[UPDATED] Latest twist in gun dealer's 'abduction' – JUDGE CALLS IN HINDS

HIGH COURT judge Devindra Rampersad has invited National Security Minister Fitzgerald Hinds to appear before him on Wednesday giving the minister an opportunity "to clarify" his comment about criminals having friends in the Judiciary.

The Registrar of the Supreme Court was directed to send a letter to Hinds, who is an attorney, to attend the hearing at Tower D, International Waterfront Centre, Port of Spain, but the minister is under "no compulsion to do so," according to an order of the judge.

On Friday, the judge made the order after an in-camera hearing with attorneys in the case of Brent Thomas who has sued the Attorney General and the Director of Public Prosecutions over a breach of his constitutional rights and criminal charges.

In that case, the judge on April 25 ruled in favour of Thomas, an arms dealer, and severely criticised the conduct of the investigating officers assigned to the Professional Standards Bureau. The judge found Thomas was "abducted" from Barbados and brought back to TT to face charges.

The judge, in his ruling permanently stayed the seven criminal charges which accused Thomas of being in possession of grenades and automatic rifles, all prohibited by the Firearms Act.

The judge had previously scheduled a virtual hearing on May 8 to deal with residual issues after his ruling but shifted the hearing to May 10 and converted the hearing to in-person. An appeal was expected to be filed on Friday with a request for an urgent hearing.

According to Rampersad's order on Friday, the Registrar was directed to invite Hinds "to clarify certain comments purportedly made by him on May 1, 2023 at a press conference carried live on national television touching and concerning this matter while this matter is still pending before this court."

The judge also directed the Registrar to invite the Law Association to attend the hearing on Monday "should they deem it appropriate."

LATT: HINDS' CLAIM 'RECKLESS'

The judge's orders were made hours before the Law Association issued a statement which described Hinds' claim of criminals having friends in the Judiciary as "grossly unfair" and "reckless."

In a statement on Friday, the association said the minister's comment can "undermine public confidence in the Judiciary and benefit no one."

The association's criticism follows a statement issued by the Judiciary on May 4 which said the minister's claim has the "dangerous effect of undermining public trust and confidence in the Judiciary and the rule of law."

Saying it was constrained to comment as the matter was now under appeal, the association said it joined with others in "condemning the recent statement by the Minister of National Security."

"It was while discussing the role of the police and the decision of the court in the Brent Thomas case, the Honourable Minister blurted out that the criminal elements have friends in the Judiciary. It would have been impossible for the listening public to exclude the possibility that the minister was suggesting that the learned judge in the Brent Thomas case was somehow doing the bidding of the criminal element," the statement said.

On May 1, Hinds in an address to the nation on state-owned TTT commented on the ruling of Justice Rampersad in the Thomas case.

Commenting on the judge's finding that Thomas was "abducted" from Barbados, the association said it joined "with other members of civil society in expressing its deep concerns over the matters" which arose in the case.

"The court found, and the state appears not to have disputed, that Mr Thomas, who is not accused of committing any offence in Barbados, was arrested by members of the Barbados police service at a time when he had lawfully entered that country and was then delivered up to members of the TT police force at the Grantley Adams International Airport. On any account, this constitutes the unlawful abduction of a citizen of TT from a friendly neighbouring state in violation of the extradition laws of that country. That much has been admitted by the State," the statement said.

The association said it welcomed the decision of the Police Complaints Authority to investigate the circumstances of how Thomas was removed from Barbados and returned to Trinidad by a request from the police.

ERLA ORDERS PROBE

In a separate statement on Friday, Commissioner of Police Erla Harewood-Christopher said she has noted with concern the judgment and has ordered an investigation based on the issues raised.

"Harewood-Christopher has been duly informed that steps are being taken to appeal the judgment, and as such is constrained in giving any further information on the matter at this time," the two-sentence TTPS statement said.

The Prime Minister had instructed Hinds to get a report from Harewood-Christopher after reading about Thomas's case in the media. He said, on May 4, no Cabinet minister was involved in the police operation.

Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister Stuart Young, on April 28, told Parliament Thomas was returned to Piarco on an aircraft belonging to the Regional Security System, which is based in Barbados. The RSS is a military organisation involved in counter-drug operations. Thomas was detained in Barbados on October 5, 2022 by Bajan police and taken to the airport where he was subsequently handed over to three TT police officers.

The Judiciary statement issued by the Court Protocol and Information Unit follows condemnation of Hinds's remarks by at least 11 judges of the civil division, some of whom demanded "an apology and retraction" in a series of e-mails seen by this newspaper on the issue.

Asked to respond to the Judiciary's statement on Thursday, in a brief phone interview Hinds said: "I am a student of constitutional law. I am an attorney of law of Trinidad and Tobago of long standing. I was also called to the bar at Middle Temple as a barrister. I have always upheld the principle of the independence and integrity of the Judiciary and I always will."

He did not elaborate when pressed for further comment.

On May 3, Rampersad had an emergency hearing with the lawyers involved in the case at which he raised serious concerns regarding the minister's comment.

That same day, Attorney General Reginald Armour, SC, defended his colleague's statement, saying he had investigated and did not find it offensive.

"I am satisfied that it was not the intention of the minister, in any way, to impugn the integrity of the Judiciary of this country, either in any particular matter or generally," Armour said.

Rampersad had complained to the acting Chief Justice, Allan Mendonca, in an e-mail that Hinds had "directly stated that criminals have friends in the Judiciary. And this is in the clear context of a press conference called to address the issues arising out of the Brent Thomas decision that I gave last week in which a person who was charged by the police received relief from this court. If there is any inference to be made, one can arguably say that the general remark that criminals have friends in the Judiciary was also a pointed attack at the author of the judgment.

"The very fact that a remark can be made without any immediate response from our side that criminals have friends in the Judiciary not only undermines the administration of justice but impacts upon the security of each member of the Judiciary who may be perceived as friends of criminals," Rampersad said.

This story was originally published with the title "Law Association knocks Hinds' 'reckless' statement" and has been adjusted to include additional details. See original post below.

The Law Association has described Minister of National Security Fitzgerald Hinds claim that "criminals have friends" in the Judiciary as "grossly unfair" and "reckless."

In a statement on Friday, the Law Association said the minister's comment can "undermine public confidence in the Judiciary and benefits no one."

The association's criticism follows a statement issued by the Judiciary on May 4 which said the minister's claim has the "dangerous effect of undermining public trust and confidence in the Judiciary and the rule of law."

Saying it was constrained to comment as the matter was now under appeal, the association said it joined with others in "condemning the recent statement by the Minister of National Security."

"It was while discussing the role of the police and the decision of the court in the Brent Thomas case, the Honourable Minister blurted out that the criminal elements have friends in the judiciary. It would have been impossible for the listening public to exclude the possibility that the Minister was suggesting that the learned judge in the Brent Thomas case was somehow doing the bidding of the criminal element," the statement said.

On May 1, Hinds in an address to the nation on state-owned TTT commented on the ruling of Justice Devindra Rampersad in favour of arms dealer Brent Thomas. The judge struck down the criminal case against Thomas who had been charged with possession of grenades and automatic rifles and condemned the actions of the investigating police officers.

The judge also found Thomas was "abducted" from Barbados where he had gone awaiting a flight to the US to see his cardiologist.

Commenting on this aspect of the judge's ruling, the association said it joined "with other members of civil society in expressing its deep concerns over the matters" which arose in the Thomas case.

"The court found, and the State appears not to have disputed, that Mr Thomas, who is not accused of committing any offence in Barbados, was arrested by members of the Barbados Police Service at a time when he had lawfully entered that country and was then delivered up to members of the TT Police Force at the Grantley Adams International Airport. On any account, this constitutes the unlawful abduction of a citizen of TT from a friendly neighbouring state in violation of the extradition laws of that country. That much has been admitted by the State," the statement said.

The association said it welcomed the decision of the Police Complaints Authority to investigate the circumstances of how Thomas was removed from Barbados and returned to TT on request by the police.