Court in Belize rules detentions of men under SOE were unlawful, orders compensation

BELMOPAN, Belize, CMC – High Court Judge Justice Nadine Nabie in Belize has ruled that 16 men held under the State of Emergency (SOE) in July 2020 were unlawfully detained and ordered the Government to pay over BDZ$300,000 in compensation to them.

In welcoming the ruling, prominent defence attorney, Richard ‘Dickie’ Bradley, in a statement argued that even those accused of wrongdoing are entitled to legal protections, and that the public must not lose sight of the bigger picture, which is the rule of law.

He is urging those affected to seek legal redress, not just for compensation, but to help the country better understand the importance of civil liberties.

“I beg them publicly here, please all of you that they picked up and chance you all, go find a lawyer…because you are going to help you country to appreciate the importance of your liberty, your right to be free, your right to be protected under the law, even though in some quarters a few of you have conducted yourselves badly, they still have rights, prisoners have rights.

“A horse that gets chopped has rights, animals have rights. I heard from one of my colleagues that there was a complaint from one of the local television this morning that these people are bad people, they are supposed to be locked up in jail. They should not get any money.”

But, Bradley said that is a wrong view of what is happening.

“We all have our rights. Prisoners who are sentenced to jail for a long time still have rights. You can’t put him in a hole for 30 or 60 days. These things are going on as a matter of normalcy. It is like we have no, I don’t want to call, no name and blame no minister, but what is unlawful is unlawful, and what is unconstitutional, we must speak up. This is how a society loses its rights.”

In July 2020, the government declared a state of emergency with the then Minister of National Security, Michael Peyrefitte, indicating that the government would not tolerate any lawlessness.

“We are in the middle of a pandemic. We don’t need any more headache. A stiff message has already been sent to persons of interest, and more stiffer messages are about to come, especially if they don’t decide to straighten up,” he said then.

More than 300 law enforcement officers flooded Belize City in July 2020 under the SOE that was aimed at curbing violent crime.

One of the men now serving 25 years for murder is also among those being compensated by the state.

Earl Baptist, once detained under the 2020 state of emergency, has been awarded BDZ$15,000 after the High Court ruled his detention back then was unlawful.

The other 15 men will receive payouts ranging from BDZ$12,000 to BDZ$25,000 after the High Court ruled that the Government overstepped and that regular crime-fighting laws could have handled the situation in Belize City’s southside.

But, Peyrefitte has strongly disagreed, saying “all the investigative work and trying to solve the problem from a philosophical point of view is the best solution, but that takes too much time.”

Justice Nabie found that the rights of the 16 men were violated: no judicial oversight, no lawful justification, and an unnecessary two-month extension.

The High Court also found that their liberty was taken without cause.

Bradley is warning that the ruling in favour of the 16 men has implications that could be far-reaching and that being awarded compensation for unlawful detention may just be the beginning.

He believes that anyone detained under a state of emergency, past or present, could be entitled to similar payouts.

He said both the Peoples United Party (PUP) and the United Democratic Party (UDP) governments started out using the state of emergency as a tool for fighting crime.

“Crime is caused because there are social and economic problems and lot of times they go together, social and economic problems. It is unfortunate that the monies the government will have to pay are so small.

“The smallest one is BDZ$12,000…and the judge says a vindicatory damage each one will get is BDZ$7,000 more, and their legal fees will get paid by the government. They could appeal all they want. They will lose.

“This is a signal to us that not because we find a …possible solution to start violating people's rights, when you start to violate rights, it just grows and grows. Some people suggest you should start with six months.”

Bradley said that people who have nothing to do with guns are locked up right now, adding “those people who are in prison right now, if the procedure is the same procedure that was under the UDP, which it likely is, all of them entitled to get a money, this one month one, if they were wrongly put together”.

Meanwhile, the Belize Police Department says it is taking a closer look at the High Court rulings on the 2020 SOE.

Assistant Superintendent of Police, Stacy Smith, said that meetings have already been held and the police have scheduled talks with the Attorney General to chart the way forward.

“That is one of two rulings that were recently passed regarding the state of emergency. We are meeting to discuss, and we have certainly booked a meeting with the attorney general in light of this new development,” she added.

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