Businessman Dominic Hadeed and his wife Genevieve’s hopes for freedom were dashed yesterday, after the State secured a late-night Appeal Court ruling which ordered a stay of an earlier judgment which had ordered that they be released from jail and be placed under house arrest.
Following an emergency hearing last night, Chief Justice Ronnie Boodoosingh and Appellate Judges Mark Mohammed and Ricky Rahim granted an interim stay of the judgment delivered hours earlier by three of their colleagues.
The panel also granted final leave for an appeal to the Privy Council by the State, as the move for the country’s highest appellate court to weigh in on the case was not opposed by the couple’s legal team.
The outcome of last-minute development meant that the couple were not released from the Golden Grove Prison in Arouca to return to their Westmoorings home as initially anticipated, and despite earlier efforts to facilitate the court’s initial order.
The interim stay will remain in place until CJ Boodoosingh and his colleagues hear further submissions on the issue at 3 pm today.
Lawyers for the T&T Police Service (TTPS) and the Attorney General’s Office, led by attorney Gerald Ramdeen, initially sought the stay after Appellate Judges Peter Rajkumar, Mira Dean-Armorer and Joan Charles upheld the Hadeeds’ appeal over the refusal of High Court Judge Frank Seepersad to order their interim release.
Those judges found it unnecessary, as they claimed such would not affect the final appeal or the ongoing probe into an alleged plot to kill Government officials.
CJ Boodoosingh and his two other colleagues took a different preliminary view when the application was presented before them hours later.
The Hadeeds were arrested on June 24 and spent 22 days in custody before the Appeal panel of Rajkumar, Dean-Armorer and Charles ordered them released from prison yesterday and placed under house arrest.
Addressing the failure of prison officials to release his clients immediately, attorney Faris Al-Rawi last night said prison officers simply refused to obey the initial court orders.
“Unfortunately, what happened was they just simply refused to release them. Not by an overt statement, but the statements from the officers on the inside were that they had no authorisation.”
He added: “We made several attempts to contact all relevant persons, attorneys-at-law for the Minister of Homeland Security, the Commissioner of Prisons, everyone! Suffice it to say that you saw the police come and go, and they were Special Branch officers that came here, they too were turned away. And the State brought an urgent application before the Court of Appeal tonight, seeking leave to go to the Privy Council and asking for a stay of the judgment.”
Up to 10 pm, Al-Rawi had not been allowed in the prison to see his clients.
Hadeed and his wife were on the cusp of freedom last evening, after the Appeal Court had earlier granted permission for them to be released immediately and placed under house arrest.
At about 6.30 pm, his bags were packed and Guardian Media, who arrived outside Golden Grove around 3.30 pm, saw him entering a marked prison vehicle.
Sometime later, however, he was escorted out of the vehicle with two plastic bags filled with his belongings. There was no sight of his wife throughout this six-hour wait.
Al-Rawi arrived sometime after 4 pm, hoping to finalise the release of his clients.
However, then came word that the State’s lawyers had sought an emergency hearing before the Appeal Court.
And by 9.30 pm, it was clear the couple would be spending another night in prison.
During the six hours outside the prison, Guardian Media saw prison officers leaving and arriving, all wishing one thing: “Doh tape meh nah.”
While the cameras were focused on the entrance, the officers who walked by and in some cases drove past attempted to keep their gaze away. The ones brave enough to utter words in the direction of the media laughed at how quickly media personnel had gathered. Long before 9.30 pm, some prison officials were adamant that the couple would be spending another night in prison.
Some prison officers also rubbished claims that the couple received special treatment, in reference to the complaint made against Prisons Commissioner Carlos Corraspe, which led to his suspension earlier this week.
Male and female officers alike said the allegations were unfounded.
About half an hour after, Hadeed was seen outside his cell, as three heavily tinted Prados belonging to T&T Police Service’s Special Branch arrived, intending, Al-Rawi said, to take the couple home. However, the vehicles never made it past the double gates. After parking outside the prison for a few minutes, they left without their intended passengers.
Inmates being returned to the facility also shouted to the media that they wanted their freedom, their voices overshadowing the sirens of the marked police vehicles used to escort them.
There was also activity at the Hadeeds’ Bayshore, Westmoorings home as preparations intensified for the couple’s return. The residence was a hive of activity throughout the day, with technicians seen installing equipment and preparing the property for the activation of the electronic ankle monitoring system that were to be used to enforce the court’s conditions.
A Mobile Police Unit was also seen entering the compound during the afternoon as police strengthened their operational presence. Officers and police vehicles were observed moving in and out of the property at intervals, while uniformed personnel maintained a visible presence both inside the compound and along the perimeter.
Several vehicles parked on the compound were removed earlier in the day as authorities continued preparations ahead of the couple’s arrival.
The Hadeeds’ private security personnel were also seen handing over responsibility for securing the property to police, who have since assumed control of the residence in accordance with the Court of Appeal’s order.
Under the ruling, the Hadeeds were to remain confined to the residence while wearing electronic ankle monitors.
