The Tribune

BY DENISE MAYCOCK

Tribune Freeport Reporter

dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

IMMIGRATION and Foreign Affairs Minister Fred Mitchell has branded Tribune columnist Adrian Gibson as “irresponsible,” and denied allegations concerning money for bribes being passed through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to assist a Bahamian pilot detained in Haiti.

In his column “A Young Man’s View” this week, Mr Gibson was critical of the ministry’s handling of the case of Christopher Adderley, who died in custody in Port-de-Paix last year, and claimed Mr Adderley’s family sent more than $20,000 to Haiti to pay for legal fees and bribes.

But, speaking in Grand Bahama on Friday, Mr Mitchell said, “I want to say in the front of the Bahamian public that is false. We have no evidence of such a thing and the assertion by Adrian Gibson in The Tribune is irresponsible, it is false, and it is misleading, and it is important for us to defend the integrity of our institution.”

He accused Gibson of using the opportunity “for political brownie points” at the expense of a family who is grieving the loss of their loved one.

Mr Mitchell also explained that often when Bahamians find themselves indigent overseas they ask the Ministry to facilitate monies being passed from their families to them.

“That is all we know, I am advised on this matter. I am advised no one in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was complicit in or knowledgeable of bribe money paid to anybody in Haiti, and that it is a completely irresponsible statement for that individual to make in a daily newspaper,” the minister said.  

Mr Mitchell said the Bahamian who was detained has died in Haiti and the ministry is investigating the cause of his death.

Christopher Adderley and another Bahamian had been in custody in Port-de-Paix since February 16, 2014, according to a ministry statement, which did not indicate the reason for his detention or the enforcement agency involved. Mr Adderley died on Tuesday, September 22, 2015.

“We have asked of the Haitian government to disclose to us what happened. But I think there was an issue as to whether an autopsy would be allowed, and so that is an issue I am seeking to investigate because an autopsy may determine what happened and what transpired,” Mr Mitchell said. 

He explained that the Ministry is responsible for providing a couple of services when someone is arrested or detained: to ensure their access to a lawyer and access to their families.

“So in this instance all of those services were provided, including regular consular visits,” Mr Mitchell said. “Any time complaints were made there were responses made to those complaints.

“What is unfortunate is that in the middle of someone grieving about the loss of a loved one, for a newspaper writer to use that as an opportunity to make political brownie points.

“When if you read the article itself, the substance of the article shows that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs followed all protocols with regard to this. It is just unfortunate that the article is being used for political purposes, rather than trying to state only clearly what actually happened,” Mr Mitchell said.