The 46-year-old accused drug kingpin was extradited to the United States last Monday and made his initial appearance before a Miami magistrate on Thursday. He was not represented by an American attorney and therefore did not have charges read against him.
Mr Minnis, who was part of the legal team that fought Knowles’ high-profile six-year battle against extradition and who continues to advise him, was the first Bahamian Knowles spoke to in the U.S.
“Man Roger, I still punchdrunk after all of this,” Knowles said, according to Mr Minnis, as he went into court for his initial appearance. “When you don’t expect something like this, you can’t believe it’s happening.” In light of the way his extradition played out, Knowles also said, according to his lawyer: “Every citizen needs to have an appreciation for the law because they don’t know what’s down the road for them. That’s why I fought this.” The attorney said Knowles was calm during his initial court appearance, adding that he appeared to be in good health but had not received prescription medication up to that point.
Mr Minnis, who has proposed contempt of court proceedings against Foreign Affairs Minister Fred Mitchell for endorsing Knowles’ extradition despite a habeas corpus hearing, is arguing that not only have his client’s constitutional rights been infringed upon, but that his health was placed in jeopardy because of the government’s actions. He claimed that Knowles had remained at the Ft. Lauderdale airport for three hours after his extradition because U.S. Marshal officials refused to accept him from Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents without proper documentation. According to Mr Minnis, Knowles said that it was only after the documents were sent from Washington that he was accepted.
But when the Nassau Guardian put Mr Minnis’ complaint to US Ambassador John Rood in an interview, the Ambassador said: “I don’t know why that’s that unusual. Most people that go to Miami wait two hours. And for him to come over without the visas, three hours seems pretty reasonable to me.”
Mr Minnis also claimed that up to Thursday, a Ministry of Foreign Affairs representative had not visited Mr Knowles during his detention in Miami.
“It is just as if they don’t care” he said. “If the same Ministry sent him there on Monday, you would think some Ministry officials would see him by Thursday.”
Mr Minnis said he feared that Knowles would not have had ample time to secure an American lawyer when he is arraigned in Miami tomorrow. Knowles’ designation as a Foreign Narcotics Kingpin by U.S. President George Bush in May 2002 has presented a significant challenge to him securing the attorney of his choice in time for the arraignment, said Mr Minnis. Under the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Act, any American citizen doing business with Knowles, including an attorney, must first receive written permission from the U.S. Government.
Mr Minnis said on the weekend that some close relatives of Knowles remained in Miami searching for an attorney but noted it would be difficult for them to have chosen one and receive U.S. Government approval by Tuesday.
“His choice of counsel is automatically fettered,” said Mr Minnis, argued. “What I don’t like is that the U.S. Attorney did not appraise [the judge] that Mr Knowles is someone who needs to get a licence from the U.S government.”
However, US Ambassador Rood insisted: “The kingpin designation does not keep you from having an attorney that you want to have represent you. It keeps you from using a lot of your wealth to hire people. As far as attorney – your representation, you have the right to representation.”
By: RAYMOND KONGWA, The Nassau Guardian
