BELMOPAN, Belize, CMC – The Belize government says it has received a report into the alleged kidnapping of a Belizean and his surrender to Guatemalan authorities in August.
In addition, the government said that Police Commissioner, Dr Richard Rosado, who had been sent on 45 days’ leave “in the first instance” would return “to active duty effective immediately”.
A government statement said that the report into the abduction of Ryan Joseph Budna had been received from the lead investigator, Assistant Commissioner of Police Suzette Anderson.
It stated that, based on the high level of public interest in this case, the report made two recommendations, which the Cabinet subsequently accepted.
“The recommendation moving forward is that an Independent Investigation be conducted in relation to this incident,” and “that none of the police officers assigned to this Inquiry be allowed to make any statement to the media or within the public domain, to safeguard the integrity of the said Inquiry if the matter is addressed in a court of law”.
The statement stated that the Cabinet had also agreed to refer the recommendations to the Attorney General for legal guidance on how best to give full effect to these recommendations.
“Because the evidence, as disclosed in the Inquiry Report, does not in any way implicate Commissioner of Police, Dr. Richard Rosado, Cabinet has requested that his leave of absence be discontinued and that he return to active duty effective immediately,” the statement added.
Last month, Prime Minister John Briceño said he had instructed the country’s police commissioner to proceed on 45 days’ leave “in the first instance” after he had earlier asked his Home Affairs Minister, Kareem Musa, to provide an update over the controversial “abduction” of Budna.
On August 24, the Belize Police Department announced the official launch of an investigation into an incident involving Budna, which occurred on August 22.
“The Policia Nacional Civil (PNC) of Guatemala has confirmed that Mr Ryan Joseph Budna is in their custody pursuant to an arrest warrant; however, they have not disclosed the details surrounding his apprehension,” the police said, adding that its own investigation was initiated based on an official report filed by a witness to the event.
“The witness reported observing a confrontation involving several individuals, one of whom matched the description of Mr Budna, who was subsequently placed into a dark-coloured SUV bearing a Belize City license plate,” the police added.
However, a government statement stated that Briceño had received the police report from Musa and “found the report to be incomplete and, therefore, unsatisfactory,” and that Anderson be immediately assigned the responsibility to complete the police investigation into the Budna matter, submitting a complete report by the end of September.
Several attorneys have already indicated a willingness to fight for Budna’s constitutional rights, with attorney Arthur Saldivar telling reporters, “We all have a right to liberty and freedom of movement”.
Meanwhile, Musa said he has always been supportive of an independent inquiry into the matter.
“It has never been done, and so we will have to look at the dynamics of that, because they will have to have access to all that the police have access to. It’s uncommon. We will need to examine the regional processes to understand how they are appointed and how they work in conjunction with the DPP moving forward.
“And so, these things hopefully we can sort out in a rapid time, rapid time, so that we can have access to the police information,” he added.
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