THE media came in for blows yesterday when the Ministry of National Security hosted a news conference to respond to the claims of a 21-year-old migrant woman that she was beaten and raped by Coast Guard personnel while detained at the Heliport Immigration Station in Chaguaramas.
Speaking at the news conference at the Ministry of National Security, head of the TTPS Special Victims Department, Supt Claire Guy-Alleyne, chastised media reporting on the matter, stating that reports such as these placed on the “front pages” could put police into a “retrograde step” in their investigations.
The allegations of rape and battery were the subject of a front page story in the Sunday Express yesterday.
Guy-Alleyne said, “In this case, the migrant may not be able to read the English but whenever victims or survivors of sexual or physical exploitation see these things plastered in the media, it puts a negative effect on the law enforcement investigation and very little or nothing would be disclosed.”
Guy-Alleyne said police were actively investigating the matter.
“We are conducting an active investigation to get the facts and evidence. So if the allegations are true, the persons the allegations are made against would be brought to justice and the law can take its process,” she said.
Asked by the Express whether detained migrants were being guarded exclusively by men or a mix of men and women at the Heliport, Guy-Alleyne said for security reasons she could not answer.
Also present at the news conference were Police Commissioner Erla Harewood-Christopher; director of the Counter Trafficking Unit Samantha Chaitram; senior Immigration officer in charge of Enforcement Laura Ramcharitar; and Charles Peter Mitchell, director, legal services, at the Ministry of National Security.
‘Not a fight or a war’
Activist Yesenia Gonzalez, who last week submitted an affidavit to the court to support the woman’s claim, told the Express yesterday she did not understand why the news conference was held, given that the matter was now before the courts.
“The point about it is that she was raped by agents of the State. The lawyers dropped the order to the Counter Trafficking Unit (CTU) and all these things are not a fight or a war, this is about the girl’s life,” she said.
The young woman, who on April 4 was reported “missing” from the immigration facility, claimed that while detained at the facility, she was assaulted by three Coast Guard officers, two of whom held her down while she was raped by the other.
Attorneys Criston J Williams, Bernadette Arneaud and Shivanand Mohan of law firm Quantum Legal filed an application for an emergency hearing on behalf of the woman and the High Court last week granted a writ of habeas corpus in favour of their client.
Gonzalez recounted in her sworn statement that the victim was in distress, traumatised and afraid for her life. She said the woman had severe bruises including a black eye, black and blue marks on her arms, which appeared to be made by an individual(s) fingers, and large bruises on her legs.
“Throughout the ordeal, our client was beaten by the said officers. Her assault was so brutal that she began to haemorrhage violently. The applicant was then informed that because of her condition, she was going to be released. She was placed in a TTCG (Coast Guard) vehicle, driven out of the Heliport and dropped off on the Western Main Road, Chaguaramas,” Gonzalez stated in the affidavit.
She added the young woman had spoken of being trafficked to Trinidad in January alongside 19 girls for commercial sex at a bar in Freeport.
Justice Jacqueline Wilson last week agreed the matter was fit for urgent hearing; that the woman should be taken for medical examination by the Office of the Attorney General, that the State file and serve the medical report before Tuesday, and that she be granted access to attorneys of her choice.
Timeline of events
And also speaking at the news conference, director of the Counter Trafficking Unit Samantha Chaitram confirmed that the young woman had been moved to the protective care of the Counter Trafficking Unit (CTU).
The timeline of events recounted by senior Immigration officer in charge of Enforcement Laura Ramcharitar states that the young woman had been detained at a bar in Freeport and later taken to the Heliport Immigration Station on March 27.
Ramcharitar said the woman was interviewed by immigration officers with the assistance of an interpreter, no trafficking indicators were exhibited but she continued to be detained as she had admitted to entering the country illegally without a passport or visa.
Ramcharitar said the woman was unaccounted for on April 4 at the Heliport Immigration Station and the matter was referred to the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS). Posts on social media of the woman being abused while at the station led to the matter being referred to the Special Victims Department of the TTPS.
On May 26, the woman was detained at a bar in the Chaguanas area and was handed over to the Immigration Division. She was then referred to the custody of the Counter Trafficking Unit, where she remains currently.
Guy-Alleyne said the unit had been instructed by Commissioner of Police Erla Harewood-Christopher to investigate misconduct and sexual exploitation at the Chaguaramas Heliport. She said several persons were interviewed, but no sexual exploitation had been disclosed at that time.
Whilst at the location, she said the unit received information that the woman had not been accounted for and was reported missing at that time.
Guy-Alleyne said migrants at that location had been taken into a separate room and assured confidentiality. She estimated that there were three men and 35 women being housed there. There were no children at the facility, she said.
Legal representative for the minister, Charles Peter Mitchell, said Minister Fitzgerald Hinds had been named in the High Court proceedings before the court in this matter. He said the minister and the ministry would like to reassure the public that they had every intention to do all required.
“…There will be every intention to comply with all the terms of the order of the court and that the Ministry and the Minister by extension will do all that is required for this matter to be fully ventilated before the court,” he said.