JAMAICAN Shanique Myrie, who accused immigration officials of indecently and verbally abusing her when she tried to get into the country last year, wants Barbados to pay – in dollars and cents – for the humiliation and prejudice she said she suffered.
She also wants further investigations to identify the individuals who she said assaulted and unlawfully detained her and have them prosecuted and punished in criminal proceedings; and she has gone to the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) to get all that and more.
Myrie’s demands for JAM$118 000 (BDS$2 709) in special damages, including the cost of her ticket, medical expenses to date, medical report, slippers, and interest; as well as unspecified amounts in moral damages, exemplary damages and aggravated damages are contained in a Notice of Filing of Originating Application, dated May 23 and posted on the CCJ website six days later.
In addition to the damages and investigation, she has asked the court to issue an order that denying her entry on March 14, 2011 was “unlawful” and that the “Cancelled” entry stamp in her passport is null and void.
According to the document, Myrie is also seeking an apology for the officials “violating her fundamental human rights and freedom, in particular, by treating her in a discriminatory manner, conducting an unlawful body search, conducting an unlawful cavity search, arbitrarily and unlawfully detaining . . . and verbally abusing” her.
The Jamaican was granted leave to file a case against Barbados when the CCJ sat for the first time in Barbados in April. (DP)
