The State has filed an appeal against a ruling by High Court Judge Ricky Rahim, to release 64 Venezuelan migrants detained at the Chaguaramas Heliport.
Justice Rahim’s ruling on Tuesday, ordered the release of 64 migrants.
However, reports state that up to 8 pm on Tuesday, only 30 migrants were released and reunited with their respective family members who were outside the Heliport waiting for them.
The release exercise was due to continue on Wednesday morning, however, a GML report revealed that no further release of migrants was going to take place.
Attorney Nafeesa Mohammed has since called on the Minister of National Security Fitzgerald Hinds, who she said has the power, to order the release of all the migrants who are detained at the Heliport and not only the ones who were represented in the High Court proceedings.
Mohammed expressed disappointment in Hinds’ handling of the situation from its inception, “it did not have to reach so far as to High Court proceedings. Where is the legislation to back the UN Convention to protect these people who are refugees and asylum seekers? These people are humans, they have their children and loved ones here.”
The migrants were detained on July 19 while attending a party at a bar in St James. Initially, there were 143 of them but 20 of them were released within a week before Tuesday’s court order.