A BELIZEAN court restored the previously revoked permanent residence of Slovak citizen Karol Mello, an alleged mobster and murder suspect, the TASR newswire reported on September 17, quoting the Plus Jeden Deň daily.
Mello was stripped of his permanent residence on August 28 on the grounds that he acquired it based on false data that he provided to the Belizean authorities.
“This case is thus closed and Mr Mello can live in Belize as a free man,” Mello’s attorney Godfrey Smith told the daily.
The Belizean Immigration Department withdrew all charges against Karol Mello last month. The 7newsbelize.com website wrote that withdrawing the charges signalled the end of the fight by the government of Belize in trying to eject Mello from the country.
Mello and his attorneys filed a claim a few weeks ago in the Supreme Court, in which they were going to sue the Belizean government to get back his permanent residency status.
But before the opening arguments at the start of the trial, which was scheduled for Monday, September 17, the Government Crown Counsel notified the court that the Minister of Immigration had reversed its decision.
This meant that Mello’s permanent residence was restored, and the case was over, 7newsbelize.com wrote.
Mello, a fugitive who has been charged in Slovakia with organising at least three murders back in 2003 and 2004, was detained by Belizean police on July 11 as a result of a police operation organised by Interpol in cooperation with Slovak police.
Although Slovak officials sought Mello’s swift extradition, legal disputes have kept him in Belize.
24. Sep 2012 at 0:00 | Compiled by Spectator staff
