notices after living on a property at Scotts Pass, Clarendon, for more than 20 years and had a legal right to adverse possession in title,” Harris-Barrington said.

“I had not been acting for them, but I penned a letter that they could lodge with the Supreme Court to avoid enforcement proceedings against them.”

The result was that the case was discontinued but was later brought back before the court, without any proper procedure, she said, describing the action as an abuse of the legal system.

In the other case involving Rastafarians in Pinnacle, St Catherine, the solicitor said the Government gave the Rastafarians land in exchange for that property and so they asked her to discontinue the court proceedings. A heritage site is now at that location.

“It is unbelievable the injustices I have seen meted out to the unfortunate in the society. I am imploring the lawyers in Jamaica to stand up and fight for the rights of the citizens,” she shared with The Sunday Gleaner.

Harris-Barrington has penned an open letter to the Solicitors Regulation Authority in England outlining “corruption in government, the justice system in Jamaica and the police force”.

“The police have devised other ways to carry out their extrajudicial killings and the murder-for-hire trade is so successful that most perpetrators are escaping the long arm of the law. Not everyone is corrupt, but it is certainly prevalent and the situation is not improving,” argued the legal practitioner, who is also known as Empress Nannah Nana.

She has written a book titled Garrisons and Life of Jamaica Mafia Dons.

“I have the necessary evidence to buttress my assertion that British solicitors must be alerted to the dangerous levels of corruption in Jamaica and that it is imperative representation be made to Parliament and the United Nations for the reciprocal judgments, agreement with Jamaica to be revised so that there is at least a review rather than just allowing judgments from Jamaica to be enforceable in England,” she said.

MARKED FOR DEATH

She suffered a stroke last year after hearing that she was “the target of a murder-for-hire plot”. She said she reported the matter to the General Legal Council.

On her return to England, Harris-Barrington lodged a complaint with Janet Daby, a member of parliament in the House of Commons.

Daby wrote to the then Foreign Secretary Liz Truss in March this year seeking assistance for her constituent.

Last month, MP Rutley responded to the letter.

Rutley stated that the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office “is committed to working with our partners worldwide to promote open and transparent societies, including by tackling corruption. The UK has a long-standing partnership supporting Jamaica on tackling corruption, serious organised crime and violence prevention. A key part of this has been supporting the development, evolution and strengthening of critical law enforcement agencies, most recently through a £17-million investment over five years.”

He noted that as outlined in their support for British nationals, they were unable to ensure safety and security in another country because that was the responsibility of the government and authorities of that country. However, he said the British government was able to give general information about local police and legal procedures as well as provide details of local lawyers who may be able to assist the consular team in Jamaica.

“With your constituent’s permission, our officials in our High Commission in Kingston would raise this case with the Jamaican government,” Rutley stated.

‘IT WAS GOD’S WILL’

Harris-Barrington said she is hoping the truth will be revealed and persons will be exposed for corruption, wrongdoing and failing to do their jobs.

She said before going back to England, she had reported her ordeal to the Integrity Commission, Jamaica’s main anti-corruption agency, and was instructed in November to refer the matter to the appropriate authority.

She has also levelled criticisms at the GLC.

Harris-Barrington, who is an ordained minister of religion of the Second Triumphant Church of Jesus Christ in England and former missionary of the Jessica Clarice Ministries in Jamaica, said she left her law practice in England to help the poor in Jamaica.

“Coming to Jamaica was not of my own will, but God’s will to investigate and expose corruption and to put an end to the suffering of the people in the garrisons,” she said.

She is now in the process of writing to the Secretary of State in England to stop the deportation of Jamaicans to the garrisons, she said.

“Whilst in Jamaica, I forwent my luxury home to live amongst the poor [as our outreach ministry would feed them] and to conduct an anthropological study of the Jamaican ghettos that would culminate in a book,” Harris-Barrington said.

“As a person from England, I was horrified to see children going hungry and to experience old people dying from hunger. I had no idea that starting from the very top to the bottom Jamaica is exceedingly corrupt.”

editorial@gleanerjm.com