Lawyer pleased with High Court ruling on SOE detentions

BELMOPAN, Belize (CMC):

Prominent defence attorney, Richard ‘Dickie’ Bradley, has welcomed the ruling by Justice Nadine Nabie, that 16 men held under the state of emergency (SOE) in July 2020 were unlawfully imprisoned, resulting in the Government now having to pay over BDZ$300,000 (One BDZ$-US$0.49 cents) in compensation to them.

Bradley in a statement, argues that even those accused of wrongdoing are entitled to legal protections, and that the public must not lose sight of the bigger picture, that is the rule of law. He urged 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 have 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 (and) they suppose to lock 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 in jail for a long time still have rights. You can’t put him in no hole for 30 or 60 days. These things are going on as a matter of normalcy. ... But what is unlawful is unlawful and what is unconstitutional we must speak up. This is how a society loses its rights.”

COMPENSATION

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 stiff messages are about to come, especially if they don’t decide to straighten up,” he said then.

More than 300 law enforcement officers flooding 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 a High Court ruled his detention back then was unlawful.

The other 15 men will receive payouts ranging from BDZ$12,00 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: there was no judicial oversight, no lawful justification, and an unnecessary two-month extension. The High Court also found that their liberty was taken without cause.

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

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 meeting with the attorney general in light of this new development,” she added.