Finance Minister sues Kaieteur News for libel
DPI, Guyana, Friday, December 27, 2019
The Minister of Finance Minister, Hon. Winston Jordan has filed a lawsuit for libel against Kaieteur News and its editor Adam Harris.
The lawsuit is seeking damages of over $50Million for libel allegedly committed by the newspaper on October 18, 2019, when it published a letter to the editor under the caption, “Terminate a monster in its shell or it will come back to haunt you.”
According to the suit, the article portrayed the minister as “corrupt, immoral and was capable of corruptly influencing and or affecting and did so corruptly influence or affect a decision to terminate a Contract between ‘the Trinidadian Company’ and Guyoil and criminal means.”
The minister is also seeking $50Million in damages for libel allegedly committed by the online version of the newspaper on October 18, 2019, when it published the article.
Minister of Finance, Winston Jordan
The lawsuit said a mandatory injunction compelling the First and Second Named Respondents whether by themselves, their servants, agents, assigns or whomsoever to forthwith permanently removed the defamatory article from the Kaieteur News newspaper edition of the 18th day of October 2019, available at https://www.kaieteurnewsonline.com
According to the lawsuit, as a result of the headlines and articles and its dissemination, online and offline, the Claimant’s personal and professional reputation and standing has been irreparably and severely damaged, lowered in the estimation of right-thinking members of society and the Claimant has suffered and continues to suffer financial injury, constant distress, humiliation, embarrassment, indignity, pain and suffering.