Charges recommended for eight detainees
NASSAU, BAHAMAS – Immigration officials yesterday said detainees at the Carmichael Road Detention Center did not breach the common area of the dorms during an altercation at the facility earlier this week.
In an earlier statement, the Royal Bahamas Defence Force (RBDF) reported “some of the detainees were able to escape the dormitories, destroying several fences and other minor infrastructure in the process” following a hunger strike and altercation at the compound on June 2.
In a statement yesterday, the Immigration Department explained the hunger strike staged by Haitian detainees who refused to eat any food provided until they were given a date for their departure flight into Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
“However, they were not all in agreement for the hunger strike, hence, the altercation among themselves in Dormitory #1,” the Immigration department’s statement read.
“It is to be noted that no detainee breached the common area of the dorms.”
It continued: “During the altercation, a fence was damaged. Officers of the Royal Bahamas Police Force was called to assist.
“It has been recommended that the eight Haitian nationals involved be charged before the Magistrate’s Court this week for ‘destruction of government property’.”
There are currently 133 detainees at the detention center, according to the department, which noted 75 are Haitian nationals.
According to the RBDF’s statement, there are 85 Haitian detainees at the facility: 67 men, and 18 women.
Repatriation efforts have been postponed since March due to the ongoing global COVID-19 pandemic. The country remains in a state of emergency until June 29.
The department added: “We wish to remind the general public that we are committed to executing the mandates of our agency by effectively coordinating efforts with other Law Enforcement agencies to ensure compliance with the Statute Laws of our country.”
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