Bottle water tycoon accused of plotting to assassinate Trinidad PM claims political revenge

(Central News Agency, Port of Spain, July 7, Foreign News) A Trinidad and Tobago bottled water tycoon and his wife today appealed their detention; they are accused of plotting to assassinate the Prime Minister and other high-ranking government officials, but the couple firmly denies the charges, claiming it is political revenge by the government against ethnic minority political opponents.

According to Reuters, Trinidad bottled water tycoon Dominic Hadeed and his wife Genevieve today appealed their detention for allegedly plotting to assassinate high-ranking officials of the Trinidad government, including Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar.

Hadeed, the head of Trinidad's bottled water and filter supplier "Blue Waters," is accused of plotting to assassinate the Prime Minister, the Attorney General, and other government members.

Both he and his wife deny the charges, arguing that their detention is due to political revenge by the government against ethnic minorities, as their ethnicity is believed to generally support the opposition party.

In their appeal documents, the couple stated, "There is no evidence, past, present, or future, that the plaintiffs conspired to murder anyone, because there is no such conspiracy," adding that they have never been charged or convicted of any crime in the past.

Trinidad and Tobago declared a state of emergency in March this year to combat organized crime in the country. Hadeed stated that his criticism of this measure led to retaliation by the state.

The Prime Minister's office did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment.

Hadeed is of Syrian descent, belonging to the Syrian-Lebanese ethnic group in the Caribbean nation. Lawyers argued in the appeal that government officials disparage members of this ethnic group as "one percent" and accuse them of involvement in white-collar crime.

The Hadeed couple was arrested at their home in late June under emergency power provisions and have been transferred to the Port of Spain Remand Yard and the Maximum Security Women's Prison, respectively, awaiting trial on July 27. (Compiled by Li Peishan) 1150708

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