Attorney General Anil Nandlall, SC, has revealed that lawyers representing the Mohameds are deliberately attempting to delay the ongoing extradition proceedings through what he described as frivolous and vexatious litigation.
Speaking during an exclusive broadcast on Monday, Nandlall responded to developments in court on Monday, after defence attorney Roysdale Forde, SC, told reporters that his clients intend to appeal a recent ruling by the Chief Justice.
According to the Attorney General, Forde openly admitted that the filing of the appeal does not automatically halt the extradition process, but suggested that it would be accompanied by what he referred to as “strategic steps.”
To Nandlall, that admission confirms that the defence is not focused on the merits of the law, but rather on a calculated effort to prolong the matter beyond a reasonable timeframe.
He said this approach is consistent with earlier public statements made by one of the accused, whom he described as a fugitive offender, about stretching the proceedings for years.
Nandlall noted that the very legal issues now being raised on appeal were already argued before the magistrate during the committal proceedings and were firmly rejected as frivolous and vexatious.
He added that the Chief Justice has now reached a similar conclusion.
Given those findings, the Attorney General stated that there is no legal basis for the magistrate to delay the matter solely because an appeal has been filed.
He stressed that an appeal, by itself, does not operate as a stay, unless a superior court expressly orders otherwise.
“The law is obvious, ” Nandlall said. “Unless a higher court intervenes and prohibits the magistrate from proceeding, she has a duty to continue.”
He also rejected the defence’s challenge to the constitutionality of the Fugitive Offenders Act as amended in 2009, pointing out that the same legislation has been applied for years and has already survived judicial scrutiny.
Nandlall recalled that as recently as 2018, a High Court judge, who now sits on the Court of Appeal, examined and dismissed similar arguments against the law. He added that numerous individuals have been committed and extradited under the same legal framework.
According to the Attorney General, judicial officers are bound to apply the law as it stands until it is changed by Parliament or struck down by a competent court, following the proper legal process.
He explained that if, after the committal proceedings are concluded, a court later finds the law unconstitutional, it would then have the authority to quash the committal order and grant the remedy sought by the defence.
“What they are attempting to do is turn the entire legal process upside down,” Nandlall said. “They want what comes at the end to be placed at the beginning.”
Meanwhile, the AG warned that allowing such an approach would undermine the orderly administration of justice and create unequal treatment under the law.
Nandlall expressed confidence that the strategy outlined by the defence will not succeed, since it runs contrary to both the spirit and the letter of the law.
He also disclosed that lawyers appearing on behalf of the United States government are expected to address the magistrate on the issue when the matter resumes.
