A case against 10 Haitians accused of attempting to leave Dominica illegally was dismissed this morning at the Magistrates’ Court, after consultation with Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Gene Pestaina.
Consequently, the three women and seven men were freed of their charges when they appeared before Magistrate Ossie Lewis.
“Having consulted the DPP, the instructions are to discontinue all charges against the Haitians. However, the immigration authorities may need to talk to them afterwards. As a result we are offering no evidence in this matter,” the prosecutor said.
Chief Prosecutor and Public Relations Officer Inspector Weekes, who was also at the hearing informed the magistrate that chief of immigration wished to speak to the defendants in order to get an update on their immigration status.
“They are not all regularised. The intention is not to remove them …They could be arrested again…,” Weekes said.
The court learned that Dominican territorial waters and exclusive economic zone stretches up to 12 miles off the coast of Dominica.
Defense lawyers had argued that their clients had been caught six miles off the coast of Dominica, and had not left the country. They argued that it was the specific act of leaving Dominica that warrants punishment in court.
Lennox Lawrence represented five defendants, while Dawn Yearwood-Stewart and Julien Prevost defended one each.
They reasoned that the law does not make provisions for defendants attempting to leave, but for those who have already left Dominican shores.
A cash bail of $3,500 was opened for the defendants on Tuesday.
An interpreter was present in court today for this matter.
Hermisha Rolle, Staff reporter
lol the people haven’t left Dominica so let them go. if they go away from Dominica after, then they are happy and so is the public that want them gone.
just a reminder that we are the Haitians when it comes to the rest of the world. i mean that by we are the ones they don’t want on their homeland. UK making tighter immigration laws like the rest of the world and more doors shut in our face, so we do the same? think people
what shit is that i hear all over this island about Haitians, you are no different than them…
if you dont care about yourself then who will give a damn?
same point for your country, we need to emerge from the 3rd world stigma and show we are a 2nd class nation.
This is nonsense but i’m not at all surprised that the case got dismissed… some voodoo dolls business pass there. They tie up the case and this had to be the outcome regardless…
Wendy is right, one is not surprised that a way was found to take the human trafickers off the hook.
Whenever a Dominican migrate to another country it is for better opportunity, they do not do so to bring down a country and those Haitians do, Haitians like to depend on hand out where ever they enter. Haitians are a bunch of malicious people, who cause many people all over they travel to be at war with their neighbors, whereas they are the ones killing all sought of animals and spreading blood in front of people houses and telling them that it is their neighbors, the evil that people do lives with them, and evil doers had not place in God’s Kingdom, Dominicans are hardworking people where ever we are, in the 70s and 80s in Guadeloupe Haitians were causing Dominicans a lot of problems, they ere calling Dominicans Anglais, where ever Dominicans were working Haitians would go to there place of employment and say bad things about Dominicans to the bosses, even going as far as saying to the employers that they can do the work that the Dominican (Anglais) as they used to call Dominicans for less money, My family is half Dominican and half Martiniquecan, so to the person who said that Dominicans in the 1900s left Dominica on Cargo ship, interracial marriage and so on we left for better opportunity for our selves and our families back in Dominica, and not to harm no one, or work voodoo on no one, and also not to use our British Nationality and Passport, to destroy Britain thank you, , maybe you are on of the many that the Haitian cause to be enemies with your neighbor etc, Haitians need to be deported back to Haiti, PM Brown need to issue Visa cause we do not want more Haitians to flock our country
@ UK:
Before you start to talk against haitian people understand the culture. Not all haitians practice in the art of voodoo. I think you would be highly surprised to find that many of your “Dominicans pratcie the same art. It is not limited to one group of people, though folks feel the need to stereotype and limit it to Haitians.
Also UK trust and believe that Haitians are some of the hardest working people that you will mee. Being in Dominica, Ive had many of the Dominican people testify to the same fact. So for you to make an assumption that Haitians are looking for handouts based on the few that you have encountered is ridiculous. If you dealt with a “bad apple” then speak on that one instance. But dont allow one situation or experience to put a bad light on a nation that 1. Was the first independent black nation, 2. has had a lot of people do the same thing you all did by migrating to create a better life for their families, 3. continues to survive and build themselves up regardless of the nonsense that folks say on a great nation.
wa you talking bout.?All those d/can women that in guadelopue just making children to get stuff from the french gov?And all them people in america on welfare from d/ca, leaving in the projects, getting food stamps.?. And what about England do even talk about that. Get your facts straight.
well wat i would say is that they wanted to leave ……..let them goooooooooo we dont need them in out feet ,god forbid thats one nation i ever like they are too tricky and they think they can fool people ,dirty set of people .
and yall are just as dirty.
All you talking about the haitian people like they are not human. Who in D/ca that haven’t got a family member or friend overseas right now leaving illegally????. Please common.!!! Who have no sin throw the first stone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
If they want to leave let them leave. Don’t give them papers for DA that’s all. Let them reach in the french hands or wherever so they can post them back home.
I mean when they are running from their home land I get it but when you go to another country and have a job and still making backdoor you have a serious problem.’
Those Haitians who want to leave like that I don’t feel sorry for them.
They make right charge the boat captains but they should post those Haitians right back home to Haiti if is sot they sot send them back. One thing I know is that DA is a much better place to be in than Haiti right now.
Dominicans are slowly becoming third class citizen in their own country. please government, reverse your wrongful policies and safegurad our own ppl.
No where in the world can a country treat its ppl as we do ours?
God forgive us all. spare us from your punishment! its not us the ordinary ppl….but i ask you to remove the wicked in leadership. the book of proverb!
God save pur island from all these happenings.
dO THESE PEOPLE GOT DOMINICA PASSPORT? IMMIGRATION SHOULD CONFISCATE THEM, AND DEPORT THEM TO THEIR HOMELAND
It’s hightime Dca immigration realise that these ppl are only coming here to change passport and move on. I find in Dca we too quick to give others nationality, What does that say about the value of our passport. Gment please let Dominicans have pride in their country again. First Chinese Dominicans, now Haitian Dominicans. Give me a 3-king break. No other country can nationality dominate so.
I am in agreement
Why do we insist on blaming the Haitians for the possible imposition of visa restrictions on Dominicans planning to enter the U.K? Ppl, get real! This problem with Dominicans in the U.K goes back to some of our grandparents and great-grandparents who around the mid 1900s travelled on cargo vessels to the U.K in search of greener pastures. Many of them worked illegally from the beginning until they got into the habit of entering into inter-racial marriages in an effort to legalize their status (If I must say, the same went on in the U.S, Canada, Europe, the Dutch West Indies and even in other Caribbean countries). Lots of them passed on without even returning to their homeland. And now we want to talk about the Hiatians simply because they are doing what we, our predecessors and every other struggling human being has attempted to do, attempted or will attempt to do. It’s time we stop this blame game, high time! We are too biased, narrow-minded and judgemental.
well put, well said
Prime Minister want list with names and information of Dominicans in UK who broke the law, this man is joking, he need to clean up DA with all the corruption, selling DA passport to criminals, deport all the illegal aliens and criminals from other countries who are roaming the of Dominica, as the saying goes back in DA, clean your house before you can ask someone to do so MR PM
In the UK where i am a citizen for over twenty years, Dominicans were treated with respect and well loved, since this business of DA leaders selling Dominica’s Passport and issuing criminals with dead Dominicans ID, their is no respect for us in the Uk and the rest of the world, in the UK, Dominicans are hiding their nationality, you all want to know something how would some of you supporting this present administration in DA feel, when you introduced yourself as a Dominican and to get a reply, Oh you from Afghanistan, Dominican placed a great rule in the development of the UK, even in the 50s when my parents left DA for greener pastures, right now the majority of British considering us a terrorist which is sad, the Brits are talking about Dominica’s PM relationship with the Communist Countries, MR PM. so to blame the visa on us in the UK, you are nothing but a lair, and the British government cannot trust you.
Whenever we Dominicans live DA is for better opportunity, better education and so on, we are not like the Haitians who are being called Scavengers where ever they goes, i do hope that they are not cutting down trees in DA to burn for char coal, which they are noted for, sometime last year we read on the net that a truck overturned with some of them who were going down to the market in the capital of DA to sell char coal, why would Haitian live Haiti and given the rights to cause deforestation to our Island, Mr. PM, don’t you think this is a dab thing to do, sir, Haitians in Ghana do not have all the privilege that you MR. Prime Minister gave to them in DA. if you would following world news you would think twice before bringing Haitians to your island, which was once considered a TOURIST ATTRACTION, sadly to say it is no longer so, soon when the USA will begin to caution it’s nationals, tourist, advising them that if they choose DA for a vacation that they should think before they do so, what will the people in Dominica same, i suggest that they will say the very same thing that they are saying about the UK, which is they do not need the USA, we all no that right now in DA tourist is the main sauce of the economy, to my fellow citizen in Dominica and elsewhere we have to pray for our island. and do not blame Dominican in Britain, but blame it all on your leaders, and Mr Browne in concern about our security in the UK. also saying that some Caribbean Island is involved in the sale of passport i need proof, if so the money is being used in the development of their island, imagine Dominica is the only island in the Eastern Caribbean without an international airport, St Lucia, st Kitts and the others all have and international airport, good luck to you all in DA
Its time we Dominican put those damn haitians in their place and send them back haiti, Dominicans oversea does not get no prefencial treatment from nobody, yet still we there puting them above our people. If we do watch ourselves soon we will need visa to go as close as antigua, because of those parasites.
we don’t visas because of them, we need visas because of our own people. y do u all continue to blame the prime minister or haitians or any other nationality? we have to blame the people in our own country who stretch another countries’ hospitality and spoil it for the rest of us
This is bull, ONLY in DOMINICA this nonsense can take place, there is no other country where this HAITIANS would be out walking the streets, this Haitians have no intention to stay in DA, all these people want is to get documents from Dominica and upon receiving said documents will live, If they are running away from the USA, where life is far better than DA what do we expect from them, Their closest Neighbor The Dominica Republic have them surrounded, where they do not want HAITIANS to step in their country, what was the PM, and the rest of the Dominica Cabinet thinking when they allow Haitians to enter DA, and get Dominica.s Passport and who know even change their names, carrying dead Dominicans ID, for sure they cannot go back to Little Haiti in Florida, they do not want them in Louisianan, period Haitians are not welcome in any country they migrate you will find good and bad in every nationality, Haitians are con artist, wherever they go they cause destruction, telling people what they can do when they cannot do shit, only to find out when people start to realize what they are all about they are on the run. they should be kept in a holding centre and deport them back to HAITI, in the USA even right now regardless of what happened in their country the government is cracking down on them, someone wrote and said soon people wrote and said soon St Marten, and the BVI will be implementing VISA for Dominican, my people it soon come, Haitians will be enjoying their victory, Haitians do not save money in BANKS, Dominicans i wonder how many of you can remember a few years ago when a HAITIAN MAN collapse in Antigua’s Airport en route to Haiti, this man refused to buy a cup of water to drink, when he collapsed, autopsy stated that he died out of hunger, only to hear on the news that he was traveling with over ten thousand dollars in his possession went things start to get worst in DA all cats and dogs will run away and live the poor people to suffer, those who have no means to migrate to another country
Dominicans migrating to any country have to suffer too much before they can obtain a piece of paper to be a resident in whatever country they migrate to, some countries even have to do a CRIMINAL check before Dominicans can become a citizen, and Haitians coming to DA and getting documents
within months, which is easy as saying one two three. why did the government of DA agree for this people to come to DA, i will not get the answer, BUT TIME WILL TELL, corruption, evil and bribery, all is taking place is DA right now,
are just in the island for a while when they
In the first place the Haitian were trying to escape.Lol . Now we have them back on our shores wat are the authorities going to do with them now? I think that they should be deported cause their intensions was not to say here any way. Let them go
I must admit our legal system is flawed. Here it is some none Dominican are breaking our immigration laws and being set free while the Prime-minister is on radio saying the the UK should give Dominica the list of names of those who broke the immigration laws in the UK so that they could be dealt with here in Dominica. Isn’t this ridiculous? How can they be dealt with here where they have broken no immigration laws while those who have are walking free? Are we now becomming a protector of the foreigners rather than a protector of our own people? So it’s time justice reign so if you are wrong you must pay. It’s these activities among others which have forced harder travell restrictions on us Dominicans especially going to guadeloupe. Yeah we have a part to play but it is primarily these activities which have forced the french to place tougher measures on us. So what is going to prevent these people to try going again? What if they succeed in leaving our waters but get caught by the french who are these authorities going to blame? Is it not our immigration department who will be blamed for not doing enough to stop this? Therefore if it is wrong let those who have faulted pay.
WE HAVE TO LOOK AT THE NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF THEM HAITIANS USING DOMINICA AS A TRANSIT PORT….. THE UK ALREADY WANT TO PUT A VISA REGIME ON US…… WHAT NEXT? THE FRENCH WILL BRING IT BACK?
I find dem haitians take time before they start to go guada and martinique….
buh i agree…if dey want to go let dem go…eh eh…chupes!
i agree with spookie. we fresh eh. those people want to leave, let them leave nuh. we made such a big deal a couple of years ago when we started giving notice on the media as to the number of them that were coming in. and now them people migrating, we have a problem. yes i.
we are so hypocritical, so sad for us, we run our mouth and say so much,if a man comes to me with a dvd and i buy it and he is caught for stealing, the law punishes me also for buying it from him, i didn’t know that it was stolen goods, but yet still i pay, and i might even pay more than the man that stole it, because i encourage him, but here we have DOMINICANS encouraging this illegal affair making their big money and they go free, so it is no big deal to let the haitians go too. have you ever heard of a haitian kidnapping a dominican,or stealing a boat to leave dominica illegally, but we know that it is the DOMINICANS thats taking them out of the island on small boats, and the DOMIMICANS have no respect for the law, that they leave BIG HIGH DAY, and what happens to them, nothing they roam the streets looking for more haitians to make big U.S.dollars on, why we not making them pay big in court, and when they catch the haitians overseas and they say is DOMINICA they come from we come on the radio and on DNO and blay-jay, how they giving us a bad name, how they come to be over there to give us a bad name, start to make the DOMINICANS that bringing them over there pay, because they making big money, and causing the honest DOMINICAN like me suffer for it. CHARGE THEM AND USE THEM AS EXAMPLES TO STOP THE HUMAN TRAFFICKING TRADE.
I am not by any means condoning the actions of these people but I am puzzled about something which seems inconsistent.
I am not very legal inclined, and consequently I think that I might be missing something here. The lawyers of these Haitians got them off the hook based on the fact that they had not left Dominica illegally but rather had ‘attempted’ to leave illegally. By this same measure then, couldn’t the boat captain and his crewman have been taken off the hook also by their lawyers, since they had not trafficked these people but rather had ‘attempted’ to traffic them?
I would be happy if someone could help me with this answer.
Can they not be arrested an deported from the island immediately….? These are the same ppl who, cuz other countries to impose visa restrictions on D/cans…..I hate them nonsense.
I hope that after the dismissal the magistrate ordered that these people be dismissed; i mean, they did not want to remain here anyway, so why let them stay; they wills till attempt to leave by tomorrow, watch dat eh
Well… if they leaving… let them leave… like duuuhhhhhhhh.
Charging them for what? I would even send ten more boats to allow more to leave.
If i am caught in any country attempting to leave with the proper document and clearance , whether “attempting to leave” or Leaving I would be DEPORTED, given a plane ride back to my country. Why were the Haitian not deported? The woman that said she was ill is she going to get a passport now? Is she going to be given free medical at the PMH on tax payers account? Haitians are making more babies in Dominca now than Dominicans. Are they paying the hospital? Every turn around one makes a Haitian pregnant, life sweet in Dominiaca and they behave like we owe them something. I good with that.
no breaking news we all knew that would happen.when prominent people are involved nothing can come of it .
yeah he’s just good like that Wendy! :-)
stupesssssssssss let those darn pple leave, d/ca’s to damn up who for them to areest they nver aressting. whatever………… those police system is a waste of tax payers money………
Sad! There are some sick people in this country.
Good now since they were leaving now would be a good time to deport them too many haitians on d island please deport this ten and make it ten more