Antigua-libel

ST JOHN'S, Antigua (AP) - A judge in Antigua and Barbuda has ruled that a former government minister was libeled by a newspaper in the Caribbean country.

High Court Justice Errol Thomas awarded Eastern Caribbean $25,000 (US$9,200) in damages yesterday to former Finance Minister Molwyn Joseph. The Observer newspaper said it would appeal the ruling.

The case stemmed from an article published on November 3, 2000, by the Observer that mentioned the transit through customs of a Rolls Royce owned by a friend of Joseph's upon its arrival in port in 1996.

The newspaper article said Joseph had "caused to be stolen from the Customs at the Deep Water Harbour a Rolls Royce," for which no customs duties were paid.
Joseph sued in 2002, denying he did anything wrong. He called yesterday's ruling "an important day for justice."

Observer editor Winston Derrick said he would appeal the ruling and said the judge "did not understand the case" and made errors in the proceedings.
Derrick said the article's contents offered fair commentary on the actions of a public figure.

Joseph served in Cabinet posts for years in the government of Prime Minister Lester Bird until March, when Bird lost his re-election bid, ending a family dynasty that had dominated the Caribbean nation for more than half a century.

The incident mentioned in the news article happened in 1996 while Joseph was finance minister. A few days after officials cleared the antique Rolls Royce through customs, it turned up parked at Joseph's home.

Bird ordered an investigation. A report concluded that Joseph had not intervened illegally, but the value of the car had not been assessed.

Amid the controversy, Joseph was relieved of his duties as finance minister, but remained a Member of Parliament and was appointed tourism minister in 1999, a post he held until earlier this year.

The judge ruled that, although the "affair created a cloud of suspicion," there was no proof that Joseph had stolen the car.