By LEANDRA ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporter

lrolle@tribunemedia.net

NATIONAL Security Minister Wayne Munroe said groups concerned about human rights abuses should file civil cases for the people alleging brutality by law enforcement officers.

He suggested they take this approach rather than wait for the outcome of investigations.

Human Rights Bahamas urged the government last week to be more forthright about the status of investigations into alleged misconduct by officers.

The group cited some recent claims of official misconduct.

“These,” the group claimed, “include two Haitian barbers allegedly beaten by immigration officers; children in Bimini allegedly beaten by police; and a man hospitalised after being beaten and suffocated in police custody.”

Responding yesterday, Mr Munroe said: “When I was in the UK, their human rights groups, they actually advanced cases for people, so if you are a rights group and you think Wayne Munroe has been abused by the state and there’s evidence of it, they have a group of lawyers who they engage to sue on behalf of the individuals. If you can show that you have been assaulted, the court gives you an award.

“I got an award for, I think it was $150,000 for a fellow who was beaten in custody, and we were able to show it so asking these questions. If you have a criminal case where the accused says he was beaten, the officers say they did not beat him and the matter is before the court, one, if you’re a rights group and you’re really concerned about humans rights, do what they do in the UK, get a team, get somebody to file a civil case, a human rights case. It’s as simple as that.”

“The police investigate what is reported to them and somebody has to write a statement. The reason you have to write a statement is if they then investigate your statement and found that you had willfully lied, there are consequences but this thing about sending stuff on social media where nobody is responsible, that’s not just the way business is done.”

The Tribune recently reported that more than four months after two immigration officers allegedly assaulted two Haitian barbers in an attack that went viral, Immigration Minister Keith Bell said the investigation was still ongoing.

Nearly two weeks ago, this newspaper also reported that there was no meaningful update from police about its investigation into a police officer who allegedly beat and bruised several Bimini Primary School students more than four months ago.

In these cases, people filed an official complaint.