When we ended the news at 7:30 last night, ACC Vice-Principal and Collet Area Representative Patrick Faber was still in a detention cell at the Belmopan Police Station. Faber was arrested at the University of Belize's main campus in Belmopan when he tried to enter the campus to observe a forum between college students and the Prime Minister. He was finally charged and released at 9:30 pm, after 6 hours of detention. This morning he went back up to Belmopan to appear before the Magistrate and 7NEWS was there.

Jules Vasquez Reporting,
We all saw what happened yesterday and this morning Patrick Faber went to court to answer for it. Patrick Faber arrived at Belmopan Magistrate's Court this morning with his Attorney Dean Barrow and Cayo South Area Representative John Saldivar. He was composed and relaxed, not at all like yesterday when, belly out, Faber was carted away by the police. But this morning, they proceeded in almost stately fashion into the court building for their 9:00 am court appointment. Faber's case was the first dealt with - he was assessed with two counts of aggravated assault. He came out of the court in 20 minutes and denied the charges.

Patrick Faber, Charged with Aggravated Assault
"Those charges are absolutely false Jules. I at no point lifted my hands to hit anybody or harm anybody. I did push with my body insisting to get to where I was intending to go which is the forum with the Prime Minister and that was about it. In fact it was Superintendent Orio who assaulted me by hitting me in the face and saying that I was upstart and that he would fix my business."

Jules Vasquez,
A critic would say looking at it that you put yourself in harm's way. That it was clear that you were not welcome there eventhough you are a member of the National Assembly. They made it clear that you weren't welcome there and by insisting you put yourself in harm's way.

Patrick Faber,
"Well my premise is not that I am a member of the House of Representatives at all; that was not the point that I was trying to make in order that I get in. The point that I was making is that they had a flyer that said this was a public forum. What right did the police have from stopping anybody from getting in there?"

Jules Vasquez,
Was what Mr. Faber did a function of civil disobedience?

Dean Barrow, Faber's Attorney
"He did because in the normal course he could have said well they are denying me my right to enter but because I will met with force by the police if I try to pursue that right I will walk away. I think it is the essence of civil disobedience to say no Mr. Police you will have to lock me up, you'll have to put me in the pisshouse but I insist, I insist, on confronting your force and I insist on pursuing my right as a citizen."

Jules Vasquez,
What do you expect your constituents and your students feel when you were doing what you were doing?

Patrick Faber,
"Well Jules what I did I stood up for what I believe was right. I maintain that it was a public forum and as a member of the public out here I had a right to get in there. The police were acting wrongly and I stood up for what I believed in and I believe the children who I teach will look at that and see a lesson in that. I believe also that the people in my constituency will look at that and see a lesson in that. In fact my people in my consituenency quite often are the victims of this same kind of police abuse so that is nothing strange to the people. When my people see the struggle that I have with the police on the television they understand because they live it everyday."

Jules Vasquez,
You spent 6 hours in the detention cell also known as the pisshouse, was that humiliating for you as not someone with a criminal background and also as a member of the National Assembly?

Patrick Faber,
"It was indeed but as I expressed to the officers in the station at the time I know that they were doing their job. Initially when they told me putting me in the cell, I told them I'm not going willingly and I told them well you have to put me in there and they said are you going to resist if we try and I told them no and they picked me up and put me in the cell. I must say that the officers at the station treated me very nicely. Shortly after I was put in there Mr. Barrow had come and I was taken out of the cell in order for me and him to sit down and talk just a little while and in the meantime they cleaned out the cell, disinfectant and everything, so it wasn't the worst pisshouse experience a person could have."

But, his attorney and political boss Dean Barrow sees no victory in a pleasant pisshouse experience, he says the entire episode is an outrage.

Dean Barrow,
"In Patrick's case I want to look today at the constitutionally implications. Clearly we're going to sue for the assault committed on him by Superintendent Orio and we will also would wish to sue for the false imprisonment and the malicious prosecution proceeding with the charges will constitute. But those things apart because though one would need to wait until the case has been determined, the charges against him have been determined, that apart though, denying him entry to the forum is conceivably a breach of his constitutionally right to freedom of movement so I want to look at that today."

But beyond the alleged abrogation of Faber's rights - Barrow says the entire ugly episode shows a government in crisis.

Dean Barrow,
"Its just a horrible reflection on the way things have deteriorated under the current administration. It shows that of course they have to resort to guns and clubs to stop people from pursuing legitimate rights. It makes clear that the government has lost all legitimacy and that because it has to rule by force, clearly that signals the beginning of the end."

Police took a sample from Faber to test his blood alcohol level. He will also test his own sample taken at the same time to ensure his accuracy.

Faber becomes the third prominent UDP figure to be arrested in the past week. Last week Friday night, UDP activist and newspaper editor Alberto August was held overnight in San Ignacio and released without being charged. On that same night, the UDP town Mayor, Alfonso Cruz was also arrested and held overnight on a false firearm charge. He has since been charged for assaulting a police officer. And stay tuned to our newscast, because later on we'll have much more form the fallout of the Faber arrest as ACC students take to the street in support of their vice principal.

Related Story
. See Streaming Video of Faber's Arrest on Freebelize.org
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