00:00The legal battle surrounding the detention of businessman Dominic Hadid and his wife Genevieve has intensified on Monday as the
00:09High Court ordered police to allow the couple's attorneys to inspect station diary records connected to their arrests.
00:17The ruling came during a virtual hearing of a habeas corpus application, a legal challenge seeking the couple's release on
00:25the basis that their detention was unlawful.
00:28Dominic and Genevieve Hadid were detained last week during a police operation investigating an alleged conspiracy to assassinate members of
00:37the government.
00:38Since then, both have remained in prison custody after preventive detention orders were issued for the duo on Saturday.
00:46Their attorneys, led by senior counsel Douglas Mendes, contend that when the couple was first arrested, police were conducting what
00:54they described as an ordinary criminal investigation,
00:57using their normal powers to detain, question and where necessary charge suspects.
01:04According to the defense, there was no indication at that stage that the arrests were being carried out under the
01:10emergency powers regulations or that preventive detention orders would be used.
01:16That, the defense argued, changed only after a habeas corpus application was filed before the High Court on Saturday, challenging
01:24the legality of the detention.
01:27Mendes told the court that preventive detention orders were subsequently issued raising concerns that the investigation had shifted from an
01:35ordinary criminal matter to one conducted under emergency legislation after the legal challenge had already begun.
01:43The defense submitted that the timing of those events raises questions about whether the emergency powers were properly invoked and
01:51whether ordinary police powers were used in a manner not intended by law.
01:56Attorneys representing Commissioner of Police Alistair Guevaro disputed that claim, telling the court detention orders had in fact been issued
02:03before the formal preventive detention orders were served.
02:07Presiding over the matter, Justice Frank C. Persauds reminded both sides that the proceedings before him were limited to habeas
02:15corpus application and not a constitutional challenge to the state of emergency or the emergency powers' regulations themselves.
02:24However, the judge said the court retains a supervisory role to ensure that the proper legal process has been followed
02:30before deciding whether a person's detention is lawful.
02:34Justice C. Persauds subsequently granted the defense permission to inspect the relevant station diaries, saying the exercise could likely be
02:42completed within a relatively short time.
02:45Following the ruling, Senior Counsel Faris al-Rawi told the court the defense would review the diary entries, seek further
02:52instructions from the hadiths, and file additional affidavits before the matter resumes.
02:57The hearing also took place against the backdrop of other detentions arising out of the same police exercise.
03:05Genevieve Hadid's aunt, Star Sabga, also remains in custody.
03:09However, Justice C. Persauds noted that her detention is not the subject of a habeas corpus application currently before the
03:17court.
03:17The matter was first heard on Saturday before being adjourned to allow the state time to respond to the allegations
03:24surrounding the legality of the couple's detention.
03:27It is expected to return before the court after the defense completes its review of the police records.
03:34The next hearing is tomorrow, Tuesday, at 10 a.m.
03:37You can read more on this story in tomorrow's Express by Rikki Ramdas.
03:42Ravishita Wari, Rupnarain, TV6 News.
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