The Tribune

EDITOR, The Tribune.

Well-known human rights activist Rodney Moncur stated on his Facebook page that he was arrested over the weekend for posting what the police called “obscene” photos on his Facebook page. He said that at the time the police asked him to take the pictures down or that he would be charged.

He was reportedly uncooperative at the time, but police reportedly were able to hack his account and remove the obscene photographs.

I saw the alleged photographs on Facebook on the weekend and I was taken aback at what I saw. The two pictures showed the dead torso of a Bahamian male who died while in protective police custody earlier this year. I am not sure how the family felt with these pictures being in the public domain, but at the core it seems a bit excessive.

Moncur has been an advocate for people’s rights in the Bahamas for as long as I can remember. I worked with him briefly on one or two projects. No one can deny his insatiable need to fight for what he believes to be right.

He is a very astute man and I don’t say this jokingly. I was impressed with his knowledge on certain matters and even though at times he appears to make people laugh by way of his demeanour, I can tell you that he takes whatever he does very seriously.

I think in this case though, Moncur may have crossed the line. Like I said he is very astute and he is a Justice of the Peace. I am sure that Moncur was not arrested on a whim.

The police would have followed protocol and asked Moncur to take the photos down before his arrest on Saturday because they believe he was in violation of some section of the penal code.

If this did not happen, then Mr Moncur I apologise.
But when Moncur was locked up on Saturday past, I am sure that every courtesy was extended to him in order to allow him to comply. He apparently did not.

As a high profile figure, activist and a Justice of the Peace, Moncur must know that he is expected to abide by the laws of the country. By all accounts, he knows the law. The police want to find out his source for the photographs of the male torso because these pictures were taken in the morgue. I am not sure of the protocol at the morgue, but I don’t think that as a society we want to have our citizens posting postmortem pictures of anyone who has died on social networks.

News reports said that he was charged and jailed on Thursday because he was unable to make bail. It seems like he will have to spend the night in jail. I know it has to be troubling for him the lack of support that he apparently received from the public today during his arraignment.
I believe that Moncur is still a genuine fighter for the rights of the impoverished, but in this instance, I believe he picked the wrong fight.

DEHAVILLAND MOSS

Nassau,

April 2, 2013.