Cuban detainees Carlos Pupo and Lazaro Seara at court on Thursday. Photo: Tim Clarke/The Tribune
TWO Cubans, who have been held in detention in the Bahamas for almost three years, have been released after a Supreme Court hearing on Thursday morning.
Carlos Pupo and Lazaro Seara appeared before Senior Justice Stephen Isaacs for a habeas corpus application calling on the state to justify their detention or set them free. The men had been held since 2013.
The judge heard that Seara had never been brought before a court in breach of the law while Pupo was fined by a magistrate for illegal landing but had paid it, as well as his airfare back to Florida. But both had remained in custody.
The Cubans have claimed they were abused and beaten at the Carmichael Road Detention Centre. Pupo appeared as a witness in the trial of the five Royal Bahamas Defence Force marines accused of carrying out a series of high profile beatings at the Detention Centre in 2013. He testified against the officers.
Full story, see Friday's Tribune
Comments
ThisIsOurs 8 years, 2 months ago
Yikes, the officer. This is what we need to address before NHI
DonAnthony 8 years, 2 months ago
Could the commissioner please put this officer on a diet! His belt is groaning in pain and seems on the verge of collapsing under the pressure.
BoopaDoop 8 years, 2 months ago
That belt holdin' his gut in. His face is bloated as well.
sealice 8 years, 2 months ago
so Fox Hill Prison is safer then guatanamo... I mean Carmichael Road Detention centre??? That says so much about right said fweddy and his gang o green goons!!!
DonAnthony 8 years, 2 months ago
On a serious note Fred Smith is a true national hero and perhaps more important to the preservation of democracy in the Bahamas than anyone else today. This government should be ashamed to hold persons for three years in detention without due process, that is a clear human rights abuse.
TruePeople 8 years, 2 months ago
Pupo even paid the fine and the airfare, and they still keep him locked up for three years........ for no reason
sp1nks 8 years, 2 months ago
I agree. I'm glad they let them fellas go but it's a shame that it took so long. I know tensions are high and patience is short, but Bahamians are better than locking people up without even charging them.
WETHEPEOPLE 8 years, 2 months ago
Whiles I dont agree with much that Fred Smith has to say, our government dropped the ball on this one. There is no way a detainee should be held for three years without being processed, and if Pupo had already been processed and paid his fine, why was he not deported after paying the fine? I dont condone anyone being held for that period of time without being processed, whether its a local criminal or a foreign detainee.
sheeprunner12 8 years, 2 months ago
Now that is a real QC for you ......... go Fweddy2 ............ BOL
jackbnimble 8 years, 2 months ago
Say what you like about him but this QC deserves the title. He sure knows the law!
Economist 8 years, 2 months ago
The question is, how many more are being held illegally without trial?
TalRussell 8 years, 2 months ago
Comrades a sad reflection on Bahamaland.
People who breach our immigration laws should not be treated like criminals. Close done this deplorable immigration offenses detention center now and either send its occupants back to their respective homelands or free them from custody.
Same goes for anyone up in Fox Hill Prison being held on immigration charges.
Both the PLP and Papa Hubert regimes should be ashamed of their actions against a selective group of illegal immigrates.
Comrades there is no reasonable argument that can be made in law to treat non-criminals like criminals.
Cas0072 8 years, 2 months ago
You seem more concerned with reflections and keeping up appearances, rather than on fixing a broken system that might result in due process for Bahamians and immigrants alike. It is administrative failures within the judicial process that result in travesties such as this, and in human smugglers being set free, and in a notorious drug dealer finding grounds on which to sue the government, and there are probably many other failures that we have not yet heard. I say an urgent review of the files of every person (not just immigrants) detained in Fox Hill and the detention center is in order, and all languishing cases should be heard and decided in the quickest possible time frame.
Nuru 8 years, 2 months ago
What Bahamas government and his immigration policy doing is wrong They keeping peoples for nothing they keep some people in the Carmichael road detention center for 7 years now for no reason they still in the place now. Fred Smith is a hero he doing great with his people God bless them with long life to continue their good job please human rights need to put eye in the Carmichael road detention center they are abusing human rights there seven years is too much and a lot of people in there.
Nuru 8 years, 2 months ago
The government doing bad on human rights they keeping peoples for nothing right now they have more people in the Carmichael road detention center for seven years now without any crime fred Smith is a hero God bless him with his people for long life to continue doing the great work, the human rights need to check the immigration detention center a lot of people in there for many years now.
Nuru 8 years, 2 months ago
The Bahamas government doing bad on human rights they keeping peoples for nothing right now they have some people in the Carmichael road detention center for seven years now without any crime fred Smith is a hero God bless him and his people for long life to continue doing the great work human rights need to check the immigration detention center they have a lot of people they keep for many years there.
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