PHILIPSBURG--The Court of First Instance on Friday, ruled against the expulsion of eight female workers of Casa Blanca brothel in Oyster Pond. The Minister of Justice had repealed the women’s temporary residence permits and ordered their expulsion from St. Maarten after Casa Blanca owner C.P. and three of his managers were arrested on November 16, on suspicion of human trafficking.
In the investigation, code-named “Papegaai,” the local Prosecutor’s Office intensively cooperated with the Prosecutor’s Office of the Dominican Republic. Three main suspects were arrested on suspicion of exploitation of mainly women from the Dominican Republic and a fourth suspect was arrested later for firearm possession. House searches were also part of the investigation.
The Chief Prosecutor of St. Maarten requested the Minister of Justice to suspend Casa Blanca’s business licence while awaiting further criminal investigation and the verdict, but in Friday’s court’s decision it emerged that such decision has not been made.
One day after the main suspects were arrested, attorney-at-law Jairo Bloem filed a petition with the Court against the Minister’s decision to remove eight Casa Blanca “hostesses” from St. Maarten, to hold them in detention prior to their removal and to repeal their residence permit.
The women in question all hail from the Dominican Republic, except for one of their colleagues, who is from Colombia. They are between 24 and 45 years old and are all employed at Casa Blanca.
In total, 14 women were found at the brothel during the raid. Eight of them were handed over to the Immigration and Border Protection Service IGD by the Prosecutor’s Office. They were put under guard and taken to a safe house.
The women were already taken to the airport and on their way to be expelled, when attorney Bloem called upon the Court to order a stay on the execution of their expulsion pending the outcome of the legal proceedings. After the Court’s intervention, the women were taken to Pointe Blanche Prison.
According to the Minister, the women had lost their title to a permit after the brothel’s shutdown, as there was a suspicion that the owner of Casa Blanca had been involved with criminal activities and had acted in violation of the prostitution policy. This meant they were no longer entitled to stay in St. Maarten and would have to leave the island.
The women contested the Minister’s decision and called upon the Court to annul it, or to suspend the execution of the decision pending the outcome of the main administrative court case. The decision was called “disproportionate,” also because they were transferred from a hotel to the detention cells at Pointe Blanche Prison.
During a closed-door hearing and in presence of a Spanish-language translator, the women in question “explicitly” told the Judge they wanted to remain in St. Maarten and work here, with the exception of one of them, who stated she wanted to return to her family. As a consequence, this woman repealed her court petition.
The Court found that all women had been in possession of valid temporary residence permits and work permits at the time of the raid. Therefore, the Court established that the women had been deprived of their liberty while they were entitled to live and work here.
“Only one day thereafter, after the attempted expulsion which was prevented by the Court, were the temporary residence permits repealed and the removal orders drafted,” the Court stated.
It was found proven that the women’s work permits were still valid, as well as their employer’s operating licence.
It was further taken into consideration, that contrary to litigants, some of the other hostesses had cooperated with the criminal investigation. These women were taken to a safe house and were not handed over to IGD. Their expulsion had not been planned and their residence permits had not been revoked. The Court said it appeared that these women were to stay in the safe house for the duration of the criminal investigation.
Contrary to the Netherlands, St. Maarten does not have any arrangements for victims or witnesses of human trafficking who go to the police or cooperate with criminal investigations. These persons receive a temporary residence permit for the Netherlands for the duration of the investigating and ensuing legal proceedings.
The Court considered it likely that the women’s detention as undesired foreigners would be declared illegal in the main case. Therefore, the Court decided to suspend the women’s detention pending the outcome of the legal proceedings.
The decision to expel the hostesses was found unlawful, as they had not been presented with required documents and were not questioned about the matter, whereas the six-week period for their voluntary departure had also not yet expired. The decisions to repeal their permits were also found insufficiently motivated.
The Court ordered the Minister of Justice to refrain from any acts to repeal the women’s temporary residence permits and pay a fee of NAf. 1,400 for legal cost.
