Bahamas News
12-09-04, - 09:56 PM
Cubans Riot At Detention Centre
Clunis Devaney
ZNS Staff Writer
An uprising at the detention centre on Thursday raises a question of security.
It came just one day after the Minister of Labour and Immigration, the Hon. Vincent Peet presented in the House of Assembly the report of an independent investigation into allegations of abuse against Cubans at the Detention Centre.
While there has been no direct link between today's uprising and Wednesday’s report, the incident involved a group of Cubans detained at the centre.
During the riot, three Cuban nationals escaped the Carmichael Road, western New Providence, facility. Two have since been recaptured and an intensive search is under-way for the third person.
The apparent riot also caused the Ministry of National Security officials to evacuate that facility of Cuban nationals after the government-operated detention centre was set ablaze. It is believed that the inmates lit a mattress afire, resulting in the destruction of the building.
The detention centre is a compound where illegal immigrants, mainly Haitians, Jamaicans and Cubans, are held before they are repatriated to their homelands.
There are un-confirmed reports that gunshots were heard in the vicinity of the detention centre and that several Cuban inmates were taken to the Princess Margaret Hospital. It is uncertain how they were injured or the extent of their injuries.
Commenting on the situation, Minister Peet said while he could not say whether the incident was in protest of the findings of the independent investigation regarding allegations of abuse to Cuban inmates, he made it clear that such actions will not be tolerated.
The report, prepared by a team of police investigators, denied allegations of abuse at the detention centre, saying they were “uncorroborated and untrue.” It also called for the codifications of regulations governing the operations of the centre, to guard against future assertions.
The investigation was prompted by allegations made in October by the human watchdog group, Amnesty International that Cubans held at the facility were being abused. The alleged mistreatment of Cuban detainees in The Bahamas also got outside attention when Cubans in South Florida last week staged a peaceful demonstration in front of the Bahamian Consulate in Miami.
Minister Peet said allegations made by a female Cuban immigrant of being denied essential medicine for the treatment of an illness, and other claims that two male Cubans were severely beaten and threatened at gunpoint with death by a guard, were all found to be untrue.
“Details indicate that one of the male Cuban nationals threatened to cut the throat of a caretaker at the centre,” said the Minister. “Upon being approached by a guard on duty, the Cuban national wrested away the baton or billy from the guard, who was then forced to draw his firearm to maintain order.
“Detainees and other witnesses who were present could not corroborate any assaults alleged.”
Minister Peet said steps must now be taken to review the overall management of the facility.
The government is discussing the possibility of transferring the migrants to Her Majesty’s Prison, Fox Hill.
Clunis Devaney
ZNS Staff Writer
An uprising at the detention centre on Thursday raises a question of security.
It came just one day after the Minister of Labour and Immigration, the Hon. Vincent Peet presented in the House of Assembly the report of an independent investigation into allegations of abuse against Cubans at the Detention Centre.
While there has been no direct link between today's uprising and Wednesday’s report, the incident involved a group of Cubans detained at the centre.
During the riot, three Cuban nationals escaped the Carmichael Road, western New Providence, facility. Two have since been recaptured and an intensive search is under-way for the third person.
The apparent riot also caused the Ministry of National Security officials to evacuate that facility of Cuban nationals after the government-operated detention centre was set ablaze. It is believed that the inmates lit a mattress afire, resulting in the destruction of the building.
The detention centre is a compound where illegal immigrants, mainly Haitians, Jamaicans and Cubans, are held before they are repatriated to their homelands.
There are un-confirmed reports that gunshots were heard in the vicinity of the detention centre and that several Cuban inmates were taken to the Princess Margaret Hospital. It is uncertain how they were injured or the extent of their injuries.
Commenting on the situation, Minister Peet said while he could not say whether the incident was in protest of the findings of the independent investigation regarding allegations of abuse to Cuban inmates, he made it clear that such actions will not be tolerated.
The report, prepared by a team of police investigators, denied allegations of abuse at the detention centre, saying they were “uncorroborated and untrue.” It also called for the codifications of regulations governing the operations of the centre, to guard against future assertions.
The investigation was prompted by allegations made in October by the human watchdog group, Amnesty International that Cubans held at the facility were being abused. The alleged mistreatment of Cuban detainees in The Bahamas also got outside attention when Cubans in South Florida last week staged a peaceful demonstration in front of the Bahamian Consulate in Miami.
Minister Peet said allegations made by a female Cuban immigrant of being denied essential medicine for the treatment of an illness, and other claims that two male Cubans were severely beaten and threatened at gunpoint with death by a guard, were all found to be untrue.
“Details indicate that one of the male Cuban nationals threatened to cut the throat of a caretaker at the centre,” said the Minister. “Upon being approached by a guard on duty, the Cuban national wrested away the baton or billy from the guard, who was then forced to draw his firearm to maintain order.
“Detainees and other witnesses who were present could not corroborate any assaults alleged.”
Minister Peet said steps must now be taken to review the overall management of the facility.
The government is discussing the possibility of transferring the migrants to Her Majesty’s Prison, Fox Hill.