PAJ condemns treatment of media worker at St Thomas municipal meeting, calls for accountability

The Press Association of Jamaica (PAJ) is demanding accountability after Radio Jamaica News correspondent Henry Shirley was excluded from a St Thomas Municipal Corporation committee meeting on October 7, an act the organisation of journalists labels a direct blow to public transparency.

In a release today, the PAJ said it is “particularly troubled by the ultra-aggressive conduct of the Jamaica Labour Party’s John Lee [who is the Councillor for the Yallahs Division] during the exchange and the decision by committee chairman and Deputy Mayor, the JLP’s Michael McLeod, to order Mr Shirley to leave.”

A 10-minute recording of the exchange was captured by the journalist, with the PAJ describing Lee’s conduct as “well below the standard of civility and professionalism expected of an elected representative”.