Dear Editor,
Media reports are that 31-year-old Mario Deane of Rosemount, Montego Bay, was arrested by police for a ganja spliff and was severely beaten while in police custody. He subsequently died in hospital.
There are, however, mixed reports as to what transpired. Reports from the police are that Deane was beaten by fellow inmates; his family and friends say he was beaten by the police.
Stand Up For Jamaica would like to condemn such actions, whether the beating was perpetrated by the police or fellow inmates. It is heart-rending to think that an individual in the care of the State could have suffered such a fate.
Stand up for Jamaica calls for a thorough investigation into the matter so that the perpetrators can be brought to book.
The State has a responsibility to protect those in its care, and as a result Stand up for Jamaica cites this incident as an indictment on the part of the Government, regardless of who did the beating. Mr Deane had a constitutional right to life and to be protected from such treatment as a citizen of Jamaica and it is even more so astonishing when these rights are breached when he in the care of the protectors of such rights.
We call on the minister of national security to examine carefully what happens to Jamaican citizens when they are in the custody of the officers under his charge and the minister of justice to ensure that the family of Mr Deane receives a proper report of what happened to him.
This incident must not be swept under the carpet, like others before.
Maria Carla Gullotta
Executive Director
Stand Up For Jamaica
Order full investigation in Deane's death
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Media reports are that 31-year-old Mario Deane of Rosemount, Montego Bay, was arrested by police for a ganja spliff and was severely beaten while in police custody. He subsequently died in hospital.
There are, however, mixed reports as to what transpired. Reports from the police are that Deane was beaten by fellow inmates; his family and friends say he was beaten by the police.
Stand Up For Jamaica would like to condemn such actions, whether the beating was perpetrated by the police or fellow inmates. It is heart-rending to think that an individual in the care of the State could have suffered such a fate.
Stand up for Jamaica calls for a thorough investigation into the matter so that the perpetrators can be brought to book.
The State has a responsibility to protect those in its care, and as a result Stand up for Jamaica cites this incident as an indictment on the part of the Government, regardless of who did the beating. Mr Deane had a constitutional right to life and to be protected from such treatment as a citizen of Jamaica and it is even more so astonishing when these rights are breached when he in the care of the protectors of such rights.
We call on the minister of national security to examine carefully what happens to Jamaican citizens when they are in the custody of the officers under his charge and the minister of justice to ensure that the family of Mr Deane receives a proper report of what happened to him.
This incident must not be swept under the carpet, like others before.
Maria Carla Gullotta
Executive Director
Stand Up For Jamaica
Order full investigation in Deane's death
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