Philipsburg: --- The two Sri Lankans (Tamils) Gobinath Navarathinan (25) and Chantihiralingan Logesan (21) would have to spend some more time in prison until the Lt. Governor of St. Maarten finds a way to deal with their cases. That was the decision taken by Judge Noord Huizen at the court of first instance on Monday. The judge also felt St. Maarten should not be the transit point for traffickers.
The two Tamils were represented by attorney at law Denicio Bryson who argued that his clients have been locked up since April 15 giving them a total of 67 days in a police cell. The two it is said were arrested while staying at the Sea Breeze Hotel, it is further understood they came to the island by boat from Antigua. However, the police records show the two men were arrested on May 16th and they have just over one month behind bars. Bryson said his client’s detention order which was issued by the Lt. Governor on May 17 has expired since June 17, some five days ago and his clients are now being held illegally. He urged the judge to release both men for humanitarian reasons.
Bryson said having represented Tamils before he is convinced the two young men are running away from the present civil war in their country. He told the judge that both his clients are of fighting age and they are used by the ethnic groups in that country. Bryson then showed the judge the injuries one of his clients suffered due to the civil unrest in Sri Lanka. He said while he is knows the Tamils is not interested in staying on St. Maarten he believes the experiences of the past should not be used as an impediment against the two Tamils who are now in police custody. The attorney at law who handles immigration cases said he himself has lost courage in representing the Tamils because of an experience he had with five of them.
Bryson said he went through several lengthy court procedures for these Tamils who were granted a two hour interview by the Geneva Convention, and were given a both residence and work permits for St. Maarten yet three of them jumped on a boat in bid to escape to Canada where they can apply for asylum. Unfortunately he said the three men never made it to Canada instead they lost their lives at sea when the boat they were in collapsed. He said he understands the risk that is involved when the Tamils are released from police custody but he does not believe they are to be kept there. He suggested that the Lt. Governor send the Tamils to Holland where there are asylum centers. Bryson said the Netherlands Antilles do not have these facilities and sending the Tamils to a third country is a waste of time. He reminded the judge of a case where the police took some Tamils to the French side to hand them over to the Police Aux Frontiers (PAF) but the French he said refused them since there were no records to show that the Tamils were ever on the French territories. He said in this case the two Tamils before the court do not even have a passport and it is impossible to send people to anyone’s country without a travel document. “The idea right now is not how they got here, they are here and we need to deal with them in a humanitarian way.” The defense agreed that the two should not spend their lives behind bars but said he believes the Governor should be given more time to deal with their cases.
Gobinath Navarathinan broke down in tears when he was asked what he had to say for himself the young man told the judge he has lost a brother and sister at the hands of the civil war, he also showed the judge his misplaced hand that was injured while in his country. The young man pleaded to be released. When told that the request was denied since he is only behind bars just over a month now, he tried telling the judge they have been there some 67 days now.
