— AG rebuffs claims of ‘inhumane’ treatment

By Naomi Parris
AFTER three weeks of being held in ‘protective custody’ for being a part of an alleged ‘human trafficking ring’, the 26 Haitians have been released pending an ongoing case in the Demerara High Court. The 10 men, nine women and seven children, who were being held at the Hugo Chavez Centre for Rehabilitation and Reintegration at Onverwagt, in Region Five, were late Wednesday night released and taken to a hotel in Georgetown. Speaking at the sidelines of an event on Thursday, Attorney-General, Anil Nandlall, told reporters that the Haitians were released since it is unknown when the court preceding will be concluded. “There is no indication when the case will be concluded, the case will come up Wednesday next week, it doesn’t mean that the case will conclude,” he said. The Attorney-General said the government thought since the deportation will not be imminent anymore, “rather than have those people where they were being kept and they seem to be uncomfortable making some problems within there, the government thought it best to release them until the case is concluded”.

During the time of their detention, the Haitians had complained bitterly about the ‘inhumane’ treatment they had received at the centre while in custody and upon their release on Wednesday evening, they said were treated like ‘prisoners’. However, rebuffing the claims of the Haitians, the Attorney-General said that over the weeks, the matter become a case of sensitive nature since he believes many have taken advantage of the situation for their own agendas. “There is a lot of sensationalism attached to this matter and people are using this matter to advance different agendas and the government will not be the sacrificial lamb in this facility,” Nandlall told reporters.

TREATED FAIRLY
To his knowledge, he said that the Haitians were treated fairly like every other inmate that was housed at the facility. “They were kept at a civilian facility… they were being fed like every other inmate at that institution. The place as I am aware is a rehabilitation centre, it is resourced and it is adequately secured and of course they are staying there upon the charge of the state.”
He added that the Haitians were offered to either remain at the facility or to be released at an address of their choice and they chose the latter. “They were offered an option and they exercise the option. They told the authorities there that they would like to be dropped off at a particular address and that was the address they were dropped off at.” Just a few hours after arriving in Guyana on November 7, the 26 Haitians were apprehended by the police. A group was removed from the Bristol and Bristol Hotel, located on South Road, Georgetown, while another group was arrested on the Linden-Soesdyke Highway.

The police claimed they were suspected to be victims of a human trafficking ring; however, the Haitians consistently denied the allegations, maintaining their innocence. On December 1, Principal Magistrate, Sherdel-Isaacs-Marcus, at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court, issued an order for the nationals to be taken to the nearest port of exit on the grounds that they violated Guyana’s immigration laws.  However, last Friday, Chief Justice, Roxane George issued a conservatory order halting the deportation of the 26 Haitians. The case is expected to be called again on December 18.