Attorney Leo Bradley, who is the President of the Human Rights Commission of Belize, has successfully sued the Government for what has been deemed by the Supreme Court as the illegal detention of 7 Cuban Nationals.
They were detained because the authorities say that they entered Belize illegally a little over 5 weeks ago, on February 8th. We understand that according to the 7 adults, they and 2 children came to Belize to seek asylum after running away from their country and fearing to return. We understand they were detained in Benque Viejo, taken to court, and arraigned on the offense of entering Belize through a port other than an approved place of entry.
They were then held in custody at the Belize Central Prison for the majority of that time, and that's when they reached out to the commission.
But their legal team pursued an application was for a Writ of Habeas Corpus, and after hearing their arguments and the Government's response, Justice Patricia Farnese, one of the new judges, ruled in their favor. She concluded their constitutional rights were violated.
We understand that they were freed, the Human Rights Commission will be hosting them at a place in Western Belize until they can leave. That departure must happen by end of March, as was ordered by the court. The children had to be placed in the care of the Department of Human Services while their parents were detained.
