Privy Council Denies Archer Permission to Appeal

NASSAU, BAHAMAS – The Privy Council has denied Omar Archer’s attempt to block prosecution against him for intentional libel.

The decision paves the way for Archer’s criminal libel trial to continue before Magistrate Derence Rolle-Davis.

Archer, who describes himself as a political activist, was charged with intentional libel in 2015 after he posted a woman’s photo on his Facebook page, claimed that she had AIDS and was spreading it daily.

In 2017, Archer’s lawyer, Queen’s Counsel Fred Smith, tried to have Section 315 (2) of the Penal Code struck down as unconstitutional after the magistrate called on him to present a defense.

Archer, who could be jailed for up to two years if convicted, contends the law violates his constitutional right to freedom of expression.

Smith argued that libel is a civil claim.

However, both the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal rejected Archer’s constitutional challenge to the criminal libel law.

Archer tried to take his legal battle to the Privy Council, the country’s highest court.
The Privy Council refused to grant him permission to appeal, saying, “none of the proposed grounds of appeal raises an arguable point of law and each is devoid of merit and has no prospect of success.”

In April, Archer was charged with intentional libel after he claimed in a voice note that National Security Minister Wayne Munroe beat his wife.