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The application required the state to prove that it had legitimately imprisoned Mello - who is a permanent resident of Belize. 7news was at the court today to hear the Judge's decision and Daniel Ortiz has this report:...

Daniel Ortiz reporting
Today is the expiration day of the injunction to stop the Immigration Department from expelling the Slovak detainee, Karol Mello.

But that is of no consequence because the Supreme Court has ruled that the Government of Belize has been illegally detaining him.

Mello's wife, Zuzana - who has been his interpreter to his attorney - was again present at the Courthouse - but Karol Mello was not there today.

In his absence, the strength of the arguments from his attorney, Godfrey Smith, was sufficient to convince Justice Legall.

Viewers will remember that the Minister of Immigration, Hon. Godwin Hulse, told 7News that even though The Slovak Republic has no Extradition Treaty, Mello should quote "Face the music".

Well, that statement proved pivotal: The court ruled that it cannot allow his expulsion without the proper procedures.

Andrew Marshalleck - Attorney for Karol Mello
"The minister exercises the power to expel improperly in that he was motivated in his decision by an improper purpose. If the purpose is to send somebody off to a foreign country to face criminal charges the legal proceeding by which that is done is by extradition and what you can't do is used immigration powers to accomplish an extradition. So the judge says that's an improper purpose - those decisions are no good Mr. Mello needs to be release on that basis."

Daniel Ortiz
"Sir, can they just re-arrest him and try to make a next attempt?"

Andrew Marshalleck - Attorney for Karol Mello
"A next attempt conceivably, but the trouble is how can you after receiving the request from Slovakia for extradition now suggest to anybody and have them believe it that you are acting out of some other purpose other than just merely to satisfy that request - you are right back to the improper purpose for which the entire action was motivated which erodes the illegality of it from its very foundation."

Reporter
"So generally the government jumped the gun?"

Andrew Marshalleck - Attorney for Karol Mello
"No, it's not that they jumped the gun. It's that you are not able to use immigration powers to accomplish extradition. If you want to extradite somebody to face charges you need an extradition treaty and there are procedures in the extradition act which must be followed. When you seek to deport a person, what you do is circumvent all the protections built in to the extradition law and that the court is clearly not prepared to countenance. That is unlawful and the judge made it very clear if Slovakia wants Mr. Mello then the Belize government wants to hand him over Belize and Slovakia needs to make an extradition treaty and the provisions of the extradition act need to be followed."

Even though this attempt to send Mello back Slovakia failed, his legal team has no doubt that there is nothing to stop them from re-arresting him.

Andrew Marshalleck - Attorney for Karol Mello
"Anybody can always be arrested on new charges. What they can't do is seek to hand him over to Slovakia exercising immigration powers."

Daniel Ortiz
"Sir what is a foot right now? Is there any steps taken for his immediate release?"

Andrew Marshalleck - Attorney for Karol Mello
"Steps will be taken for the writ of Habeas Corpus to be issued and for his immediate release. The judge has ordered his release."

But to counter this and to seek reinstatement of his legal status in Belize, Mello's attorneys have already put forward a legal challenge to Minister Hulse's decisions.

Daniel Ortiz
"Since they have revoked his status here in Belize, what is his position legally?"

Andrew Marshalleck - Attorney for Karol Mello
"That decision too is tainted by the same improper purpose and is also vitiated."

Reporter
"Is it inconceivably too to say that they haven't illegally revoked my permanent residence for whatever reason?"

Andrew Marshalleck - Attorney for Karol Mello
"Those suits are already before the court. There is already judicial review application seeking to review the minister's decision on the basis that Mr. Mello's rights were not acceded to."

And as soon as the hearing was over, Mello's wife, Zuzana, rushed off to make preparations for her husband to be released from Prison.

That happened at around 10:45 this morning - but he was not set free, when he was taken away by police - reportedly to be processed for the new charge.

And as was predicted by all observers, instead of the authorities releasing Karol Mello, as was ordered by Justice Legall, he was removed from the Hattieville Prison in a police vehicle, and taken to the Queen Street station for new charges to be brought against him.

The efficiency with which it was done suggests that it was already set up as a back-up plan, in the event that the Government of Belize lost the case before Justice Legall.

And so, at around 3 p.m. this evening, 42 year-old Karol Mello, a resident at the Cloister's Resort on San Pedro, was taken before Senior Magistrate Sharon Frazer, where he was arraigned on 2 charges: perjury, and uttering a passport which he was not entitled to utter.

According to the Immigration Department, when Karol Mello went to complete the application form for permanent residence on September 17, 2011, he perjured himself by willfully offering information about his Slovak passport, #3191427, saying that it was valid until November 26, 2011, knowing that the information was false.

The Immigration Department further alleged that on the same date that he used the passport for the application, with knowledge that the Slovak Government had withdrawn its validity on or around the date of July 18, 2011, thus using a passport which he was not entitled to.

Mello and his attorney, Andrew Marshalleck, believe that GOB continues to detain him illegally, hoping that these charges would stick this time.

The media spoke to Marshalleck outside of court, here's what he told us about the refusal to release him this morning, and the subsequent charges which were brought.

Andrew Marshalleck - Attorney for Karol Mello
"He ordered the immediate release of Mr. Mello. Instead of the authorities release him they spirited him away from the Hattiville prison and they took him to Queen Street police station and they levied two charges on him. The charges that were levied were one alleging perjury that some information on the application form for permanent residence was incorrect and the second was using a passport that was supposedly was invalid. The response from Mr. Mello to that of course is that even if his passport is invalid, he had no idea of the invalidity. Apparently the authorities are saying that the passport was somehow withdrawn by the government of Slovakia but of course Mr. Mello were never informed of that and in those circumstances we failed to see how you could even allege perjury much less knowing using a document that something is wrong with it."

"In effect the charges were laid simply as a way of legitimizing the detention which by order of the magistrate now is now lawful. So they may now lawfully keep him in prison until the next schedule hearing date for these two charges."

"Apparently the application for permanent residence was made in Belmopan, so that the application form that they allege to contain untrue information was delivered to the authorities there. They are saying the offence happened there and its being transferred to the Belmopan/Cayo judicial district."

As noted in the interview, Senior Magistrate Frazer, after listening to the submissions from both the prosecution and from the defense attorney, denied Mello bail, and adjourned the case until August 20.

This matter will be heard before the Belmopan Magistrate, who will then decide if Mello is entitled to bail at that time.