Saab’s lawyers register protest about Cape Verde’s partial compliance of ruling

Falana & Falana’s Chambers, the law firm representing Alex Saab in his case against Cape Verde has in an open statement notified the Registrar of the Community Court of Justice, Abuja, about what it says is partial compliance of Cape Verde with the ruling of 2 December 2020 which among others “gave order for house arrest for the Applicant [its client]”.

According to the notice, “The Attorney General of the Defendant ("the Attorney General") commented in a statement issued December 8, 2020, that Cape Verde would not comply with the Ruling because the Supplementary Protocol of 2005 has not yet been signed by the country's Prime Minister, approved by the Parliament and ratified by the national assembly. A copy of the statement of the Attorney General was submitted to the Honourable Court on January 19, 2020.”

“We countered the misleading position of the Attorney General and filed a motion praying the Court to direct the Authority of Heads of State to impose sanctions for disobedience of the Court Order. To prevent the Applicant from pressing for sanctions, the Attorney General approached the Barlavento Court of Appeal of Cape Verde last Wednesday (January 20, 2021) to order that the Applicant be placed in a house arrest.”

It continued: “The order which was granted on 21 January 2021 was honoured yesterday, January 25, 2021. Whilst we are grateful to the Honorable Court for its intervention, we would like to bring to its attention that Cape Verde, in direct defiance of the Ruling, has not stayed the extradition process and proceeded to authorise it on January 4, 2021. We are therefore praying the Court further intervention in this matter and decide on the Main Application in light of this.”

Mr. Saab was arrested by police in Cape Verde in June last year on his way to Iran aboard a private jet. According to Times Union, U.S. officials believe Saab holds many secrets about how Maduro, his family, and top aides allegedly siphoned off millions of dollars in government contracts amid widespread hunger in the oil-rich nation.

He had been in prison until Monday, 25 January 2021 when he was put under house arrest after his application was approved.

Mr. Saab, a Colombian businessman linked to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro who is wanted by U.S. authorities on charges of money laundering, according to Notícias do Norte, “will be staying in a residence that was already being prepared for this purpose. Security will be maintained by elements of the PNs Intervention Corps and also by elements of private security.”

His lawyers had on Friday expressed displeasure over his detention after an ECOWAS hearing which, according to reports, was expected to hold for him to be released from prison and put under house arrest did not come off.

A report had said Januária Costa, who is one of the three judges presiding over the case at the international court, cited ‘coronavirus pandemic’ as the reason for her absence even though the case was scheduled to hold virtually.

But Ogoh Sunday, spokesperson for the court is quoted to have responded that there was rather a mistake in communicating a shift in the date to the parties involved.

“The facts of the matter is that; the Court had earmarked the case for hearing on the 4th of February, 2021, in its ‘Cause List’ published on the 21st of December 2020 and this can be verified on the website of the ECOWAS Court of Justice,” Premium Times quotes him to have said.

“However, the List was reviewed as is a common practice and the date was brought forward to 2nd February 2021 in the revised ‘Cause List’ of 19th January 2021. This is consistent with the usual tradition of allocating convenient dates to hear matters before the Court,” he reportedly added.