Barbara Gayle, Staff Reporter
( Left - Right ) WILLIAMS AND RAMCHARAN
TWO MONTEGO Bay businessmen, one of whom was labelled by the United States as an international drug kingpin, yesterday lost their legal battle in the Supreme Court to have their extradition orders set aside.
Leebert Ramcharan and Donovan 'Plucky' Williams, who are seeking to be released from prison will be appealing the ruling, their lawyers said yesterday.
They are wanted in the U.S. to face charges of conspiracy to import cocaine into that country and conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine.
But after the unanimous decision was handed down, Lord Anthony Gifford, Q.C., one of the lawyers representing Ramcharan, complained to the Full Court about several articles in the media last month which commented on the very issues which were being canvassed before the court. He said one of the articles was written by Minister of Justice and Attorney, General A.J. Nicholson, Q.C., and argued that such comments should be avoided.
Chief Justice Lensley Wolfe criticised the media for the publications and remarked that the fault was not with the Attorney-General but with the media houses, which should have known better. He said some media entities believe they were above the rule of law.
THREATENED CONTEMPT
Attorney-at-law Wentworth Charles who represented Williams told The Gleaner that the article written by the Attorney-General was unfortunate because, as principal legal advisor, Mr. Nicholson had in the past threatened contempt action against persons who wrote correspondence prejudicing proceedings before the court.
Senior Resident Magistrate Martin Gayle made the extradition order on June 7 last year.
Ramcharan, who U.S. President George Bush designated as a Drug Kingpin, had complained that he would not get a fair trial because of that label and his nationality.
However Government lawyers Patrick Foster, Analiesa Lindsay and Carlene Larmond, argued that there was no basis on which the extradition order could be overturned.
The court, which comprised the Chief Justice, Justice Mahadev Dukharan and Justice Lloyd Hibbert, said his designation did not come about because of his nationality as a Jamaican but because of his perceived involvement in the trafficking of narcotics.
On June 1 last year President Bush designated Ramcharan and Norris 'Deedo' Nembhard, another Jamaican whose extradition is being sought, as 'Drug Kingpins' under the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act.
The two Jamaicans were among 10 persons and organisations identified by Bush as drug traffickers and against whom sanctions would be imposed according to the powers vested under the Act.
Williams and Ramcharan were arrested on the morning of March 3 last year in Montego Bay, St. James, during a raid conducted by local police assisted by U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) agents. They were held on provisional warrants seeking their extradition to the U.S. for drug-related activities reportedly carried out in that country.
