Browne Escalates Feud With Regional Judiciary
ST. JOHN’S, Antigua — Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne has intensified his standoff with the regional judiciary, questioning why associations representing women judges did not speak out when young girls were raped and their attackers received what he called lenient prison sentences.
In a social media post, Browne shared a graphic asking why the “regional women judges” had no “concerns and rebukes” for cases in which sexual predators and pedophiles received sentences of less than five years. He also circulated a lengthy statement from an unnamed author warning of an “unchallenged rogue judiciary” and accusing judges of judicial activism, declaring that “Wokeness has taken over our civilization.” Browne added his own comment that the executive, legislature and judiciary “must hold each other accountable, to ensure responsible governance.”
The remarks follow a joint statement from five regional bodies — the Caribbean Association of Women Judges, the Commonwealth of The Bahamas Association of Women Judges, the Eastern Caribbean Association of Women Judges, the Guyana Association of Women Judges and the Trinidad and Tobago Association of Women Judges — expressing “grave concern” over Browne’s threat to deport a sitting judge over sentencing decisions. The associations said threatening a judge with deportation could not be characterized simply as robust criticism, stressing that judges must decide cases according to the constitution, the law, evidence, sentencing guidelines and binding appellate authority.
The dispute began after Browne criticized what he considered inadequate sentences for serious crimes during a national security meeting on Aug. 10. Addressing an unnamed judge, Browne warned that if the judicial officer could not follow Parliament’s lead in imposing longer sentences, the judge should leave Antigua and Barbuda voluntarily or face deportation and designation as persona non grata.
The Antigua and Barbuda Bar Association responded by calling the remarks a grave threat to judicial independence and urged Browne to withdraw them and affirm that executive power would not be used to influence or punish judicial officers. Browne rejected the demand, telling the association in a Facebook post: “Here is my response to your request for an apology: Piss off.”
Browne has maintained that judicial independence is essential but does not place judges or their decisions beyond public criticism. He has said his concerns were prompted by complaints from law enforcement officials and citizens over sentences handed down in firearm and statutory rape cases, and that as prime minister he has a duty to safeguard the public.
