One of the suspects held in the robbery of Minister of Health Terrence Deyalsingh in St Joseph has been released from police custody.
Attorneys for two of several men held for questioning intervened over the weekend after their clients had been in custody for almost five days and were not yet charged.
At 7 p.m. on Sunday, after discussions with the legal teams for the men, instructions were given for one of them to be released.
Attorneys Aaron Lewis and Criston J Williams were part of a team that represented the interests of the man.
The attorneys had written to Adita Ramdular, a legal officer attached to the Police Service Legal Unit, noting the length of time their client had been detained without charge, and that there was precedent which explicitly stated that individuals ought to only be detained “for long as it is reasonably necessary to conduct or complete an investigation”.
He submitted that the continued detention of his client despite his denial of any wrongdoing, and the availability of witness statements which placed him at another location at the time of the robbery, was against the man’s constitutional rights.
As such, they warned that should the man not be released, the attorneys would be seeking to file a habeas corpus to secure his release.