362 / 494
361
(v)
Maj. Kennedy took these persons into custody and handed
them over to the JCF.
(vi)
Reference was made to two legal authorities of the UK
Supreme Court.
Commission’s Comments and Findings
10.270.
The detentions were made at a time when Reg.31(1) of the
Emergency Powers (No.1) Regulations was in force – see para.10.222.
Even during a State of Emergency, the law required detention only
upon reasonable grounds for suspecting that a person was acting or
had acted in a manner prejudicial to public safety or that he/she had
committed or was about to commit an offence. In other words, if
detention was to be undertaken, it ought to have been justified by
objectively demonstrated suspicion. Notwithstanding Maj. Kennedy’s
response, it is our finding that the wide scale detentions were
arbitrary. Persons were detained when there were no objective criteria
to support their detention on 24 May 2010.
10.271.
With regard to the response that Maj. Kennedy took charge
of young men detained by Lt. Col. Ogilvie and then handed them over
to the JCF, our understanding of the evidence is different from that
offered by Counsel for Maj. Kennedy. As is evident upon a reading of
para.10.248 Maj. Kennedy detained persons on 24 May. The detentions
of which Lt. Col. Ogilvie testified, took place on the morning of 25 May
– see para.10.244 (
supra
).
10.272.
In the circumstances, we are not persuaded by
Maj. Kennedy’s response to alter our original findings.