The President  of the Bahamas Christian  Council Bishop Delton Fernander is of the opinion that the  arrest and subsequent arraignment of four Grand Bahamians on fraud and money laundering charges give the appearance of tit for tat.

He  said the situation raises serious questions.

“That is becoming more and more clear in the manner in which cases are being held is more for show. Thousands of Bahamians go to court everyday and you don’t get the kind of drama you get around what is taking place today.

“As Christian Council President I would say that we need to be about law and order and let the court case take its full length and its full weight,  but we must be careful of using those tools that are available to us to persecute. 

“I’m not saying that it hasn’t been done before, but this is a new day and a new Bahamas and the people are really tired of people using their power to persecute people and sometimes to marginalize people and their families,” he said.  

Michelle Reckley, Stephanie Collie, Kylon Vincent and Christopher Symonette – all believed to be PLP supporters – have all since been released on $9,000 bail.

The arrest and arraignments came just two weeks after former PLP MP and Public Hospital’s Authority Chairman Frank Smith was   acquitted by  the Chief  Magistrate of bribery and extortion charges.

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Bishop Fernander believes such cases could have gone through the courts with less of a show. 

“We could go through the system of the law without the necessary show.  We  put behind these cases and at the end of the day, I want to be clear that I would like for the law to be free to have its full flow,” he said  

The arraignments last week prompted the opposition to boycott parliamentary proceedings and according to Progressive  Liberal  Party Chairman, Senator Fred Mitchell, this will remain the case until the party gets the desired results.