ROSEAU, Dominica, Sep. 24, CMC – Director of Public Prosecutions Sherma Dalrymple has discontinued an obstruction charge against United Workers Party political leader Dr Thomson Fontaine, bringing an end to proceedings stemming from events in Roseau in February 2017.
According to a notice issued by the DPP, the case against Fontaine was formally discontinued under Section 72(2)(c) of Dominica’s Constitution.
Fontaine had been accused of wilfully obstructing police officers on February 7, 2017, by refusing repeated instructions to allow a truck to move away from the Financial Centre following an opposition-organised public meeting on Kennedy Avenue.
The charge carried the possibility of imprisonment if Fontaine had been convicted.
In a statement following the DPP’s decision, Fontaine welcomed the end of the case and repeated his long-standing assertion that he had done nothing wrong.
He also alleged that the prosecution had been politically motivated, a claim he has maintained throughout the proceedings.
Fontaine said the case had taken a heavy personal and financial toll over more than nine years, including repeated court appearances while he was working in South Sudan.
He said he was required to return to Dominica numerous times during that period, often at short notice, and claimed the cost of travel and legal representation ran into substantial sums.
CMC/dr/kb/2026