Alex Saab’s defense team responds to Cape Verde President on reasons for continued detention
The defence team led on Venezuelan diplomat, Alex Saab, has described claims made by claims made by Cape Verde President, Jorge Carlos Fonseca as inaccurate and misleading.
The Cape Verde President, had on March 26 described allegations that the Executive arm of the Cape Verde government is behind the detention and push for extradition of the embattled diplomat as absurd.
Fonseca noted that the arrest and release of individuals is a task of the judges.
He further noted that in terms of the functioning of a Democratic Rule of Law, the government is perfectly at ease from the point of view of compliance with these rules.
However, the Saab’s team led by a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana at the ECOWAS Court on Saturday explained that after Saab was arrested in June last year, the Venezuelan authorities contacted Cape Verde government to invoke his immunity as a Special Envoy engaged on a humanitarian special mission.
But, the executive led by Fonseca reportedly chose to ignore its diplomatic obligations and push the matter into the courts.
Similarly, the executive has repeatedly ignored evidence presented to it as well as the binding decisions of the ECOWAS Court of Justice on 15 March which ordered Saab’s release and declared the detention and extradition proceedings as illegal and arbitrary.
Saab was arrested and detained in Cape Verde based on the request of the Donald Trump led United States government during a stop over on his way to Iran over allegations of money laundering, a move the Venezuelan government faulted with claims that the businessman is its special envoy on a humanitarian mission.
On March, 15, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) court ruled that the continued detention and push for extradition of Venezuelan diplomat, Alex Saab by the Cape Verde government is illegal.
The judgement of the ECOWAS court is based on the absence of a Red Notice when Saab was arrested in June last year.
However, Cape Verde authorities have refused to obey the order and a ruling by the Cape Verdean Supreme court
on Tuesday March 16 that Saab be extradited to the United States has strengthened this position.
In its ruling, the Cape Verdean Supreme Court explained that it
refused to comply with earlier decisions of the ECOWAS court because “it
considers
itself as not legally bound to the said protocol.