A disciplinary hearing into the alleged abuse of Cuban detainees at the Carmichael Road Detention Centre has been postponed, and there is no indication when it will take place, according to attorney Wayne Munroe, who represents one of the defence force marines accused of the beatings.
Munroe said his client has denied the allegation.
He also said defence force marines assigned to the facility are entitled to use force when faced with belligerent detainees, especially ones who attempt to escape.
He said more than one marine approached him for representation in a disciplinary case concerning the alleged abuse of Cubans at the facility as he has previously represented officers in legal matters.
“They came and said they were being summoned to some disciplinary case down at the [defence force] base,” he said.
“We spoke generally about the event, and they said they denied brutalizing anyone. They also told me what happened to them.”
For now, Munroe said he only represents one marine.
He added that the disciplinary case was postponed, and it is unclear if it will resume.
According to witness statements from defence force marines and detainees at the facility, Cuban detainees were severely beaten after they attempted to escape from the center back in May.
According to one of the marines, the Cuban detainees were violently beaten for almost two hours and one even appeared to have temporarily lost consciousness as a result of the abuse.
The statements were contained in a leaked copy of the defence force’s report into the alleged abuse.
Munroe said the safety of the marines should also be factored into the allegations.
“One of the complaints was that one of these detainees was maced while they were being belligerent,” he said.
“But we see it on TV when someone is arrested and they resist and are maced by police as a means of restraining them.”
Munroe said the alternative is not to touch any of the detainees and watch them as they attempt to escape.
However, Ramon Sanchez, spokesman for the Miami-based protest group Democracy Movement, said what happened at the facility was an abuse of power.
“It was absolutely abusive,” he said.
“According to many of the detainees’ statements, there were probably one or two people who tried to escape.
“What the guards did was they started beating everybody, regardless of whether they tried to escape or not. That is an abuse of power.
“Even when people try to escape, do you kick them on the floor and break their ribs or do you let a judge punish them accordingly?”
Sanchez said his group plans to hold a quiet demonstration in front of The Bahamas Consulate office in Miami at noon on Friday in protest of the alleged sexual abuse of women at the detention center.
He said about 40 women will protest outside the consulate with their mouths covered as a symbol of the government’s silence over the allegations.
The government has ordered an investigation into the alleged abuse of the Cuban detainees, most of whom have been repatriated or granted asylum in a third country.
Prime Minister Perry Christie said yesterday the government hopes to reach a conclusion over the issue shortly.
“I think we have to make decisions with respect to the detention center and how it’s operated,” he said.
“As I’ve indicated before, governments never, never commit themselves to abusive behavior. It is not what we do in The Bahamas and most certainly we expect the defence force and whatever other inquiries we make to reach a conclusion on it shortly so that the country could see exactly what we have done.”
Last Friday, Minister of National Security Dr. Bernard Nottage said the government would make an announcement early this week concerning the report into the alleged abuse.
Original news Article from the Nassau Guardian – see link below
