Four opposition activists in St. Vincent were detained barefoot in a cell with feces on the floor at the central police station in the island’s capital, Kingstown according to their lawyer Kay-Bacchus-Baptiste.
Adriana King, Luzette King, Robert Knights-King, and John Mofford were among those detained on Thursday night.
Kay Bacchus-Baptiste, lawyer for the four, told iWitness News an online publication outside the Kingstown Magistrate’s Court on Friday that the activists were charged on public disorder charges and all pled not guilty.
“I came in this morning to request for bail on behalf of my clients, and the prosecution stated that they had no problem to bail.” I asked the magistrate to grant them being on their own recognizance simply since it’s a trivial charge which the court did, Which demonstrates I would say a rebuke for the police action for infractions like this”.
“Last night, my clients were put in a cell with feces on the floor, and they were told by the police to remove their shoes, and they had to stay in that cell all night”, she told the publication.
According to Bacchus-Baptiste, both females stated that they were not feeling well and requested that the police transport them to the hospital.
“Their blood pressure was apparently so high that they had to keep them there. I believe that is when the police yielded and permitted them to spend the night in the holding facility of the Kingstown police station without food.”
According to Bacchus-Baptiste, her clients were arrested because they were lawfully protesting outside parliament, stating that it was not a public assembly.
The case has been adjourned until May 22nd.
