-says he must not be kept in oppressive conditions
Opposition Leader Azruddin Mohamed will remain at the Lusignan Prison pending a High Court ruling expected on November 13, when Justice Priscilla Chandra-Hanif is scheduled to deliver her decision on an application by the Attorney General to strike sections of an affidavit by Mohamed’s mother seeking bail for her son.
The judge will rule on November 23 on the actual application for bail.
During this morning’s proceedings at the High Court, Justice Chandra-Hanif directed that all submissions must be filed by November 12, ahead of her ruling the following day. She also ordered that Mohamed personally provide affidavit evidence supporting the claims advanced in the application filed by his mother, Bonita Mohamed.
The hearing also brought renewed scrutiny to Mohamed’s conditions of detention, particularly allegations that he is being subjected to approximately 23 hours of artificial lighting daily inside his prison cell.
Justice Chandra-Hanif expressed concern over the reported lighting arrangements, indicating that such prolonged exposure was unacceptable and making it clear that Mohamed must not be held under circumstances that are oppressive.
During the proceedings, Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs Anil Nandlall SC presented the Court with a photograph purporting to show the cell in which Mohamed is being detained at the Lusignan Prison.
However, the Judge indicated that she had not personally visited the prison in some time and requested that Mohamed’s defence team also provide photographic evidence of the cell for comparison.
The request came amid conflicting accounts of the Opposition Leader’s detention conditions, with his family alleging that he is being held in solitary confinement, exposed to extreme heat and subjected to prolonged artificial lighting.
The Judge also addressed the distinction between security measures that may be necessary for a prisoner’s protection and detention arrangements that could amount to oppressive treatment.
While acknowledging that prison authorities may have legitimate security considerations when determining where an inmate should be housed, Justice Chandra-Hanif made it clear that such considerations should not result in oppressive circumstances.
The Court has not yet made a final determination on whether the conditions alleged by Mohamed’s family have been established.
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