00:00Businessman Dominic Hadid and his wife Genevieve will have to wait until Friday morning to learn
00:06whether they will be granted temporary relief while their legal battle against their preventive
00:11detention orders continue. The couple has been detained under preventive detention orders
00:17issued during the state of emergency. They are alleged to have been involved in a conspiracy
00:22to murder Prime Minister Kamala Passat-Bissasa, Attorney General John Jeremy and other members
00:28of government. The Hadids deny the allegations and are challenging the legality of their detention
00:34in the courts. On Tuesday, a three-member Court of Appeal panel comprising Justices Peter Rajkumar,
00:41Miradine Amora and Joan Charles heard the couple's application for interim relief before reserving
00:47its decision. The judges said a ruling will be delivered no later than 8 a.m. on Friday,
00:53although it could come sooner if the court is able to complete its deliberations.
00:59The Hadids appeared before the court via virtual link from prison.
01:03Senior Counsel Douglas Mendes, representing the couple, argued that Homeland Security Minister
01:09Roger Alexander failed to provide affidavit evidence explaining why he concluded the couple posed a
01:15threat to public safety. Mendes told the court the minister relied on undisclosed intelligence and
01:22had placed no evidence before the court to substantiate the allegations. He argued that if the
01:29state wished to rely on intelligence material, it first had to ask the court for permission to
01:34withhold that information on recognized legal grounds. The appeal follows High Court Judge Justice
01:41Frank Sipersad's decision last week, refusing the couple's application for interim relief while their
01:47substantive judicial review claim proceeds. Mendes also urged the court of appeal to release the couple
01:53under strict conditions, including house arrest, arguing it would allow Dominic Hadid to continue
01:59receiving medical treatment and reunite both parents with their children. He also told the court that
02:06innocent family members were also suffering as a result of the detention. Representing the state
02:12King's counsel Sir James Eady defended Justice Sipersad's ruling, arguing that the matter before the court
02:18concerns judicial review proceedings, not a criminal trial. He maintained that the minister was not
02:24required to file affidavit evidence at this stage and submitted that the High Court had correctly applied
02:31the law when it refused interim relief. The Hadid's latest court appearance comes amid the sending on leave of
02:38prison commissioner Carlos Carraspe, who is accused of overseeing preferential treatment of the Hadid's
02:44while in detention at the Golden Grove prison. The Prison Officers Association wrote a letter to the
02:50commissioner copying the prime minister and Homeland Security minister, saying it could lead to threats to
02:56officers' lives. It was revealed that relatives of other detainees have lodged complaints that Genevieve and
03:03Dominic were allowed to meet at the prison administration building, that Dominic was allowed access to watch
03:09World Cup matches and extended access to the airing yard.
03:14Arvashita Wari Ruknarain, TV6 News.
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