Blue Waters bottled water executive Dominic Hadeed and his wife, Genevieve Hadeed, have filed a legal appeal challenging their detention after Trinidad and Tobago authorities accused them of involvement in an alleged plot to assassinate Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar and other senior government officials.
The appeal, filed on Tuesday, strongly denies the allegations and argues that the couple’s detention is unlawful, politically motivated, and unsupported by evidence. Their attorneys contend that no assassination conspiracy ever existed and maintain that neither Dominic nor Genevieve Hadeed has any criminal history.
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“There is no and can be no evidence of any plot by the claimants to murder any person because there was no such plot,” the legal filing states.
Dominic Hadeed is the owner of Blue Waters, one of Trinidad and Tobago’s largest bottled water and filtration companies. The couple was arrested at their home in late June under emergency powers introduced as part of the country’s ongoing State of Emergency, which was declared earlier this year to combat organised crime and escalating gang violence. They are currently being held separately at the Port of Spain Remand Yard and the Maximum Security Women’s Prison pending a court hearing scheduled for July 27.
In their appeal, the Hadeeds argue that the arrests were carried out in retaliation for Dominic Hadeed’s public criticism of the government’s security policies. The filing further alleges that members of Trinidad and Tobago’s Syrian-Lebanese community, to which Hadeed belongs, have been unfairly targeted through political rhetoric linking the group to white-collar crime and referring to them as the country’s “one percent.” The appeal claims the detentions reflect ethnic and political discrimination rather than credible criminal evidence.
The Office of Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar has not publicly commented on the legal challenge.
The case has attracted significant public attention, raising broader questions about the balance between national security measures and civil liberties during the State of Emergency. While the government has maintained that the emergency powers are necessary to dismantle organised criminal networks and improve public safety, critics have cautioned that such powers must be exercised with transparency, due process, and judicial oversight.
The High Court is expected to consider the couple’s appeal later this month, with the outcome likely to influence ongoing debate over the government’s use of emergency detention powers and the protections afforded to individuals accused under national security legislation.
