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Barry Dataram released again
Barry Dataram walks out of the Camp Street jail with his lawyer Glen Hanoman
In another twist in the Barry Dataram extradition case, Justice Ian Chang ruled on Monday that the businessman be released from custody.
However, the authorities re-arrested him based on the granting of a stay of execution on application by Attorney General Doodnauth Singh.
Yesterday, Appellate Judge, Charles Ramson, made Justice Chang’s ruling absolute. As such, just after 16:00 hrs yesterday, Dataram walked out of the Camp Street prison.
In his ruling, Justice Chang stated that neither the Commissioner of Police nor the Director of Prisons has any legal authority to arrest or keep him in custody for the purpose of extradition to the United States of America.
Justice Chang, in handing down his decision, added that it is clear that Dataram is being deprived of his liberty for the purpose of extradition to the USA contrary to the prohibitive provision of the Fugitive Offenders Act 1988.
Justice Chang noted that Dataram’s detention purports to have been effected under the provisions of the Fugitive Offenders Act but has been in breach of the same Act.
Such detention, he added, is not saved as being authorised by law. Dataram’s detention, Justice Chang said, is therefore not merely unlawful but unconstitutional.
As such, he noted, the court sees it fit to order that the rules nisi of Certiorari, Prohibition and Habeas Corpus ad subjiciendum for which Dataram through his attorneys had applied on November 6 last, was made absolute.
Habeas corpus seeks to pursue legal action, through which a person can seek relief from the unlawful detention of him/herself or another person. It protects the individual from harming himself or being harmed by the judicial system.
Habeas Corpus ad subjiciendum is a writ inquiring into the lawfulness of the restraint of a person who is imprisoned or detained in another’s custody.
On October 30 last, Minister of Home Affairs, Clement Rohee, in response to a request made by the US Government for the extradition of Dataram to answer drug-related charges, issued to Magistrate Hazel Octive-Hamilton an ‘Authority to Proceed’ in respect of extradition proceedings against him.
These drug-related charges included Conspiracy to import a controlled substance, Conspiracy to distribute and process with intent to distribute a controlled substance, and Importing a controlled substance.
The ‘Authority to Proceed’ superseded various applications made by the applicant to the High Court to quash whatever interim warrants were issued for the arrest of Dataram and to have him released from custody pending extradition proceedings.
As such, on November 3 last, Dataram, who was in custody on one of those warrants, was taken before Magistrate Octive-Hamilton pursuant of the ‘Authority to Proceed’ issued by the Minister.
Justice Ian Chang
The extradition hearing for the purpose of extradition of the applicant to the US commenced but the same day Dataram’s lawyers filed in the High Court a Writ of Certiorari, which sought to quash the decision of the Minister to issue ‘Authority to Proceed’.
The lawyers also filed a Writ of Prohibition which prohibited Magistrate Octive-Hamilton from proceeding with the extradition proceedings on the grounds that the ‘Authority to Proceed’ was unconstitutional, null, void and of no legal effect.
On that same day, his lawyers sought a Writ of Habeas Corpus ad subjiciendum directing the Commissioner of Police and the Director of Prisons to release Dataram from custody on the grounds that his incarceration was unconstitutional, unlawful and not authorized by the laws of Guyana. But these ex parte applications were refused by Justice Rishi Persaud.
With impressive alacrity, Dataram’s lawyer filed in the Full Court a similar motion for the same reasons as was presented before Justice Persaud. Following arguments from both the prosecution and defense, Justice Chang made his ruling.
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