Defence Attorneys Raise Alarm Over Alleged Unlawful Detentions

The Association of Defence Attorneys (ADA) is calling on Government and police leadership to address what it describes as a pattern of unlawful detention and denial of access to attorneys, particularly in Belize City and San Ignacio.  In a statement dated October 22, the association raised concerns about citizens’ rights to liberty, legal representation and protection against arbitrary detention. It argues that the forty-eight-hour constitutional limit for detention without charges should not be treated as permission to routinely hold people for that entire period without lawful justification.  Association Secretary Orson Elrington says the appeal does not arise from one specific case. Instead, he says it reflects concerns about a high number of cases in which these practices are reportedly occurring. He explained the basis of the association’s call.

Orson Elrington, Attorney: “It’s not a specific instance, but it is numerous instances that our membership have encountered with clients. There has been a propensity of the Belize Police Department recently to simply detain persons and do what they call “cycling” them. They have deemed cycling. Cycling is where the Belize Constitution provides that a person can be detained up to 48 hours for questioning. Now, that is the outer limit. This is something that we consistently have to explain to police officers, that it is not that you’re supposed to simply detain persons for 48 hours as a means of arbitrarily detaining them. It is supposed to be that you have a reasonable suspicion or some information that requires for you to interview them to determine whether or not they are a person of interest, whether they can provide information for a crime that has been committed, about to be committed, or that they themselves have committed such a crime.”

The association has addressed its appeal to Prime Minister John Briceño, National Security Minister Michel Chebat and Commissioner of Police Doctor Anthony Rosado. It is requesting immediate and private access to attorneys for detained persons, prompt release where continued detention has no lawful basis, and investigations into alleged violations.  Elrington also clarified the association’s statement concerning constitutional infringements and the concerns it is asking authorities to address.

Orson Elrington, Attorney: “The detention 48-hour limit, outer limit, again, is a constitutional right for every Belizean. It says that a citizen can be held up to 48 hours. Again, this is the outer limit. Now, a person either after that should be released or charged if you believe they are part of an offence, or if it is that they provided you with information that can be helpful in seeking a conviction for an offence. This does not mean that you should just simply be picking up people for 48 hours, releasing them, and then simply rearresting them for a different charge. So what we have seen, or what I have seen personally, and all my colleagues have shared this is that they will pick up a person. They will say that, “We’re holding you for PI robbery.” Then they will release them, and then they will pick them right back up and say, “Well, now we’re holding you for PI murder.” They will release them and then say that, “We’re now holding you for PI being a member of a gang.” And so what we believe they’re simply doing is arbitrarily arresting persons because they have not provided any reason, real reason, for the detention of these persons. And so what they have effectively been trying to do is to exercise their own state of emergency and what we believe they deem preventative detention.”

The association is also calling for disciplinary action where warranted and a nationwide policy against unlawful detention. It maintains that respect for constitutional rights must remain central to law enforcement.