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  • 1 year ago
The Caribbean Court of Justice on Thursday granted special leave to political analyst, Derek Ramsamooj, to hear his challenge of the conduct of the Suriname government following his detention in the Dutch-speaking CARICOM country in 2020.
Transcript
00:00Acting CCJ President Justice Winston Anderson told a case management conference that the
00:07court looked at the application as well as the written submissions by the parties involved
00:12and decided to grant special leave for this matter to proceed.
00:16The CCJ President said the next step in the process would be the filing of the originating
00:21application.
00:23That filing is governed by the rules of the court and would require a filing of the originating
00:28application within seven days of a grant of special leave.
00:33Justice Anderson said the defense, Suriname, will have to file its submissions within 42
00:38days.
00:39Ramsamud, 62, who holds both Trinidad and Tobago and British passports, was summarily
00:45detained in Paramaribo in October 2020 and was not allowed to leave the country until
00:51September 2022.
00:53He suffers from a range of medical issues, including diabetes, hypertension and severe
00:58coronary artery disease, and his health took a hit during his detention.
01:03A presiding judge had ordered the authorities in Suriname to return his passports, noting
01:08that Ramsamud had, at all times, demonstrated a willingness to support due process and had
01:15consistently stated his desire to clear his name through the legal routes.
01:20Ramsamud, who has worked in several Caribbean countries, including Jamaica, Guyana, Grenada,
01:25St. Lucia and St. Kitts and Nevis, was told by Suriname police on October 6, 2020, that
01:31they only wanted a statement to support an inquiry into operations at a Surinamese post-savings
01:38bank.
01:39Ramsamud had conducted customer surveys for the bank, as well as employee surveys, in
01:44addition to conducting two country risk assessments of Suriname, in his capacity as an analyst
01:50and researcher.
01:51The activities were paid for by the financial institution.
01:55The CCJ president said that on January 23, next year, a timetable will be identified,
02:02leading to the hearing of the matter.
02:04Alicia Boucher, TV6 News.
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