‘Chris Must List’ released

Senior Reporter

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After the Ministry of National Security labelled him as an “undesirable” in its deportation order and detained him to send him out of the country, vlogger Christopher “Chris Must List” Hughes was ordered to be released yesterday.

The order came from High Court Judge Robin Mohammed after Hughes’ attorneys Jagdeo Singh, Gerald Ramdeen and Vashisht Seepersad filed a judicial review challenging the deportation order. Mohammed also set a date for a case management hearing to October 23 and gave the State up to September 23 to respond to the attorneys while Hughes’ legal team was given up to October 7 to reply.

The court matter began just after 3 pm and lasted less than 30 minutes. By 7.25 pm Hughes was released from the Immigration Detention Centre in Aripo and greeted by Ramdeen.

In their application, the attorneys asked for the court to declare that the Ministry of National Security’s deportation order is “irrational, unreasonable and illegal” and that his arrest and subsequent detention were in breach of Hughes’ fundamental rights under Sections 4 (a), (b) 5(2) c (i) and(ii) and section 5(2) h of the Constitution.

The 11-point request also included that the court quash the deportation order and have the State pay the legal cost of the application and other expenses deemed fit.

During yesterday’s court hearing. Ramdeen sought to have the court determine that following Hughes’ release, the State would not prevent him from re-entering the country, should he be permitted to leave.

Hughes is currently facing a two-year jail term or a $100,000 fine for publishing a seditious statement. His matter was adjourned to January next year. He returned to the country on August 18 for the hearing scheduled for the 23 and had to lodge his passport with the registrar of the High Court as part of his bail conditions.

On Friday he will appear before Justice Indrani Cedeno to vary his bail which will allow him to regain his passport, leave the country and possibly appear virtually in January. The deportation order is the third time that Hughes was held. His first arrest led to his sedition charge. His second arrest on September 5 on money laundering allegations.