The London-based Privy Council Tuesday listed an appeal by the State in the legal proceedings involving prominent Trinidad and Tobago businessman Dominic Hadeed and his wife Genevieve, who have been detained since June 24 amid allegations of an ongoing conspiracy to murder senior government ministers, including Prime Minister Kamla Persad Bissessar.
The appellants in the matter are the Commissioner of Police, Allister Guevarro, the Minister of Homeland Security, Roger Alexander, Attorney General John Jeremie and Police Constable Eldon Calliste. The respondents are the Hadeeds.
The case is classified as an ‘Appeal As of Right’ before the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, Trinidad and Tobago’s highest and final court. The Privy Council listing does not yet provide a hearing date
Last Friday night, the Court of Appeal in Trinidad and Tobago upheld an urgent application filed by the state suspending an earlier ruling ordering the immediate release of the Hadeeds and who would have placed under strict house arrest.
Chief Justice Ronnie Boodoosingh and Justices Mark Mohammed and Ricky Rahim in an unanimous decision granted the stay pending a decision by the Privy Council,.
The Court of Appeal ruled that if the Hadeeds were released and the allegations of an ongoing conspiracy proved to be true, the potential harm to the public interest would outweigh the prejudice caused by their continued detention for a short period pending the Privy Council hearing.
It also ruled that the risk of the Hadeeds being outside of prison, outweighs the concerns over medical attention given to them in prison with the state now committing to allowing improved medical attention to the Hadeeds in prison.
The founding owner of Blue Waters Products Limited and his wife, have been detained since June 24 after police officers arrested them at their home.
Alexander three days later signed preventative detention orders (PDOs) authorising their continued detention on ‘intelligence’ alleging they were involved in an ongoing conspiracy to assassinate Persad-Bissessar, Jeremie and other senior government officials.
No criminal charges have been laid against either of them. Their relative, Star Sabga, 70, who was also detained under a PDO, remains in prison custody since her detention was not challenged in court.
Last Thursday, a differently constituted Court of Appeal comprising Justices of Appeal Peter Rajkumar, Mira Dean-Armorer and Joan Charles had ordered the release of the Hadeeds, after finding that the government could not rely on broad assertions of national security to justify preventive detention without providing sufficient factual particulars to satisfy the requirements of the law.