Dear Editor,
From 1994 up to now the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman and Degrading Punishment has released devastating reports concerning the detention situation in Point Blanche prison. Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights prohibits torture and inhuman and degrading punishment. This prohibition is applicable on the subhuman detention conditions in Point Blanche which for decades constitutes a flagrant violation of basic human rights.
Sint Maarten already has internationally a dubious reputation concerning this matter and has a recent history of 458 detainees per 100,000 inhabitants, making the top 10 list of the highest detention rate in the world (World Prison Population list tenth edition). Not something to be proud of. The world average is 144. The situation has only worsened after the hurricane damage, with less cells.
The jail is constantly full. There are weekly if not daily fights. People are even being locked up in the infirmary.
Politicians over the last 30 years have done nothing to alleviate the situation. In Sint Maarten there is only attention for structural repression and efforts to maintain the status quo. Reports and sentences have not helped. It’s a structural problem of a dubious inhuman mentality. The next level will be that (more) killings will follow within the walls, that is inevitable in a situation like this.
We went through all this in Curaçao. There is only one structural solution for this problem just like in Curaçao. Leave with ankle band. We had the same problems for years, until in 2005 we introduced a ministerial decree. The benefits are numerous. Politicians with a repressive mind will come up with false arguments. With us it is a permanent solution that we will never abandon.
We have the same penal code as Sint Maarten with the same article and fall under the same Court of First Instance and under the same Superior Common Court of Justice. In Curaçao all governments, Parliament, the public prosecutors’ office, the prison authorities and both courts have accepted this solution as valuable for more than 20 years. All the arguments that are now being used in Sint Maarten need to go in the wastepaper basket, none of them is valid. We have the same laws and the same courts.
Besides that, Article 3 is a so called ‘self-execution’ article that goes above local laws and politicians. Every member state must simply comply, irrespective of what they think locally. Arguments that the ankle band is no alternative for detention is political nonsense. In many countries just like Curaçao it has proved to be the solution for overpopulation. Arguments like it’s only for a short time are also intended to mislead. It’s the most honest solution. Everybody gets the same percentage amount of 15% reduction on their sentence, that can reach up to a max of 18 months for the long stayers.
Before the introduction of the ankle band, we had introduced all kinds of random reductions. From the introduction of the ankle band with leave we do not have the problems anymore and the prison is controllable. The prisoner generally behaves within the walls, because otherwise he will lose his leave. Conditions can be put on the leave so people can be guided on the right track during the leave. There is guidance from the probation officer if needed. Judges have accepted this modality for more than 20 years in Curaçao. If it is unlawful or not according to the law or treaty, they would never have done that under the old and the new law.
So please do not listen to those who can only think in punishment terms, because it is people like that that have caused the actual inhuman suffering that already got Sint Maarten condemned in international human rights courts, which condemnation brought international shame on the whole Kingdom, because violation of Articles 2 (right to life) and Article 3 belong to the most heinous crimes against humanity.
For those of you who can only think in terms of violation of other people’s basic human rights I have the following message. Empathy for the basic human rights of every human being without exception is not a sign of weakness, but a sign of strength and a sign of belonging to the ranks of developed countries. The benefits surpass the costs by far. The alternative is more international condemnation and more crime within or outside the walls.
Eldon “Peppie” Sulvaran
