Maroc - NEWSDAY.CO.TT - A la Une - 03/Oct 19:13

Detained prison supervisor back at Teteron after hospital visit

DETAINED prison supervisor Garth Guada returned to the army’s Teteron Barracks in Chaguaramas, hours after he was treated at the Port of Spain General Hospital on October 2. Newsday was told that Guada, who is being held at the army’s base under a state of emergency preventative detention order, was discharged on October 2. Earlier in the day, he was admitted to the hospital’s accident and emergency department after complaining of feeling unwell. He was treated for dehydration. The department was sent into lockdown mode for hours while he was being treated with swarms of police, army and prison officers on the hospital’s compound. Newsday understands that attempts by his attorneys for a virtual meeting with him have not been acknowledged, and relatives complain they are being kept in the dark. Newsday understands Guada and another man were admitted to the hospital on October 2 for feeling “unwell.” Guada was said to be “severely dehydrated,” and there were also concerns that he has not been receiving his prescribed medication. Guada was detained on August 21 under the emergency order, accused of enabling prison breaches for gang members. Also detained at the army’s base are close to a dozen inmates transferred from the Maximum Security Prison, Arouca, since the SoE was declared on July 18, and deemed to be “high-risk” by authorities. Guada has complained about the conditions under which he is kept at the army’s base. However, these have been denied by the Ministry of Homeland Security. On September 22 and 23, Chief of Defence Staff Air Vice Marshal Darryl Daniel and acting Prisons Commissioner Hayden Forde submitted memos to the ministry addressing Guada’s allegations that his detention at Teteron Barracks was “deplorable and inhumane.” Daniel and Forde said Guada was the sole occupant of a refurbished cell outfitted with bunks, a bathroom and ventilation. They said he had access to daily medical services, medication, meals and an adequate supply of water. Guada has challenged his detention before the SoE review tribunal, which is yet to announce when it will submit its report to the minister. His attorneys allege his detention was politically motivated after he resisted unauthorised visits by Homeland Security Minister Roger Alexander to high-risk inmates. He accused the minister of abusing the emergency powers to detain him unlawfully. Alexander has emphatically denied this. The post Detained prison supervisor back at Teteron after hospital visit appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.