Peyrefitte on Cybercrime Charge: “This Never Belonged in Criminal Court”

A satirical Facebook post by former UDP Chairman Alberto August over the weekend remains at the center of a fierce debate on free speech. Attorney Michael Peyrefitte says the government overreacted, turning a civil matter into a criminal case. Instead of heading to civil court, authorities detained August and charged him under the Cybercrime Act. Now, critics are questioning political influence and uneven enforcement. Peyrefitte says this should never have gone beyond a civil dispute.

 

Michael Peyrefitte, Attorney at Law

“Oscar Mira, oh, I’m sorry, Minister Oscar Amira, before I offend him and he comes for me, he was mocking him to say, “I am saying this in his voice.” And he says something that was reflective of what they had said months ago about an incident in Belmopan. But at no time did Alberto August say Oscar Mira said this exactly in quotation marks. So that’s a non-starter to begin with. But even if you feel offended by that or you feel like somebody’s putting words into your mouth, take them to civil court, sue him for defamation or something to that effect. You don’t send six policemen, threaten the man’s family. And it was not a question. You’re coming with us to the police station. You’re going to be locked up. You’re going to be charged. And so if you look at it, it was executed with military precision.”

 

Selective Justice? Peyrefitte Calls Out Unequal Law Enforcement

 

Attorney Michael Peyrefitte is shifting the spotlight in the Alberto August controversy, raising concerns not just about free speech, but fairness. He points out that while August spent more than a day in custody over an ironic Facebook post, another case has seen no action. Peyrefitte says comments made online by the brother of Minister Oscar Mira could be interpreted as a threat against his client, yet police have not intervened. For Peyrefitte, the contrast is hard to ignore. He argues it exposes a troubling imbalance, where similar behavior draws very different responses from authorities. Now, he’s questioning whether the law is being applied consistently, or selectively.

 

Michael Peyrefitte, Attorney at law

“You don’t put a person in piss house for a post. If you post some false narrative in your view and you feel, you send a letter before action. You sue in a civil court if that’s how you feel. But what I see people put up in social media, Jules, what I see people put up on Facebook, Instagram, then the jails will be filled or the piss houses will be filled because people have said a lot worse than what Alberto August said, and they’ve been able to not be bothered. Brian Mira, Alberto August’s nemesis and Oscar Mira’s brother put up a post said, “If I see him, I would catch a charge.” Meaning what? Now how could you interpret that? Brian Lira is saying, if I see Alberto August, I’m gonna do something criminal to him. That would be wrong, and so he’s not arrested for that. He’s not being detained for that. The- you don’t have six policemen at his house trying to arrest him and put him in jail for the weekend. So there is the imbalance.”

 

Brian Mira deleted his post hours later, but Alberto August says he is taking the threat seriously and taking precautions to protect himself and his family.

 

Attention readers: This online newscast is a direct transcript of our evening television broadcast. When speakers use Kriol, we have carefully rendered their words using a standard spelling system.

 

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