Godfred Dame questions court over Hanan Abdul-Wahab’s passport

Former Attorney-General Godfred Dame has expressed disappointment with the court's perceived failure to compel the State to return the passport of his client, Hanan Abdul-Wahab. The passport had been submitted to the court as part of Abdul-Wahab's bail conditions.

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The order for the passport to return to the registry was actually given by the court.

Dame explained that the court had previously ordered the passport's return to the registry by July 14, following an approved trip by Abdul-Wahab. However, the document was not returned because it was allegedly seized by the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) after Abdul-Wahab's arrest.

"The order for the passport to return to the registry was actually given by the court," Dame stated, expressing his view that the issue lies with the enforcement of the court's own directives. He maintained that his legal team should not be required to file a separate application for the passport's release, emphasizing that the Republic should not constantly need to be policed.

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The judge was concerned about the seizure of the passport by EOCO, but failed to order EOCO to return the passport to the registry of the court in compliance with the court’s own earlier orders.

Dame further noted that while the judge acknowledged EOCO's seizure of the passport, no order was issued for the agency to return it to the court registry, thereby failing to ensure compliance with the court's earlier orders. He added that if Abdul-Wahab needs to travel again, they will submit a new application to the court.

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At the appropriate time, when there is a need for him to travel, we will make an application to the court.