BELMOPAN, Belize, CMC -Attorneys have criticized the authorities for incarcerating a 13-year-old child at the Wagner’s Youth Facility within the Belize Central Prison, who has not been convicted of the allegations made against him.
Attorney Leslie Mendez has already written to the Minister of Home Affairs, Kareem Musa, and the Director of the Kolbe Foundation, Virgilio Murillo, raising urgent concerns over the conditions of his detention and his access to legal representation.
Earlier this week, Commissioner of Police Chester Williams told reporters why the child had been detained and what was being done to help him.
“Іt іѕ nоt fаr-fеtсhеd tо hаvе а 13-уеаr-оld undеr thе ЅОЕ (state of emergency). Тhе 13-уеаr-оld іn quеѕtіоn, І knоw hіm; аnd І bеlіеvе thаt hе hаd bееn ѕhоt оnсе. Rероrtѕ tо uѕ јuѕt twо dауѕ рrіоr tо thе ЅОЕ wаѕ thаt hе wаѕ ассuѕеd оf сhаѕіng ѕоmеbоdу іn thе Маrtіn’ѕ аrеа wіth а gun tо ѕhооt.
“Іt іѕ ѕаd tо ѕее thаt іt іѕ а 13-уеаr-оld, аnd whіlе wе’d lіkе tо bе еmраthеtіс tоwаrdѕ hіm, І thіnk thаt thе сurrеnt ѕіtuаtіоn hе іѕ іn іѕ оnе thаt іѕ gоіng tо еnаblе hіm tо rеflесt оn hіѕ vеrу уоung lіfе, іn tеrmѕ оf dоеѕ hе wаnt tо соntіnuе thаt lіfеѕtуlе оf сrіmе аnd vіоlеnсе, оr dоеѕ hе wаnt tо ѕtер оut оf іt?” thе Соmmіѕѕіоnеr ѕаіd.
Не said thаt thе аgе ѕhоuld bе lеѕѕ оf аn іѕѕuе thаn thе vеrу rеаl роѕѕіbіlіtу thаt hе wіndѕ uр оn thе nеwѕ аѕ а vісtіm оr gunmаn аѕ thе саѕе mау bе.
“Fоr mе аt thіѕ tіmе, іt іѕ mоrе аbоut ѕаvіng hіm frоm bеіng kіllеd, оr ѕаvіng hіm frоm kіllіng ѕоmеbоdу. І dо bеlіеvе thаt whаt wе’rе dоіng іѕ gоіng tо hеlр hіm mоrе thаn аffесtіng hіm іn а nеgаtіvе wау,” the top cop added.
But Mendez, who was denied access by prison authorities, who insisted on a court order for such a visit, said in her letter to Musa and Murillo that “upon reviewing the Belize Constitution, Statutory Instrument No. 94 of 2024 and Statutory Instrument No. 99 of 2024, I found no provision that exempts or conditions a detainee’s right to access legal representation, much less that of a child detainee.
“Both the Belize Constitution and the Statutory Instrument No. 99 of 2024 explicitly recognize detainees’ right to legal representation.”
According to Mendez, this denial of access is seen as a violation of the child’s rights.
“This request is made especially in light of information received regarding (the boy’s) detention conditions, which indicate that he is not merely detained but is being held in what the prison authorities and inmates refer to as “the hole.”
Mendez also says the use of preventative detention against a child conflicts with international human rights conventions, including the Convention on the Rights of the Child, to which Belize is a signatory.
She asks for an explanation of the legal basis for conditioning the boy’s access to legal counsel on obtaining a court order. She has also asked for confirmation on whether his detention was reviewed by an independent tribunal on July 27, 2024, as required by the Belize Constitution.
Media reports quote a senior prison official as saying that the child is not in the “hole” as Mendez alleges, but he is in protective custody at Wagner’s Youth Facility. The reports also say that UNICEF has taken an active interest in the case and has been speaking with key government officials.
Prominent attorney Richard “Dickie” Bradley, who was critical of the Ministry of Home Affairs for imposing the state of emergency for an event that is not a natural disaster, said, “In our wonderful country, a 13-year-old can be taken to the prison and presumably also, according to a legal representative for the family, it’s alleged that he also is in the hole.
“For me, it’s just becoming unacceptable that these things are going on right in front of everybody’s eyes. You could pick up people and say you are in a gang, you are going to jail.
“And when the 30 days or one month are up, we want to extend the period”.
Bradley said he believes that the government is being provided with “bad advice” and that it is not for Prime Minister John Briceno to be knowledgeable about everything going on in the country.
“We in this country, as part of the regional and international community of nations, have a responsibility to look after children. If we treat children like that, then we are gone,” Bradley said.
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