BY FRANCIS JOSEPH
An affidavit filed before the High Court revealed that warrants were executed on Dominic Hadeed and his wife, Genevieve, where investigations were being conducted by the police on allegations of conspiracy to murder.This was contained in an affidavit filed by former Attorney General, Faris Al Rawi SC, in support of an application for a writ of habeas corpus.The main issue –Â
Were Dominic Hadeed and his wife, Genevieve, subjected to a Preventive Detention Order (PDO) in relation to the State of Emergency?This is the question Justice Frank Seepersad wants answered as attorneys for the Hadeeds went before the High Court on Saturday morning seeking a writ of habeas corpus.After hearing an ex-parte application from Faris Al Rawi SC, Justice Seepersad ord
ered Commissioner of Police, Allister Guevarro, to state whether the Hadeeds are being detained under a PDO.
The judge did not grant the writ of habeas corpus. He directed that the application, with supporting affidavit and certificate of urgency, be served on Guevarro by 4 p.m. on Saturday. He then fixed the matter for a virtual hearing at 9 a.m. on Monday.
In his order, Justice Seepersad requested clarification from Guevarro as to whether the detention of the Hadeeds was pursuant to a PDO.
THE AFFIDAVIT
According to the affidavit filed in support of the application for a writ of habeas corpus, heavily armed police officers executed search warrants at the Hadeeds’ home at Westmoorings around 6 am last Wednesday.
Al-Rawi said his clients told him they were awakened by officers calling Dominic Hadeed’s name before entering their bedroom. Police searched the entire residence, seizing electronic devices belonging to the couple and their children before informing them they were under arrest.
The affidavit stated the couple were then transported separately to several locations, including the Special Branch offices at Agra Court in St James and the Blue Waters offices at Orange Grove, where police searched Dominic Hadeed’s office and seized additional electronic devices.
Police then took Dominic Hadeed to Gulf City Mall, where firearms and ammunition lawfully held under firearms licences were collected.Al-Rawi said he and attorneys Gilbert Peterson, SC, and Carlon McLeod met with the Hadeeds at Agra Court on the day of their arrest and were told investigations were continuing. The former Attorney General said police assured the legal team they would be notified of any developments or interviews.Some time later, the couple were transferred that evening to separate police stations, Dominic Hadeed to the Carenage Police Station, and Genevieve Hadeed to the Woodbrook Police Station.The affidavit further claimed that Genevieve was detained in a small, poorly ventilated cell with no running water, bedding or furniture, containing only a hole in the floor serving as a toilet. Al-Rawi said cockroaches were in the cell while another detainee was curled up on the floor when he visited.The affidavit of Al Rawi read “On the night of Wednesday June 24th 2026 at approximately 7:40 pm the Second Applicant (Genevieve) was driven to the Woodbrook Police Station by PC Toney and WPC Ramsey in an SUV, and I attended at the said station, where I was shown the cell in which the Second Applicant would be held. “I observed that the cell was approximately 8 feet by 6 feet in dimension with a dirty terrazzo floor, with no bedding or furniture and with a hole in the floor used as a toilet. There was no running water in the cell and it reeked of the smell of faeces and urine. There was no ventilation in the cell and it was poorly lit by dim fluorescent lights shielded by wire mesh. There were cockroaches clearly crawling around the floor of the cell. There was another female occupant in the cell crouched on the floor in a fetal position.“
With reference to Dominic Hadeed, Al Rawi said, “I am informed by the First Applicant and verily believe that he suffers from sleep apnea, requiring the nightly use of a CPAP machine, and has an orthopaedic injury to his leg for which he wears a brace. The First Applicant informed me and I verily believe that he was made to sleep upon a bare concrete slab, without any means of using his CPAP machine, and was unable to sleep. “
Al-Rawi said that when he met Assistant Superintendent WPC Rawlins on Thursday night, he was told the detention was not under a Preventive Detention Order or the Emergency Powers Regulations.
However, some time later, Genevieve Hadeed produced a document headed, – “The Emergency Powers Regulations, 2026 – Further Detention Period Pursuant to Regulation 13(3) extending her detention.” Dominic Hadeed was subsequently served with a similar document at the Carenage Police Station.
The affidavit contended that the Hadeeds were originally arrested while police executed ordinary search warrants in connection with an alleged conspiracy to murder investigation, not under the Emergency Powers Regulations.
“The Applicants were not arrested or detained under Regulation 13(1) of the Emergency Powers Regulations. They were arrested in the execution of ordinary search warrants in respect of the offence of conspiracy to murder,” the affidavit stated.The application also claimed repeated delays in interviewing the Hadeeds despite assurances from investigators that interviews would proceed. Al-Rawi said police informed him at various stages that officers were awaiting legal advice from the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) and later a report from the Cyber Crime Unit before interviews could commence.The affidavit further revealed the arrest of Star Sabga, 69, on Thursday evening. Al-Rawi said he was informed by police that Sabga had been detained and was later able to interview her at Agra Court before she was transported to the St Joseph Police Station.
