The High Court will next month hear arguments over a possible settlement in the case of Trinidadian gun dealer Brent Thomas, whose forcible removal from Barbados by police in 2022 has become one of the island’s most contentious constitutional challenges in recent years.
In an exclusive telephone interview with Barbados TODAY from Port of Spain on Thursday, Thomas revealed that a hearing will be held in 30 days after a recent formal claim was sent to Roger Forde SC, counsel for Attorney General Dale Marshall.
Forde confirmed that he had received the claim, but declined further comment at this stage.
Thomas, who spoke guardedly, explaining that the matter was still ongoing, discussed what the hearing is expected to achieve.
“All I can tell you is that the legal team has lodged paperwork and it is my understanding that there is going to be some sort of hearing very shortly,” said Thomas. “That hearing will be in Barbados in 30 days from today.”
“I think it would be to clarify the position on both sides for both parties… what do we do after this, what settlement do we go to, and how do we finalise the injustice dished out to a visiting tourist to your country that was [not guilty] of anything.”
Thomas was en route to visit his cardiologist in the US, stopping over in Barbados when he was detained at his hotel on October 5 2022, handcuffed and handed over to three officers assigned to Trinidad and Tobago Police Service’s Professional Standards Bureau on the tarmac of Grantley Adams International Airport.
In a ministerial statement to the House of Assembly on May 9, 2023, Attorney General Marshall told the country that no request was made for Thomas’ extradition, even though Barbados has an Extradition Act which applies to a large number of criminal offences, including firearm and other offences for which the warrants of arrest for Thomas were issued.
He also acknowledged at the time: “I am satisfied that the actions of the Barbados Police Service have fallen somewhat short of applicable legal norms, such as acting under an extradition request. I, however, cannot associate myself with the description of the actions of the Barbados Police officers as an abduction or as has elsewhere been described as a kidnapping.
“To the extent that there may be any legal liability attached to the actions of the Barbados Police Service officers, I can assure you that the Government of Barbados will abide by the law and fully respect any decisions of the law courts.”
Nearly a year later, the AG’s lawyer told Barbados TODAY that the government’s acknowledgement of liability is contained in a letter he wrote to Thomas.
In that letter, the claimant was advised that the Barbadian authorities accepted liability based on the senior counsel’s advice.
“I have advised my client that the State of Barbados should accept liability in respect of the claim for breach of Section 18 of the Constitution of Barbados,” the correspondence stated.
Section 18 of the Bill of Rights in the Constitution of Barbados guarantees the right to a fair hearing and protection of the law.
Thomas started legal action demanding compensation for the police’s “egregious conduct” as well as several declarations relating to his “arrest, detention and forced repatriation” by Barbadian law enforcement officers.
He sought to know who gave the directive which led to his “unlawful abduction” from his hotel room, as stated by Trinidad High Court Justice Devindra Rampersad’s ruling on Thomas’s constitutional challenge in April 2023.
Asked on Thursday if Barbados had responded to his claim, Thomas replied: “I know there has been correspondence between the legal parties. But I leave certain things to my legal team. Let’s say that there are discussions tending towards what would be the findings of the miscalculation that was done.”
Despite his adverse experience here, Thomas said on Thursday that he would still love to return to his favourite holiday destination in the Caribbean.
He said: “l hope that everything ends amicably and that beautiful Barbados can remain untarnished…. I would like them to be untarnished and that this matter be put aside once and for all. I think I would love to come back. As I told you, two to three times a year for 50 years I have been coming with my family to relax and enjoy beautiful Barbados. I don’t think anybody understands how much this hurt me by the actions which Barbados took that I would never have imagined in a million years.”
Thomas is the owner of the Specialist Shooters Training Centre (SSTC), one of the main suppliers of guns, ammunition and other security equipment to various State agencies for over 20 years.
emmanueljoseph@barbadostoday.bb
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