{"id":128171,"date":"2021-04-29T15:14:58","date_gmt":"2021-04-29T19:14:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/?p=128171"},"modified":"2021-04-29T15:14:58","modified_gmt":"2021-04-29T19:14:58","slug":"minister-benjamin-demands-removal-of-false-story-and-an-apology","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/minister-benjamin-demands-removal-of-false-story-and-an-apology\/","title":{"rendered":"Minister Benjamin demands removal of false story and an apology"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\u201cThis is an obvious malicious endeavour that is politically motivated and groundless in fact\u201d. \u00a0 That\u2019s the robust response of Steadroy \u2018Cutie\u2019 Benjamin, Antigua and Barbuda\u2019s Minister of Legal Affairs, to an online publication today.<\/p>

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The Minister has taken swift action in defence of himself, his public office and the image of the nation of Antigua and Barbuda.\u00a0 His lawyers have advised the publishers of WIC News that the story must be removed from its website and an apology issued or immediate legal action for libel will ensue.<\/p>\n

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Among the false and defamatory allegations, the WIC News story stated that Minister Benjamin \u201cbroke a deal with a wealthy businessman by providing safe heaven (sic) in exchange for a regular inflow of cash as protection money\u201d.\u00a0 The Minister responded that \u201cthis malicious libel will be met head-on, if the publication does not remove the story and apologize.\u00a0 Should the publishers wittingly or unwittingly, continue to participate in this political smearing, I will not hesitate to invoke all legal measures for remedial action\u201d.<\/p>

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Minister Benjamin also stated that \u201cAntigua and Barbuda has a legal system, not controlled by any one person.\u00a0 Moreover, there can be no evidence to substantiate the allegations, because they are blatantly false\u201d.<\/p>

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Stating that he has always advocated a free press and has acted as Attorney-General to preserve and protect this right, Minister Benjamin note that the \u201cWIC story is not representative of a free press, but of political scandal mongering that demeans journalistic standards\u201d.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI have given the publishers of WIC News a fair opportunity not to be used as a political football and to act properly.\u00a0 I sincerely hope they will do so, or necessary legal action will be taken\u201d, the Minister said.<\/p>

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Benjamin added that \u201cI am taking the matter to court in England and will be seeking substantial damages.\u00a0The Extradition process is governed by the Minister and Ministry of Foreign Affairs.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cThis is an obvious malicious endeavour that is politically motivated and groundless in fact\u201d. \u00a0 That\u2019s the robust response of Steadroy \u2018Cutie\u2019 Benjamin, Antigua and Barbuda\u2019s Minister of Legal Affairs, to an online publication today.   The Minister has taken swift action in defence of himself, his public office and the image of the nation […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-128171","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nMinister Benjamin demands removal of false story and an apology - Antigua News Room<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/minister-benjamin-demands-removal-of-false-story-and-an-apology\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Minister Benjamin demands removal of false story and an apology\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u201cThis is an obvious malicious endeavour that is politically motivated and groundless in fact\u201d. \u00a0 That\u2019s the robust response of Steadroy \u2018Cutie\u2019 Benjamin, Antigua and Barbuda\u2019s Minister of Legal Affairs, to an online publication today.   The Minister has taken swift action in defence of himself, his public office and the image of the nation […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/minister-benjamin-demands-removal-of-false-story-and-an-apology\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Antigua News Room\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/antiguanewsroom\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-04-29T19:14:58+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/mlavawteztbj.i.optimole.com\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Cutie.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"934\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"525\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Editor\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@AntiguaNewsRoom\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@AntiguaNewsRoom\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Editor\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/minister-benjamin-demands-removal-of-false-story-and-an-apology\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/minister-benjamin-demands-removal-of-false-story-and-an-apology\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Editor\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#\/schema\/person\/36cac05ef6398fe56ae3e6317f8535c5\"},\"headline\":\"Minister Benjamin demands removal of false story and an apology\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-04-29T19:14:58+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-04-29T19:14:58+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/minister-benjamin-demands-removal-of-false-story-and-an-apology\/\"},\"wordCount\":335,\"commentCount\":13,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/minister-benjamin-demands-removal-of-false-story-and-an-apology\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/minister-benjamin-demands-removal-of-false-story-and-an-apology\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/minister-benjamin-demands-removal-of-false-story-and-an-apology\/\",\"name\":\"Minister Benjamin demands removal of false story and an apology - 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