by Eulana Weekes
St. Kitts and Nevis (WINN): Attorney-At-Law, Mr. Craig Tuckett said a meeting was held on Saturday, June 03 to advocate for the appropriate treatment of the Haitians who have been detained in the Federation of St.Kitts and Nevis since February 2023.
According to Tuckett, it was disclosed in the meeting that the Government will seek to improve upon the conditions of which the Haitians are being treated.
“After I would have spoken to the Research Officer in the Ministry of National Security, Mr Troy and now the state is committed to improving living standards. They have now agreed that they would get time to come outside to play sports or to get exercise or to get fresh air and hopefully we would continue our advocacy to ensure now that they would be released, but, there’s no doubt, which was even said in the meeting by one of their officials, that they admit that they were not intending to come here, they were on a different voyage and so they are endeavouring to try to ensure that the state does its part to improve the state of affairs.”
Tuckett shared his view that the Haitians were unlawfully imprisoned and were being ill-treated ranging from privacy to dietary needs.
“The treatment that was basically levied against our brothers and sisters, the ill treatment I must say by the state it has been addressed. Let me give you some background. They have been as of the 3rd of June, four months being detained or I would say unlawfully imprisoned, where they are kept in a state entity compound, that has burglar bars and where the front gate is locked with a big lock, so for all intents and purposes they are imprisoned. They were under 24 hour surveillance, they did not get any opportunity to go out and have exercise for that whole period. They were being guarded by members of the [St. Christopher] and Nevis Police Force and also the St.Kitts-Nevis Defence Force. Even the state of affairs, in terms of their living quarters-let me not say their living quarters, [rather] their cell, was a communal big cell; meaning that male and female were all in one big space, even with the male and female children who are 16 and 14 respectively, also the pregnant lady who is there, who is now in her third trimester, she is 6 months pregnant, was also in that big area. So there was no privacy
“Because of our advocacy, the Ministry of National Security had meetings without brothers and sisters, they have admitted that they will endeavour to do better in terms of the treatment. even in terms of dietary needs. They were being given food. Let me give you an example; and we have pictures to prove; one green banana, one leaf of lettuce, one piece of pumpkin, two dumplings and sometimes no relish, this is the type of thing; and also they just give them water, sometimes, no juice. So you can imagine the state of affairs in terms of the lack of dietary nutrients.”
Tuckett argued that the Government’s commitment to improve upon the treatment of the Haitians does not exclude that the constitutional rights and human rights of the Haitians were breached. He added that the legal suit against the Government will continue.
