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49(11).
Section 6 of the Constitution of the Republic of Trinidad and
Tobago precludes individuals from challenging, under Sections 4 and 5 of the
Constitution, all laws or acts carried out pursuant to any law in force in
Trinidad and Tobago before 1976, the year the Constitution entered into
force.
49(12).
The Constitution of Trinidad and Tobago does not provide,
among its prescribed fundamental rights and freedoms, the right to a trial
within a reasonable time.
Regarding Mr. Caesar's detention and health conditions
49(13).
Mr. Caesar has been incarcerated since September 10, 1991
(supra para. 49(2)) and has served 13 years of his 20-year sentence.
49(14).
The prison system in Trinidad and Tobago consists of the
following five prisons: Port of Spain Prison, Golden Grove Prison, Maximum
Security Prison, Carrera Convict Prison and Tobago Prison.
49(15).
During the course of his criminal proceedings, Mr. Caesar has
been incarcerated at four of the five prisons in Trinidad and Tobago. After his
arrest in 1991, he was held for a short time at the Port of Spain Prison, and
he was then transferred to the Golden Grove Prison in Arouca, where he
stayed for at least two months. Then he was returned to the Port of Spain
Prison for two months. Subsequently, Mr. Caesar was sent back again to the
Golden Grove Prison, where he remained until his trial in February 1996 when
he was transferred to the Port of Spain Prison. Some time after, he was
transferred to the Golden Grove Prison once again. After his case was
dismissed by the Court of Appeal, he was returned to the Port of Spain Prison,
where he was held for at least two months. He was then sent to the Carrera
Convict Prison, where he was detained until November 1999. Finally, he was
transferred to the Maximum Security Prison, where he remains to date.
49(16).
In Golden Grove Prison and in Carrera Convict Prison the
alleged victim shared a cell with 4 or 5 other men and slept on the floor with
a thin mat or on an old piece of carpet. There were no toilet facilities and a
“slop pail” was used by everyone in the cell. There was always a stench of
human waste in the cell, which had little ventilation and was hot.
49(17).
At the Maximum Security Prison Mr. Caesar is allowed outside
his prison cell for one hour during the mornings and one hour during the
evenings.
49(18).
Since his incarceration, he has suffered serious health problems
that have not been properly treated by the State authorities. His health has
deteriorated over time. He has not received adequate dental treatment while
in prison (he has lost most of his teeth, with only six remaining in his lower
jaw). Subsequent to incarceration, Mr. Caesar developed chronic hemorrhoids
from which he continues to suffer, and he has had a cyst in his testicles since
1998.