Political scientist and constitutional expert Professor Hamid Ghany says the Court of Appeal’s decision on Thursday to grant Dominic and Genevieve Hadeed conditional release while their Preventive Detention Orders (PDOs) remain in force raises significant questions about the separation of powers and the constitutional framework governing detention during a State of Emergency.

Speaking to TTT News following the decision, he said the Court of Appeal had not yet dealt with the substantive issues surrounding the PDOs, but had instead granted the couple relief by allowing them to leave prison and regain their liberty under strict conditions.

He described the restrictions as being similar to “transporting portions of a PDO with them to home”.