Thomas, Yasseen case Arguments on stay of execution set for Friday
By Patrick Denny
Preliminary arguments in the hearing of the summons on which a stay of execution of convicted murderers Noel Thomas and Abdool Saleem Yasseen was granted will begin on Friday. Those arguments will be to define the issues on which the hearing before Justice Winston Moore would proceed. Justice Moore on Sunday granted a four-day stay of the execution of the two convicted murders which was due to be carried out the following day. That stay was extended on Thursday and the state through Attorney General Charles Ramson, SC, assured the court that the execution would not be carried out pending the determination of the hearing. At the hearing yesterday, Justice Moore cautioned counsel for Thomas and Yasseen that he would not be hearing any matter which had already been adjudicated or which should have been raised at previous hearings. He observed that there had to be an end to litigation. In the meantime, their lawyers have been given until Wednesday to file an affidavit in reply to the affidavit filed by the state, which was served on them yesterday morning. Counsel for both sides are also expected to supply their lists of authorities to the court on which their submissions will be based. Ramson is representing the state and the director of prisons. When the hearing resumed yesterday afternoon before Justice Moore, lead counsel for the two convicts, Stephen Fraser, sought leave of the court for a ten-day adjournment so as to allow time to obtain from Justice Carl Singh a copy of his judgement. Fraser said that the judgement was required so that the matters which had been adjudicated could be formally set out in an affidavit. However, Ramson objected to the length of time being sought, contending that it was indicative of a strategy to frustrate the determination of the summons by the court. Having listened to Fraser and Ramson, Justice Moore said that he had read Justice Singh's judgement and those of the previous hearings in the High Court and the Court of Appeal. He said that when all the affidavits had been filed, he would be inviting "preliminary arguments on the content of the affidavits to define the issues on which they will proceed and whether any paragraph should be struck out." He said that he had read the draft of Justice Singh's decision on the application which had been made to have the ruling of the UN Committee on Human Rights implemented. He said that he would make it available to Fraser, who said that with the copy of the decision he would now need only five days. He also assured the court that the issues he intended to raise would neither be frivolous nor vexatious. Justice Moore warned that he would entertain no arguments on whether the UN recommendation on the convicts should be implemented, adding that if it had been before him he would have invited addresses on whether or not the state had submitted to the jurisdiction of the UN Committee on Human Rights. At yesterday's hearings, Fraser was associated with Nigel Hughes, Teni Housty, Mohabir Nandlall, and Nichola Pierre for Thomas and Yasseen, while Ramson was associated with Sanjeev Datadin.
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