Paul Slowe to pay SOCU Head $10M for slander

Finding that words uttered by retired Assistant Commissioner of Police, Paul Slowe were intentional and malicious against Head of the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU), Fazil Karimbaksh, the High Court on Friday awarded damages and cost to the tune of $10 million and $300,000, respectively.

Karimbaksh had filed a $70 million lawsuit against Slowe for slander in March 2022.

The judgement was handed down by Justice Simone Morris-Ramlall, who also awarded a permanent injunction preventing Slowe from publishing any further defamatory words concerning Karimbaksh.

Justice Morris-Ramlall took into consideration that there were repeated utterance against Karimbaksh and there was no remorse or apology by Slowe.

Karimbaksh through his attorneys, C.V. Satram and Ron Motilall, complained that Slowe made several false and defamatory statements about him on his Facebook and YouTube pages ‘Speaking Out: Exposing Corruption and Incompetence’ between November 2, 2021, to January 12, 2022.

Among other things, Slowe said that Karimbaksh was unqualified, a political puppet, guilty of sexual offences and that he was complicit in the shooting of a young boy in Berbice.

“The honourable Judge examined the evidence before her, including the written statements and oral testimony over several days, and concluded that Slowe intentionally and repeatedly presented the information in his videos as truth as opposed to an opinion or a comment.

“The Honourable Judge found Slowe to be acting maliciously and noted that Mr. Slowe dared Karimbaksh and other policemen to sue him and even that he (Slowe) had the evidence. But no evidence was ever produced,” a press statement on Friday noted.

Slowe was represented by attorney, Nigel Hughes.