Mauritius Lawyers booked for breach of curfew while accompanying their client to the police headquarters

Recent press reports show that at least three lawyers have been booked for breach of curfew because they did not carry (with them) a « memo » which has been given to lawyers requiring to travel to assist their clients

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Mauritius is under a sanitary curfew since about a month now. People are advised to stay at home and not to venture outside unless they have a Work Access Permit and are going to their workplace or going out to get essential items (e.g food provision, medicines, etc).

Police officers are on regular patrols across the island and they have also set up road blocks in certain places to ensure that the curfew is being respected.

In the early press conferences of the National Communication Committee on COVID-19, a representative of the Mauritius Police Force informed people that officers will ascertain the urgency of traveling on a case-by-case basis and an officer will be allowed to book a person for breach of curfew if the latter provides an unjustified reason for traveling.

Recent press reports show that at least three lawyers have been booked for breach of curfew because they did not carry (with them) a « memo » issued by the nearest Police station specifying the context for which they are traveling. As per this report by ION News, one of the lawyers commented that either the police officers would make him wait for hours to provide a memo or ask him to call back later.

The lawyers had accompanied their client to the Central Criminal Investigation Division, Police Headquarters, Line Barracks, Port-Louis.

The common factor among these three lawyers is that they are representing clients who said something that « annoyed » somebody with close ties with the government.