Former premier Ewart Brown may appeal a court ruling that has cleared a path to see him face criminal charges while he was in office.

Dr Brown, who led the country between 2006 and 2010, has vehemently denied the allegations and brought a legal action calling for them to be struck out on the grounds that he had been “targeted” by prosecutors because of his political views.

Lawyers for Dr Brown had sought declarations from the Supreme Court that the activities of the Strategic Oversight Group — a committee of high-ranking officials set up in 2014, including the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Deputy Governor — were unconstitutional and unlawful because they breached his constitutional and common-law rights.

That claim was rejected in a ruling on Thursday by Acting Puisne Judge Martin Forde.

Mr Justice Forde found that Dr Brown genuinely felt that he had been targeted because of his decision in 2009 to bring four Uighurs to Bermuda from the US prison camp at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.

However, the judge concluded that there was no evidence that the oversight group influenced the decision to prosecute Dr Brown.

Dr Brown’s legal team have now raised concerns over the length of time it has taken for the matter to come to trial — the charges against their client were filed in January 2021.

Attorney Jerome Lynch KC has also suggested that Dr Brown may appeal the ruling handed down by Mr Justice Forde.

Mr Lynch said: “On December 22, 2020, we filed an originating summons to challenge the constitutionality of the process by which Dr Brown was investigated and indicted, having discovered the existence of a secret body called the Strategic Oversight Group made up of the Commissioner of Police, the Deputy Governor, the Director of Prosecutions and a UK overseas law enforcement officer, which was described during the hearing as the Star Chamber.

“Today, 4½ years later, we received the ruling of the judge.

“It is an important ruling for Bermuda and its citizens because it has revealed for the first time the manner in which certain political members of our community can be the subject of investigation by the authorities in ways which right-thinking Bermudians would be shocked to discover.

“For this reason alone, we urge all Bermudians to read this judgment and learn how their country works.

“The outcome was not what we had hoped for, but the judge did say that this is a case of supreme constitutional importance both to the applicant and to the citizens of Bermuda.

“He understood why Dr Brown believed this to be a politically motivated prosecution.

“Obviously, Dr Brown will be considering his options in relation to an appeal and what steps to take from here.

“Next year Dr Brown will be 80 while at the same time being asked to deal with events as far back as when he was 54. They like to call this justice.

“The fight goes on.”

The criminal matter against Dr Brown is expected to be mentioned in the Supreme Court next month, with a trial date earmarked for September next year.

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