The Tribune

By DANA SMITH

Tribune Staff Reporter

dsmith@tribunemedia.net

THE Cubans who claim they were severely beaten at the Detention Centre should have been shot by guards as soon as they tried to escape, according to lawyer Wayne Munroe.

Mr Munroe, who yesterday confirmed he will represent at least one of the accused Defence Force officers, recommended that guards open fire on detainees who “make it to the fence” rather than risk being disarmed.

However, the beatings in question – to which four officers have confessed according to Defence Force interrogation reports – did not occur during an escape attempt, but later, after the escapees had already been recaptured and restrained. Some victims were only identified after guards searched through the male population looking for cut palms, which could have suggested a struggle with barbed wire.

It is alleged that on the orders of a senior officer, the men suspected of trying to break out were taken into a room, told to lie on the floor, then punched, kicked and beaten with a stick and a PVC pipe until they screamed.

Asked about the beating yesterday, Mr Munroe shifted focus to the earlier escape attempt, asking if a detainee succeeded in grabbing an officer’s gun, “what would we be discussing now?”

But nowhere in the allegations – or in the four officers’ confessions – is it suggested that a detainee attempted to attack a guard or grab a gun.

Pointing to detention facilities operated by the United States as examples, Mr Munroe said: “If you go to Guantanamo and you make it to the perimeter fence, they’re going to shoot you. If you go to Krome Detention Centre and you make it to the perimeter fence, they’re going to shoot you. If you go to any state or federal prison and make it to the perimeter fence, they’re going to shoot you,” he said.

“So what is the complaint? None of these people were shot. In fact, if these officers are going to be basically complained about for anything, it’s how did these chaps make it to the fence and not be shot.

“I think we just lose focus. What would have happened if these fellows had gotten these officers’ guns? I don’t think we focus enough on that and it’s sad because there’s been a number of occasions with the police where suspects have gotten police’s guns and shot them and other people.”

Mr Munroe said he would “far prefer” for Defence Force officers to “shoot people who make it to the fence rather than risk an incident where they are disarmed by these people and problems happen.

“Can you imagine if these chaps had gotten these guns and killed some people, what would we be discussing now?”

Mr Munroe said his office is representing at least one of the Defence Force marines, and “maybe two” involved in the abuse investigation.

He said that so far, the case has yet to moved forward.

“They were interviewed. They had set a hearing at the Defence Force base, which in the event, didn’t go off,” Mr Munroe said.

“They would say come on this date, when we were set to come on this date, they would call and say don’t bother to come on this date, any more.”

This conforms with reports from the FNM of an initial hearing being scheduled, but then cancelled without explanation.

While the Defence Force said last week that the matter is progressing, with summonses issued to the suspected officers, this clashes with the official government line.

Foreign Affairs Minister Fred Mitchell has said the government is delaying the investigation to appoint a clergyman and a retired judge to review the case file. He has not explained why this step is necessary.

When the allegations first came to light, Mr Mitchell vigorously denied that they were true, saying on January 16: “The Bahamas government does not beat those in its custody. All detainees are treated with respect and in accordance with all applicable conventions and with human dignity and courtesy.”

The next day, he insisted conditions at the detention centre are humane. “They may not be the best, but people are not beaten,” he said.

Since then, Mr Mitchell’s position has changed slightly, now saying the government does not “condone, incite or support” detainees being beaten, and an investigation is underway.

However, he has still accused the FNM of siding with “enemies of the Bahamas” after the party questioned the integrity of the investigation, considering that the suspected officers are still on the job.