Attorney and former minister in the Ministry of National Security Subhas Panday has written to Review Tribunal chairman Gilbert Peterson to have sittings in south Trinidad. In a letter yesterday, Panday called on Peterson to have sittings in South to "facilitate detained persons from central and south Trinidad" who might wish to have their detention reviewed. Peterson was appointed chairman of the Review Tribunal pursuant to Section 11 (1) of the Constitution and Paragraph (2) of the Emergency Regulations 2011.
Panday contended that the southern sittings were necessary since "a number of my clients have been detained under the State of Emergency Regulations 2011."
Meanwhile, in an unrelated matter, San Fernando magistrate Lisa Ramsumair-Hinds yesterday expressed concern that the court had been left in uncertainty as to how to deal with prisoners who did not turn up for the court matters. The magistrate raised the concern while presiding over a marijuana trafficking matter involving brothers Atiba and Kevon Jacob. Both men were expected to appear in court yesterday where the trial into their June 8, 2004, offence was expected to begin. Attorney Haresh Ramnath, who appeared for both men, told the court that his clients had been arrested during overnight raids in the Vistabella/Marabella area on Wednesday.
"You see why it is difficult to issue warrants for non-appearance... One can never tell what happens between 9 pm and 5 am (curfew hours)," Ramsumair-Hinds said. The magistrate indicated that since the men were on bail, she would not give them a short adjournment date. They will reappear in court on November 1.