Karol Mello’s attorney in Belize, Senior Counsel Godfrey Smith appeared before Supreme Court Judge Justice Oswal Legall this morning in Belize City. The matter before the court was to hear the injunction application brought against the Minister of Immigration of Belize Senator Hon. Godwin Hulse to have the court dismiss the extradition application order against Mello until he gets proper court hearing in Belize.
Smith had maintained that his client has not broken any Belizean law and is in the country legally. He said that proper justification must be granted to the court before his client can be extradited to Slovakia.
Appearing before the Government of Belize (GOB) was Crown Counsel Magali Perdomo. Perdomo asked Justice Legall for more time to prepare her case and asked for an adjournment until Thursday, August 2nd. Despite strenuous objections by Mello’s attorney, Senior Counsel Godfrey Smith, Justice Legall granted Perdomo more time to prepare for the case.
Speaking to reporters outside of the Supreme Court in Belize City, Smith explained that while Mello is being held in custody, the (GOB) does not know what charges will be brought against his client. “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… 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 and 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,” said Smith who added that Mello’s criminal record from Slovakia is clean.
Mello is wanted in Slovakia for the murder investigation of a woman and a child as well as two gang leaders which reportedly occurred in 2003 and 2004 respectively. Mello was detained by San Pedro Police on Pescador Drive on July 11th after being sought by Interpol. Mello had been living on Ambergris Caye since 2010 with his actress wife Zuzana Marošová. Their second son was recently born here, making him a Belizean.
The case has been adjourned until Thursday August 2nd while Mello remains in police custody.
