Veteran defence attorney Frank Phipps yesterday greeted the swift extradition of his client, accused drug dealer Donovan ‘Plucky’ Williams, with astonishment and accused the government of insensitivity in its handling of the matter.

“As the lead counsel for Donovan Williams in the extradition proceedings, I wish to register my strongest objection to this inconsiderate treatment of my client,” Phipps said in a statement.

“This was an insensitive way for the citizen to be treated by his government and an example of the cavalier way in which human rights are treated in Jamaica.”

Williams and Lebert Ramcharan were handed over to US Marshals Sunday morning, two days after the Court of Appeal rejected their applications against extradition.

Ramcharan, described by US President George W Bush as a “drug kingpin”, and Williams, were wanted by US prosecutors on drug trafficking charges.

US prosecutors alleged that both men smuggled millions of dollars worth of cocaine into the US through their Colombian connections.

They were held by narcotics agents in March 2004 as part of an international crackdown on the cocaine trade.

They were ordered extradited in the Half-Way-Tree Criminal Court in June 2005 by Resident Magistrate Martin Gayle, but applied for judicial review of the extradition order.

Yesterday, Phipps said he was astonished by the manner in which the minister of justice rushed to send Williams out of Jamaica for trial in the United States.

“The Court of Appeal dismissed his appeal at 12:30 pm on Friday last and by 7 o’clock on Sunday morning he was whisked from his own country to an uncertain future in a foreign state,” said Phipps.

He said that while the evidence in the case alleged a conspiracy in Jamaica for an illegal purpose in the USA, it was amazing that there was no prosecution in Jamaica for the offence alleged to have been committed here. Instead, extradition for trial in the USA was preferred.

This, Phipps argued, demonstrated a lack of confidence in the Jamaican justice system.

“In this rush to extradite, no opportunity was afforded to Williams for consultation with his lawyers for advice on the legal implications of the judgement of the Court of Appeal,” said Phipps.

He noted that the United Kingdom Privy Council, Jamaica’s final appeal court, has before it an appeal for a declaration that the Extradition Act is unconstitutional and that it would be illegal to send anyone out of Jamaica for trial in another country.

“These considerations should have weighed heavily on the minister before he ordered the removal of the citizen from Jamaica,” said Phipps.

He made it clear that his statement was not designed to question the judgment of the courts, or the legality of the minister’s action. His intention, he said, was to urge the Government to exhibit more concern and consideration for the best interests of Jamaicans in preference to the interests of another country, and for the state to ensure that this type of insensitive action will never be taken again.