Court rules continued detention of five men under SOE unconstitutional
Published:Wednesday | July 22, 2020 | 12:00 AM
A Supreme Court judge has declared that the continued detention of five men under the states of emergency (SOE) is unconstitutional and has ordered their release.
As a result of the order by Justice Bertram Morrison, the men: Everton Douglas, Nicholas Heat, Courtney Hall, Courtney Thompson, and Gavin Noble, are to be taken to the Supreme Court on Monday to be released.
The men are being held under SOEs in Kingston Eastern, St Andrew South, Westmoreland, and Clarendon.
Morrison’s decision was handed down in the Supreme Court this afternoon in separate legal challenges filed by the men’s attorneys.
Some of the men have been in custody for more than a year without being charged with any crime.
According to one attorney, the judge held that a man’s freedom cannot be arbitrarily taken away without a final determination by the court.
The judge’s written decision will be handed down by the end of the court term later this month.
He said it cannot be that the Emergency Powers Act and the Emergency Powers Regulation can be so "cavalier" in its treatment of the liberty of a citizen.
The habeas corpus writ challenging the men’s detention was filed by attorneys Isat Buchanan, John Clarke, and Seheeka Richards.
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