KINGSTON, Jamaica, June 1 (UPI) -- Jamaica's justice minister said she considered a lot of evidence in signing a request to extradite a suspected drug kingpin to the United States.
Dorothy Lightbourne, also the country's attorney general, said she was not acting under orders of Prime Minister Bruce Golding in signing the document against Christopher "Dudus" Coke, who has been charged by the the United with drug-trafficking and gun-running, The Gleaner reported Tuesday.
"It is not true that I acted under the direction of the prime minister," Lightbourne said in court documents filed in response to Coke's request that his arrest warrant be stayed.
A hearing Monday on Coke's request was postponed until Wednesday so Coke's attorneys could review Lightbourne's filing.
Police and military troops last week clashed with Coke's supporters in fighting that left 73 dead.
Coke's charity programs have earned him strong support among Kingston's poor.
For nine months, the Jamaican government refused to comply with the U.S. government's extradition request, arguing that Jamaica needed more information because proffered evidence obtained through wiretaps violated the Interception of Communications Act, the newspaper said.
In his affidavit, Coke alleged Lightbourne acted under Golding's direction when she signed the extradition papers, but the minister said the claim wasn't true. She said she told the prime minister and Cabinet members May 17 she would sign the authority to proceed, and the prime minister announced the decision later that day, The Gleaner said.
