~supporters and family members protest unhygienic conditions while calling for immediate release, Heyliger suspended as Member of Parliament.~ Heyliger leaving for Bonaire
PHILIPSBURG: ---Leader of the United Democrats Theodore Heyliger will have to spend the next 8 days in pretrial detention. Heyliger was arrested on the early morning of February 19th, 2019 at his Guana Bay home. The spokesman for the TBO Roderick Gouverneur confirmed that the pretrial detention was extended by 8 days on Friday morning.
Ever since his arrest the well-known politician and Member of Parliament are held at the Police Holding Cells in Philipsburg as TBO investigators investigate the LARIMAR corruption case.
On Friday morning supporters and family members of the UD Leader demonstrated in front of the Court of First Instance, the protestors then moved to back of the Police Station where they also protested and were somewhat noisy as Heyliger was due to appear in court as Prosecutors seek the court’s permission to extend his time in pretrial detention.
The small crowd was carrying posters, “free Theo now”, “Hostile Take Over”, Who is Next and “Stop People”. As they protest, they were chanting “Free Theo Now.”
On Thursday the Attorney representing Heyliger sent a letter to some media houses criticizing the unhygienic conditions of the holding cells which is a human rights violation.
Now that the MP has to spend another 8 days in pretrial detention (VOORLOPIGE HECHTENIS) he will be suspended as a Member of Parliament, based on the Constitution article 50 states that if that if an MP remains in pretrial detention for a criminal offense then he is automatically suspended as a Member of Parliament.
During the first 10 days Heyliger was in "verzekering" now that the judge granted the second 8 days extension Heyliger is now held in "voorlopige hechtenis" thus when an MP goes into voorlopige hechtenis" he is automatically suspended as a Member of Parliament and can lose that seat if he is convicted of the any of the crimes he is charged with and sentenced to 4 years in imprisonment. Heyliger was with charged with the article. 2:351 of the penal code, accepting bribes.
It is left to be seen if the United Democrats will appoint the next person in line on the UD slate now that they do not have a majority in parliament. The next person in line is Jules James who garnered 213 votes in the February 2018 snap elections.
One of the things the United Democrats is considering SMN News learned is to form a broad-based government.
Sources close to the party said they held a meeting last week and voted to form a broad-based government with the National Alliance (NA) and United Peoples Party(USP). The question now is will the two Opposition parties grant the UD and its members life support by forming a broad-based government with them now that their leader is in predicament.
On Friday the Judge gave the Prosecutor's the permission to take Theodore Heyliger out of St. Maarten as he remains in pretrial detention. Heyliger will be taken to Bonaire. It is expected that he will leave St. Maarten to Curacao then on to Bonaire later this evening. Roderick Gouverneur confirmed that Heyliger is expected to depart St. Maarten today Friday.
The Judge of Instruction ruled today to keep T.H. in pre-trial detention for an additional 8 days.
T.H. will undergo his pre-trial detention in the Judicial Institution Caribbean Netherlands JICN on Bonaire. This decision has been made based on the fact that the Point Blanche Prison has reached its maximum capacity of 70 and remaining detained at the Philipsburg police headquarters is not an option.
The Public Prosecutor’s Office issued a new policy regarding the detention of inmates. This was also communicated to the general public. This policy aims to safeguard proper adherence to basic human rights standards. As a consequence, a suspect can only remain at the Philipsburg police headquarters for a maximum of 10 days. Minors may not be detained for longer than 3 days, regardless of the crime.
The maximum capacity in the Point Blanche Prison has been set at 70 inmates and Prosecutors frequently scrutinize detention conditions. The Public Prosecutor’s Office had to release 3 prisoners last Friday because overpopulation led to human rights violations. These 3 prisoners had already served most of their prison time and were set to be released in March.
The Public Prosecutor’s Office expects the capacity issues in Point Blanche to deteriorate further in the coming weeks, as Curaçao has announced it will be sending 7 prisoners back to Sint Maarten. While the situation at the Point Blanche Prison is not ideal for any prisoner, a differentiation is made between individuals with an irrevocable conviction and those in pre-trial detention. T.H. was held in pre-trial detention at the Philipsburg police headquarters in the interest of the ongoing investigation.
The Public Prosecutor has concluded that T.H. cannot stay longer at the police station as it would violate the human right to humane detention. Therefore as a solution, T.H. will be housed in Bonaire, which was the closest facility to Sint Maarten with sufficient capacity. This is a temporary solution.
PROSECUTOR'S OFFICE PRESS RELEASE.
