Cape Verde’s president stance inaccurate, says Alex Saab’s defence team
The defence team of Venezuelan diplomat, Alex Saab has described the recent claims made by Cape Verde President, Jorge Carlos Fonseca as inaccurate.
Fonseca 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.
While noting that the arrest and release of individuals is a task of the judges, he maintained 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.
In a statement to react to these claims on Saturday, Saab’s team at the ECOWAS Court led by a Senior Advocate Nigeria, Femi Falana 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.
However, the Executive led by Fonseca chose to ignore its diplomatic obligations and push the matter into the courts.
In a similar pattern, 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.
Perhaps to confirm that the continued detention of Saab is at the pleasure of Cape Verde’s Executive led by Fonseca, on 16 March, the country’s Supreme Court said that it is left for the executive to decide on the special envoy status and appointment of Mr Saab as an ambassador to the African Union.
Recall that on 24 December 2020, Alex Saab was delegated as Alternate Permanent Representative of Venezuela to the African Union. His invulnerability was subsequently built up, yet it likewise exhibited that he keeps on instructing the full help of Venezuela as a discretionary specialist. No complaints have been raised to Mr Saab’s arrangement by the African Union.
“It’s anything but a matter for Cape Verde (or some other nation so far as that is concerned) to raise issue with whom Venezuela as a sovereign state names as its diplomat. Similarly it is for Iran to decide whether it perceives Mr Saab as a Special Envoy to Iran and no outsider.
“In spite of the fact that Cape Verde has delivered Alex Saab into house capture, it has just done as such to give the impression of having agreed with the ECOWAS Court 2 December) choice.
Meanwhile, the court confirmed that the arrest of Mr Saab was illegal, having been carried out without the existence of an INTERPOL Red Notice and an arrest warrant. The Court ordered the authorities of Cabo Verde to immediately release Special Envoy Saab and terminate the extradition process which Special Envoy Saab has been undergoing at the request of the United States and a sum of $200,000.00 be paid by way of compensation.