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Guernsey's leading politicians are under fire for failing to find a way to secure justice for 'Robin Hood' police officers wrongly punished by the courts during the Occupation more than three years after promising to do so.
The officers were arrested for stealing from German stores to feed starving islanders.
A "taint upon the reputation of the system of justice"
Some of them were caught and tried in both a German military court and the Guernsey Royal Court and found guilty, with at least 16 men sent to labour camps.
There, they experienced debilitating conditions and, in many cases, lifelong physical and emotional damage.
A UK barrister who looked into the cases of nine of the officers in 2020 concluded that the convictions were a "taint upon the reputation of the system of justice in Guernsey, which cannot be allowed to remain unresolved".
Previous pledges... and fresh questions
Policy and Resources – Guernsey's leading committee of politicians, led by Chief Minister Peter Ferbrache since the 2020 election – said in March 2021 that it was looking to bring forward proposals to rectify the matter later that year.
However, in May 2022, they pushed the expected date for debate to later that year once more. When those proposals failed to materialise, they said in January 2023 that plans would be forthcoming this year.
The senior committee is being asked again by former Chief Minister Deputy Gavin St Pier when it will happen.
Pictured: Deputy Gavin St Pier (right) has posed questions in the States Assembly and in writing to his successor as Policy and Resources President, Deputy Peter Ferbrache.
"They have been promising a policy letter on pardons for wartime injustices for each of the last three years and it's still not appeared," said Deputy St Pier on X (the platform formerly known as Twitter).
"When (or will it ever) appear? I've not forgotten and I'll keep pressing."
Pardon would create "complex" legal issues
When pressed on the issue of providing for statutory pardons for certain criminal convictions during the Occupation including those secured against a number of police officers in 1942, P&R has previously said this is one option being considered, but not the only one.
"A statutory pardon would require a number of complex constitutional and legal issues to be overcome, which may take significant time and resources to deal with if supported by the Assembly," P&R's President Deputy Peter Ferbrache said in an official written answer in November 2021.
"Other options, such as a Resolution or statement by the States of Deliberation, may provide an alternative which carries sufficient political weight to address the issue for the relatives concerned, and the wider community, and which may be more expedient."
INSIGHT: Guernsey's 'Robin Hood' policemen...
During the Occupation of Guernsey, the 'Robin Hood' policemen, were convicted of stealing food from the Germans to feed the island's civilians.
Constables Kingston Bailey and Frank Tuck were the first to engage in this act of resistance, inspired by BBC broadcasts that provided instructions on how to undermine the occupiers.
They started stealing food from the Germans to share with those in need, and their actions eventually led to the involvement of nearly the entire police force.
They broke into the occupiers' stores at night and distributed the food to the hungry civilians.
The policemen were eventually caught and 17 brought before the German Military Court and Guernsey's Royal Court. 16 were sentenced to deportation to brutal labour camps in Nazi-occupied Europe.
Not all of the policemen survived their ordeal and those who returned home at the end of the war were often suffering from debilitating diseases and life-changing injuries, yet they were treated as criminals and denied their pensions.
Among those affected was Charles Friend, who passed away in the 1960s.
His son, Keith, previously told Express that his father found his treatment on return to Guernsey very difficult to stomach.
Pictured: Charles Friend was one of the police officers affected. He passed away in 1988.
"He [Charles Friend] was bitter about what happened to him, aside from what he endured at the hands of the Germans where he was beaten and starved," he said.
"When he got back he was told that everything would be put right - but no-one wanted to know, he lost his position in the police force and people turned their back on the problem."
Mr Friend said at the time that he hoped renewed interest in the historic case would help clear his father's name.
"If the government is involved then it might carry a bit more weight," he said.
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