Controversial Iranian businessman Mohammed Harajchi is following through on his promise to sue Deputy Prime Minister Cynthia Pratt for character defamation if she does not publicly apologize to him.
Derek Ryan, Mr. Harajchiﾴs attorney, has written to the DPMﾴs attorney, Michael Barnett, asking that she apologize within a week for statements she made relating to Mr. Harajchi or face the lawsuit.
Since Minister Pratt has already indicated that she had nothing to apologize for, it appears that legal action may be imminent.
Mr. Harajchiﾴs warning to sue the deputy prime minister was made last week through his attorney who said Minister Pratt defamed his client in her response to Mr. Harajchiﾴs claims that he paid for burglar bars for her constituency office.
The deputy prime minister has denied that Mr. Harajchi ever did this, although Mr. Ryan insists that the $2,400 cheque allegedly written out to Community Hardware Company was cashed.
However, Minister Pratt has acknowledged that Mr. Harajchi paid some of her poll workers in 2002. One of them was Joseph Pratt, a relative of her husband, who received $100.
She characterized as lies the burglar bar claim and told the Bahama Journal she would support any move to revoke Mr. Harajchiﾴs permanent residency, saying, ﾠﾓI donﾴt see him as an asset to the country.ﾒ
Her remarks reportedly angered the Iranian businessman who resides on Paradise Island.
But Mr. Ryan told reporters last week, ﾓWe request from Mother Pratt forthwith, to render a public apology to my client, Mohammed Harajchi, because the facts as they speak for themselves – show that the monies that were given to her were not for constituents.
ﾓAnd even if these members were constituents in her area, they were being paid for services rendered to the deputy prime minister.ﾒ
Mr. Barnett has reportedly written back to Mr. Ryan requesting that he provide specifics supporting the claim that Minister Pratt defamed Mr. Harajchi.
The DPM has also accused Mr. Harajchiﾴs Confidential Source newspaper of attempting to defame her character through several stories.
The Bahama Journal
