Small gets stay of extradition

Leave was granted yesterday to stay the extradition proceedings before Chief Magistrate Sherman McNicolls against Muslimeen member Clive Lancelot Small aka Olive Small and Olive Enyahooma-El, to the United States of America (USA) where he is wanted on gun running charges. In a swift move yesterday, Small’s attorney Pamela Elder SC, filed and obtained the order from Justice Sebestian Ventour in the Port-of-Spain First Civil Court, mere hours after Small had appeared before McNicolls in the Magistrate’s Court to hear the  start of extradition proceedings against him. Elder, was also granted  leave for judicial review of the extradition proceedings which was adjourned to tomorrow to start before McNicolls. The substantive hearing of the judicial review matter is expected to start on March 31, before Ventour.

In seeking leave, Elder’s most persuasive point was that at the time the offence was allegedly committed by Small, there was no such offence listed on the schedule of offence (conspiracy to export arms) under the Extradition Act on which a person could be extradited to a foreign country. Elder explained that Small had allegedly committed the offence on May 30, 2001, and at that time there were about 30 offences under the Act for which a person could be extradited, and none of those offences had anything to do with firearm offences. She argued that it was only after the list was amended on July 13, 2001, that firearm offences were included on the schedule  by an order of the Attorney General who was given such authority via Parliament.

She suggested, Small cannot be extradited for an offence which was not extraditable at the time. She also argued that the amended schedule of offences only catered for commonwealth countries and not outside that jurisdiction. Small is wanted in the USA on conspiracy to export 60 AK-47 rifles and ten machine guns from the USA. A Provisional Warrant  was issued by Mc Nicolls on March 2, and executed four days later -March 4, on Small, after a hearing. However, the actual extradition proceedings could only begin when the “Authority” to do so is given by the Attorney General. That order was given by the AG on March 12, only after the execution of the warrant. It is this order, that Elder is seeking judicial review against.