Justice Frank Seepersad yesterday dismissed Senior Counsel Faris Al-Rawi’s application for a writ of habeas corpus seeking the release of businessman Dominic Hadeed and his wife, Genevieve, from police custody.However, he directed Commissioner of Police Allister Guevarro to clarify whether the Hadeeds were being detained under a Preventive Detention Order (PDO).The matter has been scheduled for a virtual hearing at 9 a.m. tomorrow.The application for the issuance of a writ of habeas corpus was made in an affidavit filed by Al-Rawi yesterday morning.In the affidavit, Al-Rawi detailed the events that unfolded when police arrived at the Hadeeds’ home on Wednesday, June 24, 2026. He also lamented the allegedly woeful and unsanitary conditions that Dominic Hadeed and Genevieve Hadeed have been forced to endure while being detained at the Carenage and Woodbrook police stations, respectively.The Hadeeds were detained on Wednesday at their Bayshore, Westmoorings, residence on warrants which police said had been obtained from the High Court.Al-Rawi stated that at about 6.15 a.m., police officers arrived at the Hadeeds’ private residence and Dominic Hadeed heard a man calling out, “Dominic, Dominic—come on, open up Dominic!” from outside their bedroom door.He said Hadeed asked if he could put on some clothes.According to the affidavit, the man then opened the bedroom door, displayed a badge and identified himself as Corporal Eldon Calliste.Al-Rawi stated that Cpl Calliste conducted a thorough search of the bedroom and the entire home. Genevieve Hadeed then entered the living room, where she allegedly saw several officers armed with machine guns.“The officers then searched around the room and took all devices including those belonging to their children,” Al-Rawi stated.According to Al-Rawi, the couple was separately transported to the Special Branch offices of the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service at Agra Court, St James, where Dominic Hadeed’s personal firearm was lodged.Police later took the Hadeeds to Blue Waters, Orange Grove, where Dominic Hadeed was escorted into offices and officers allegedly seized several electronic devices during a search that lasted about an hour.Al-Rawi further stated that later that day Hadeed was taken to Gulf City Mall, where he operates a business. According to Al-Rawi, Hadeed later informed him that he had been taken to his offices there to retrieve several firearms and ammunition held under a Firearm User’s Licence and Firearm User’s Employee’s Certificate.unsanitary, distressing detention conditionsAl-Rawi stated that later that night he visited both Hadeeds at the police stations where they were being held.The attorney detailed what he described as unsanitary and distressing detention conditions.Al-Rawi said he personally visited Genevieve Hadeed at the Woodbrook Police Station on the night of June 24 and was shown the cell where she was being held.“I observed that the cell was approximately 8 feet by 6 feet in dimension with a dirty terrazzo floor, with no bedding or furniture and with a hole in the floor used as a toilet. There was no running water in the cell and it reeked of the smell of faeces and urine. There was no ventilation in the cell and it was poorly lit by dim fluorescent lights shielded by wire mesh. There were cockroaches clearly crawling around the floor of the cell. There was another female occupant in the cell crouched on the floor in a fetal position,” he stated.The affidavit also details concerns regarding the detention of Dominic Hadeed at the Carenage Police Station.Al-Rawi stated that Hadeed suffers from sleep apnea and requires the nightly use of a Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) machine .He further stated that Hadeed has an orthopaedic leg injury and wears a brace. According to the affidavit, Hadeed was transported to the Carenage Police Station on June 24 and placed in a holding cell.Officers reportedly instructed him to remove his watch and belt, while concerns were raised that removing the laces from his footwear would affect the integrity of his orthopaedic brace.The affidavit further claims that his CPAP machine could not be used because the cell lacked the electrical facilities required to power it.Al-Rawi alleged that Hadeed was forced to sleep on a bare concrete slab without access to the CPAP machine and was unable to sleep because of his medical condition.The affidavit states that his sleep apnea was aggravated by the detention conditions.He said Hadeed informed him that he was made to sleep upon a bare concrete slab, without any means of using his CPAP machine, and was unable to sleep on account of his sleep apnea, aggravated by the said conditions.Genevieve distressedThe affidavit also raised concerns about attorney-client consultations. According to Al-Rawi, attorney Carlon McLeod met with Genevieve Hadeed at the Woodbrook Police Station in what appeared to be the station canteen.He alleged that a female police officer remained present and within hearing distance throughout the consultation and that the door could not be closed, with a paint bucket being used to keep it open.Al-Rawi said Genevieve Hadeed appeared distressed and had been crying during the detention period.The affidavit forms part of legal proceedings in which the Hadeeds are challenging the legality of their continued detention.Al-Rawi contended that neither applicant had been charged or interviewed under caution as of Friday afternoon and that they had been detained for approximately 74 hours.The attorney stated that on June 25 he asked Assistant Superintendent of Police WPC Rawlins whether the detention of the Hadeeds was pursuant to a warrant under the Administration of Justice (Indictable Proceedings) Act, 2011, a Preventive Detention Order, and/or the Emergency Powers Regulations, 2026.He said he was specifically informed by her that the detention was certainly not under a Preventive Detention Order and/or the Emergency Powers Regulations.Al-Rawi stated that later that day, when he visited Genevieve Hadeed at the Woodbrook Police Station, she showed him a document headed “THE EMERGENCY POWERS REGULATIONS, 2026 FURTHER DETENTION PERIOD PURSUANT TO REGULATION 13(3)”.He said Genevieve Hadeed informed him that this was the first time anything relating to the Emergency Powers Regulations had been mentioned to her.Further, he stated that he visited Dominic Hadeed at the Carenage Police Station, where he was also presented with a direction made under the Emergency Powers Regulations, 2026, further detaining the applicant for seven days.Star Sabga arrestedAl-Rawi stated that at approximately 6 p.m. on Thursday, June 25, 2026, he received a call from Jonas Zakour, the brother of Genevieve Hadeed, informing him that his elderly aunt, Star Sabga, who is Genevieve Hadeed’s maternal aunt, had been arrested by a group of police officers at Regents Towers, Westmoorings, and taken away without explanation or information as to her destination despite requests from relatives who were present.He said that at approximately 6.34 p.m. that day he contacted Cpl Calliste on his cellular phone and confirmed that Sabga had been arrested and was being detained at Agra Court.Al-Rawi stated that Calliste informed him that he was with Assistant Superintendent of Police (Ag.) and Legal Officer of the Special Branch, Ronald Mohan, and that no interview would be conducted with the applicants that night, but that he would be kept informed the following day.Al-Rawi stated that on Friday, June 26, he was informed by Calliste that Sabga would not be interviewed that day and that she would be detained at the St Joseph Police Station.He said he was also informed that the Hadeeds remained in police custody.Al-Rawi stated that police indicated officers were awaiting a report from the Cyber Crime Unit of the TTPS before conducting interviews with the applicants.He further stated that Assistant Superintendent of Police WPC Rawlins had indicated that she had received his observations regarding statements that the applicants’ extended detention was being carried out under the State of Emergency Regulations, 2026, and expressed the view that there appeared to be some “misunderstanding.”Al-Rawi stated that on the same day they were able to conduct an interview with Star Sabga.He said he had not received any phone calls from police providing a time or schedule for interviews with the Hadeeds.He said he expressed concern over the passage of several days without any action being taken to conduct the required interviews of his clients.Al-Rawi argued that a prima facie case of unlawful detention had been made out as he challenged the continued detention of the Hadeeds.