Heavily armed Gang Suppression Unit police officers escorted Gary Seawell to the Supreme Court this morning, taking up security positions outside the courtroom of Justice Michelle Arana, while inside, Seawell and his attorney, Arthur Saldivar, did not have to wait long for Arana’s decision in his habeas corpus application that the court heard in March.

In October 2013, Chief Magistrate Ann Marie Smith ruled that Belizean Gary Seawell, 36, for whom the United States has issued an extradition request, must be extradited, because the US has made out its prima facie case against him.

After court was called to order by the court marshal, Justice Arana sat on the bench for a few seconds, then declared, “I heard the matter in March and have reached a decision in favor of the respondent.”

This means that the court has denied Seawell’s habeas corpus application and his detention at the Belize Central Prison has been affirmed as being lawful.

Seawell has been on remand at the Central Prison since 2010, when he was first apprehended on the strength of a provisional arrest warrant, signed by the Belize Chief Magistrate, after the US issued its extradition request to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The United States targeted the Seawell brothers, Gary, Dwayne and Mark Seawell, for their alleged involvement in the sale of cocaine and marijuana in Texas from December 1994 to August 1997. According to the US, the Seawell brothers are also wanted for moving one million dollars – the proceeds of drug sales from Houston, Texas; Lakeland, Florida; and Belize.

Following the brief hearing, Seawell’s attorney, Saldivar, told reporters that his client’s next move is to apply for a stay of execution of the judge’s decision.

Saldivar said that apart from applying for a stay of execution, he will also appeal the judge’s decision to the Court of Appeal.

“I’m not really surprised at the outcome”, Saldivar stated, “It’s a 50/50 proposition in every instance.”

Saldivar added: “I expect that at a certain point, our position will be vindicated.”

He said that although he may not be in full agreement with the outcome, “this was not the forum for some of the issues to have been ventilated and to be adjudicated upon. The more suitable forum would be the Court of Appeal; that is where we go next.”

When asked about Seawell’s state of mind, since he has been on remand for so many years, Saldivar said, “I’ve known Gary Seawell for most of his life and his mind is as strong as it ever was. He is adamant about his innocence as it relates to these charges that were brought against him by the U.S. The fight is not yet over, and he understands that and remains resolute.”

Saldivar ended the interview by saying, “I don’t believe that the extradition process is a fair one. I don’t think the extradition treaty (Belize signed an extradition treaty with the U.S. in 2000) serves Belize or Belizeans well. We are being used and abused by the process.”

While Gary and Mark Seawell remain on remand and are continuing their legal fight to avoid extradition to the U.S., their brother Duane was snatched in Miami as he was making his way back to Belize from Jamaica in 2007. He was sentenced to 17 years in prison by a U.S. district judge in an Ohio court.