The Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) has ruled that the Barbados Government breached Jamaican Shanique Myrie’s right of entry when she was denied entry to the country more than two years ago, and awarded her more than $75,000.
In its ruling this morning, delivered by video conference from Trinidad, the court ordered the Barbados Government to pay her $75,000 in non-pecuniary damages, $2,240 in pecuniary damages, and pay her legal costs.
Myrie claimed she was verbally abused by immigration officers, subjected to a body cavity search and illegally denied entry into the island when she arrived at the Grantley Adams International Airport (GAIA) on March 14, 2011.
In addition to seeking up to $1 million and apology for how she was treated, Myrie asked the CCJ to determine the minimum standard of treatment applicable to CARICOM citizens moving within the region under the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas and requested that further investigations be carried out to identify the individuals who assaulted and detained her, with a view to prosecuting them criminally. (DP)
