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A LEGAL challenge by the Strategic Services Agency (SSA) over the disclosure of limited statistical data requested under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) by activist Ravi Balgobin Maharaj, has been dismissed by the Appeal Court.

In a judgment delivered yesterday, Justice of Appeal Vashiest Kokaram, with whom Justices of Appeal Prakash Moosai and Mira Dean-Armorer agreed, rejected the SSA’s arguments that the information sought was exempt on grounds of national security.

The appeal arose from a March 15, 2017, FOIA request in which Maharaj sought, among other things, the number of interceptions conducted without judicial warrants in 2015 and 2016, and the number of regional and international conferences and seminars attended by the SSA.