The Bahamas Government - Stolen Emails
Beginning in early 2016, Save the Bays members faced a sustained campaign of intimidation, victimization and threats of prosecution at the hands of senior government officials because of our environmental advocacy. Officials gained access to and publicized our private communications and financial information in an effort to discredit our work.
In August of 2016, the Supreme Court ruled that the then Minister of Education Jerome Fitzgerald had violated the privacy of STB members, fined him $150,000 and ordered him to destroy all copies of the group’s personal information in his possession. Fitzgerald appealed the decision, but a change in government led to his appeal being dropped, signaling another landmark win.
In October 2019, Peter Nygard, one of the developers that STB had challenged in court over illegal construction, was found in contempt of court for seeking to use the stolen emails in another case in violation of the injunction. He was sentenced to serve 90 days in prison and pay a $150,000 fine.