By KEILE CAMPBELL

Tribune Staff Reporter

kcampbell@tribunemedia.net

THE lawyer for a 31-year-old Haitian man held at the Carmichael Road Detention Centre says his client had to be revived twice by hospital staff after being brutally punched, slapped and beaten about the face and body by immigrations officers both at the facility and on the bus on the way there.

In calling for an inquiry into the alleged mistreatment, attorney Martin Lundy said that although his client, Fegens Laguerre is alive, he is “not well” after suffering serious mistreatment in immigration custody and needing emergency medical care after his arrest last week.

Questions about Mr Laguerre’s condition emerged earlier this week after reports that he had been taken to hospital before a court appearance and then could not be located for three days. Mr Lundy said relatives “camped out” at the airport with a ticket for his self-deportation, expecting him to be placed on a flight, but he did not arrive.

“When he entered the custody of the Department of Immigration, he was healthy and walking upright and experiencing no pain,” Mr Lundy said. “Now you have a man that’s doubled over in pain, cannot open his mouth too wide, cannot eat, very dizzy, pains in his spine.”

Mr Lunday said his client has also experienced nausea, vomiting, pain in his spine, and difficulty hearing in his left ear. “The doctors at the hospital had to tell him that he actually died twice,” he said. “They had to revive him.”

He said Mr Laguerre was X-rayed and that relatives are waiting for those results. He claimed doctors prescribed up to five medications that the Detention Centre could not supply, telling family members they would need to locate them themselves. He said some have been sourced, and added that Mr Laguerre “really needs” to see a private doctor.

“He’s very concerned about his mother not knowing about his condition, so he’s very clear about that — he knows that she’s going to worry,” Mr Lundy said.

A long-time resident in the community where Mr Laguerre was picked up said he knew the 30-year-old personally and described him as “very respectable, sociable”.

The resident, who requested anonymity, said he often spoke with Mr Laguerre and saw him as someone the same age as his own daughters.

“He just turned 30, so my two daughters are also 30,” said the resident. “They’re my babies, so he could’ve been my son. I always see him and talk with him and if I could help him in any way.”

He said he once watched Mr Laguerre call his son in Haiti and heard the child cry out “Papa! Papa!”

He said he spent days trying to find out where Mr Laguerre was.

Mr Lundy said he and Mr Laguerre’s relatives are now planning their next steps after meeting with him. He said “something needs to be done” and that they intend to pursue whatever measures are necessary to secure care, accountability and justice for the injured detainee.