Alleged Slovakian mafia boss gets another day in Court

In the courtroom of Justice Oswell Legall, a habeas corpus application was heard this morning on behalf of Karol Mello, the alleged Slovakian mafia boss who is wanted by the Slovakian authorities. Prior to this application, attorney Godfrey Smith had obtained an order from the Supreme Court to restrain the minister of Foreign Affairs from filing an expulsion order to send Mello back to his country. Mello, however, holds permanency residency in Belize and as such is entitled to the protection of Belizean laws, argued Smith. He and his wife, who was present in court this morning, have a Belizean born child. The government, represented by senior crown counsel Magali Perdomo, was not prepared to go forward with the application and asked the court for an adjournment. Smith argued that Mello has been in detention since July eleventh and that the government should be ready to proceed with the habeas corpus application since it is one of urgency. Justice Legall, however, agreed to grant the adjournment so the matter will be heard until Thursday. Attorney Godfrey Smith says that Mello is being held for more than two weeks now and the government still doesn’t know what charges to bring on him.

Godfrey Smith

Godfrey Smith, Attorney for Karol Mello

“It is settled beyond any doubt or question that any application for what we are seeking habeas corpus are meant to be dealt with immediately. In other words, the Courts saw; the cases say that when an application for habeas corpus comes, the Court is required to deal with it as a matter or priority over other cases that the court may have. The applicant, Karol Mello, has been detained since July eleventh; the government knows exactly what it is doing and yet they come to court saying they need time to prepare. So it is obviously intended to stall, delay, drag out the proceedings. If they were holding him under lawful authority, it would be the easiest thing to say look, this is the reason why we are holding him. That is what this case is about. You grab the man on July eleventh and you mean up to now, you can’t put together the reason why you are holding him? That’s what this particular application is about.”

Jules Vasquez

“According to my notes, you said in Court that it is unacceptable for the respondents to now say they need more time. Is it also unacceptable, in your opinion, to say habeas corpus, we received the application on the nineteenth and we will now take another two days which will put it to fourteen days.”

Godfrey Smith

“No I will not say that. The court and a judge is the master of this court and he makes decisions on the proceedings. Our job is to make our submissions as convincingly, as committedly and as persuasively as we can—as we see the law. The judge hears both sides and makes the decision that he sees fit.”

Jules Vasquez

“I spoke to the Minister of Immigration last week. He said that if, speaking generally, if a country of one’s citizenship wants a person as a fugitive or to answer for the law, then the country in which he holds residence is under no compulsion or obligation to hold him. And that in fact, the state in which he is permanent resident should expedite his return to the country of origin.”

Karol Mello

Godfrey Smith

“Well we have serious issues with that as a matter of law. We think that what the government, including what the minister has done, is totally unlawful and that is what we are challenging. I should just say this, what the media has perceived and certainly what I have seen is simply that oh that man is wanted in Slovakia. I don’t think, unless I’m mistaken, no evidence of what was done or what he is wanted for has been produced to anybody. I happen to have the man’s criminal record from Slovakia and it is clean. I happen to have adjustments from the Courts, where the Slovakian are saying that the manner of them getting the Interpol warrant to go after him was wrong and they are trying to do the same thing here. Now people get distracted and say but how? This man is wanted and this and that. What he is wanted for there is of no concern to us here. He applied for, paid for, fill out all the papers for permanent residence.”

Mello is wanted in Slovakia for the murder of a woman and child as well as two gangland executions carried out in 2003 and 2004. He has been living in San Pedro since 2010.