No evidence of Jamaican detainees in Haitian prisons
Vanassa McKenzie / Our Today
Foreign Affairs Minister Kamina Johnson Smith has confirmed that there are no Jamaicans currently being detained in Haitian prisons.
She made the disclosure while addressing a post-Cabinet press briefing on Wednesday, October 9.
“Thus far, we have had no confirmed reports of any Jamaicans in prison at this time. We can continue to follow up. I know I shared with you previously that some of the institutional weaknesses and challenges being experienced on the other side could have led to information deficiencies, so we have not stopped inquiring, but we can inquire again and follow up to see if there has been any change,” Johnson Smith said.
She stressed that there has been informal movement following a mass jailbreak in Haiti in March of this year, with some 3,700 inmates escaping from Haiti’s National Penitentiary in Port-au-Prince. “It is very difficult in such circumstances to give concrete answers because the situation is uncertain. Information is not the most concrete, but we continue to raise inquiries,” she said.
When quizzed about the status of 25-year-old Oshane Francis, otherwise known as ‘Bruk-Hand’, and 31-year-old Jason Latouche—both Jamaicans—who were reportedly apprehended by the Haitian National Police in April, Commissioner of Police Dr Kevin Blake said he was not aware of the case but would seek further information.
Johnson Smith also committed to inquiring about the matter.
Reports indicate that the men were arrested in a commune in northern Haiti, following alerts from local residents about armed men in the area. Oshane Francis has been listed as wanted by the St James police in connection with a series of double and triple murders. It is not yet known if the men were extradited to Jamaica.
Comments