For the Prime Minister, Peter Uricek was never deported from Mauritius. This is what he repeated in Parliament on Tuesday. For him, the question of the issuance and execution of a deportation order against him does not arise. The Prime Minister also insisted that there was no violation of an injunction issued by a judge of the Supreme Court.
He explained that Peter Uricek, 52, arrived in Mauritius on February 19, 2019 on a tourist visa. He then applied for a work permit. He left Mauritius for Reunion on April 2 and returned on April 3, this time with a business visa. The Prime Minister pointed out that a search of the Passport and Immigration Office’s list of controversial persons, Interpol’s database and World Check twice came up empty. Peter Uricek’s work permit, valid for 3 years, was thus approved.
On November 5, 2020, the Attorney-General’s office received a request, dated August 6, 2020, from the Republic of Slovakia for the arrest and extradition of Peter Uricek. Uricek is alleged to have led a criminal group and having unlawfully manufacture, possession and trafficking of narcotics. Our borders were closed at that time. Then there was the second containment.
In January 2021, and again in October 2021, the Attorney General’s office wrote to local authorities to confirm the presence of the Slovak on our territory. Both times, it got confirmation that he was there. Then, having ascertained that the Slovak authorities were ready, willing and able to retrieve Peter Uricek in case of extradition, the extradition and arrest requests were filed on February 22, 2022 in the Port Louis District Court. Peter Uricek was arrested on February 22, 2022 and released on bail on March 9, 2022.
Extradition proceedings are underway and the hearing has been set for May 11, 2022. But in the meantime, the expiration date of the Slovak’s work permit was approaching, Monday, April 18, 2022. But on March 23, 2022, while the extradition procedure was still in progress, the registry office informed the Prime Minister’s office of the proposed civil marriage between Pater Uricek and a Mauritian woman. The Secretary for Home Affairs objected to the marriage on the grounds that the Slovak was trying to marry a Mauritian citizen for the sole purpose of acquiring residency status. On March 31, 2022, Peter Uricek applied to renew his work permit. The Prime Minister argued that it was “essential” to make a decision on his status. “My only option as minister responsible for immigration was to deprive Peter Uricek of his residency status by invoking sections 6 and 9A(8) of the Immigration Act,” insisted Pravind Jugnauth.
Pravind Jugnauth insisted that the provisions of the Immigration Act operated independently of any extradition or deportation proceedings. “As soon as a person is deprived of his residency status, he has no right to be in Mauritius,” he said.
Pravind Jugnauth concluded by saying that although the law allows him to deprive a person of his residency status, this decision is still subject to review by the courts.
