Shanique Myrie wants Barbados to pay
Jamaican woman seeking damages for alleged abuse at Grantley Adams International Airport.
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, Friday June 08, 2012 – The Jamaican woman who made headlines last year with claims that she had been physically and verbally abused by immigration officials at the Grantley Adams International Airport is back in the news with a vengeance.
Shanique Myrie was last seen in Barbados in April at a much publicized appearance when she made her case before the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) during its historic first sitting in this country. At that time she was granted leave to file a case against Barbados; and file she has.
Myrie wants Barbados to pay – literally – for the humiliation and prejudice she claims to have suffered at the hands of airport officials on her arrival in Barbados on March 14, 2011.
Her demands for JAM$118 000 in special damages, including the cost of her ticket, medical expenses to date, medical report, slippers, and interest, are joined by unspecified amounts in moral damages, exemplary damages and aggravated damages. All are contained in a Notice of Filing of Originating Application, dated May 23 and posted on the CCJ website at month-end.
Myrie also wants further investigations to identify the individuals who she claimed assaulted and unlawfully detained her and to have them prosecuted and punished in criminal proceedings.
In addition to the damages and investigation, the Jamaica national has asked the court to issue an order that denying her entry to Barbados in March 2011 was “unlawful” and that the “Cancelled” entry stamp in her passport is null and void.
Myrie is also seeking an apology for the officials “violating her fundamental human rights and freedom, in particular by treating her in a discriminatory manner, conducting an unlawful body search, conducting an unlawful cavity search, arbitrarily and unlawfully detaining . . . and verbally abusing” her, according to the document. Click here to receive free news bulletins via email from Caribbean360. (View sample)