Human rights activist and attorney Fred Smith, right, walks alongside his clients, Cuban nationals Carlos Pupo and Lazaro Seara (center), as they were escorted out of court on Thursday.
While Foreign Affairs Minister Fred Mitchell now calls two Cuban men who were detained unlawfully at the Fox Hill prison since 2013 "a national security risk", just three months ago he asked Cabinet to grant the men asylum and release them into the general population, National Review understands. That suggests that Mitchell did not view them as dangerous.
Mitchell wanted Cabinet to approve asylum for Carlos Pupo, 44, and Lazaro Seara Marin, 39. They were suspected of involvement in an uprising at the Carmichael Road Detention Centre. The men were relocated to the prison as a result of security concerns, official said.
After the Ministry of Foreign Affairs failed in its efforts to get a third country to accept the men, Mitchell reportedly advised Cabinet colleagues three months ago that the men had satisfied security requirements to reside in The Bahamas.
He now says he has notified our border forces about the potential risk of these men -- the same men he previously wanted to be released to live among us.
National Review understands that the minister recommended to Cabinet in November that the men be granted asylum to avoid them being rearrested. This totally conflicts with his current stance on the matter, reflected in a strongly worded statement released to the media on Friday.
In that statement, Mitchell seems to be questioning the action of the Office of the Attorney General or the court itself on this matter.
Mitchell says: "I have noted the decision of the courts with regard to the two Cuban nationals Carlos Pupo and Lazaro Seara Marin. The Department of Immigration takes the position that these individuals are a national security risk. We continue to support that position. Those were the clear instructions from our principals at the highest levels to pursue that position. Those instructions did not change and were not changed.
"I have asked for an investigation then into how a court was persuaded that two people that the government believes with cogent evidence are a security risk, were released into the general population of The Bahamas. All of our border forces have been notified to the potential risk of these individuals being out in the general community and should be so warned. I expect to present a full report to the House on Wednesday, February 24."
Again, the position raises questions. If Mitchell and the Department of Immigration had concluded that Pupo and Marin were no danger to the Bahamian society in November, what is it that came before Cabinet that reflects this new position?
What is this "cogent evidence" and at what point did it come to Cabinet's attention? It seems logical that if Mitchell thought they were a national security risk, he would not have asked his Cabinet colleagues to approve asylum for the men.
Perhaps Mitchell was persuaded by his Cabinet colleagues that his originally held view that the men be released into the general population was misplaced. What we do know is that back in November when Mitchell was seeking sanction for the asylum certificates, he was already aware that the men have criminal records in the United States. Is there something that came up since then that suggests they truly are a danger to our communities?
We understand that Mitchell notified Cabinet in November that those criminal records made the Cubans ineligible to re-enter the United States. It is also because of those criminal records that the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees would not assist in getting a third country to accept Pupo and Marin, he reportedly advised his colleagues.
National Review understands that back in November when Mitchell asked Cabinet to grant the men asylum, he presented to Cabinet the recommendation of the Department of Immigration supporting that view. But his statement on Friday included the line: The Department of Immigration takes the position that these individuals are a national security risk. He says it is now operating based on instructions "from our principals at the highest levels". We suppose that means the prime minister.
National Review understands that in November, the Department of Immigration had been concerned about the lengthy detention of the men. There had also reportedly been concerns about the reputational impact The Bahamas could suffer as a result of the continued detention of the men. We understand the department reportedly was also concerned about possible legal action as a result of the lengthy detention.
Last Thursday, Supreme Court Justice Stephen Isaacs ordered the release of Pupo and Marin who have been "unlawfully" imprisoned at the Department of Correctional Services since 2013. Authorities apprehended Pupo at Abaco and Marin at Andros in 2013. Attorney Fred Smith, who appeared on behalf of the men last Thursday, said the government must respect the laws of the country.
"People should not be arrested; they should not be held and they should not be detained illegally," he said outside the court. "The Bahamas is not a Guantanamo Bay. So we cannot be holding people indefinitely, without charges. We cannot be just taking people up to the detention center and holding them for one, two, three, four, five years without charges.
"The Bahamas is a democracy. It has a constitution. We are supposed to be respecting the laws. I call on the government to respect the laws. The government cannot ask people to respect the law if the government does not respect the law first."
Yesterday, Smith told National Review his clients intend to sue.
"The first thing they are going to do is sue the government of The Bahamas for damages, for assault, battery, false imprisonment and inhuman and degrading treatment given the conditions at Fox Hill," he said. "More to the point, Fred Mitchell knew and has documented that they were illegally detained and it is mischievous of him to declare, as he did on Friday, that they are a national security threat and should be imprisoned."
Smith also raised alarm that Mitchell has "asked for an investigation then into how a court was persuaded that two people that the government believes with cogent evidence are a security risk, were released into the general population of The Bahamas".
"The dictatorship of Fred Mitchell has not yet blessed The Bahamas," he said.
By Candia Dames- Managing Editor
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