Government failed to protect Gayle from torture
THE Inter American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) has ruled that the police investigation of Michael Gayle’s death was botched, and has called on the government to publicly apologise to his family and pay compensation to his next of kin and mother Jenny Cameron.
The commission, whose ruling alleged that Gayle’s experience was akin to torture, also urged government to open a new investigation into the human rights abuses committed against Gayle, and to identify, prosecute and punish all the persons responsible for the violations.
Yesterday, at a press conference at the Stella Maris church hall, Carolyn Gomes, executive director of Jamaicans for Justice, said that for every year that the government fails to implement the recommendations, it would “add another year of shame to Jamaica.”
Jamaica’s attorney general AJ Nicholson refused to comment, saying he had not yet seen report and its recommendations.
Gayle, a mentally ill man, was beaten to death by soldiers and police at a barricade at Wint Road, Olympic Gardens in Kingston.
He died two days after the August 21, 1999 assault.
The Coroner’s Court ruled, when the matter came before it, that it could hold no one responsible for the killing, as did the Director of Public Prosecutions in a subsequent review of the case.
In March 2002, Jamaicans For Justice (JFJ) presented a petition to IACHR on behalf of Gayle’s family, accusing the Jamaican government of violating Gayle’s right to life, a fair trial, judicial protection, humane treatment and personal liberty under the American Convention on Human Rights.
In its report which was adopted in March, and made public last month, the commission found that the Jamaican state was responsible for violating Gayle’s right to life, and his right not to be subjected to torture and other inhumane treatment.
He was also denied his right to personal liberty, a fair trial and judicial protection, the report said.
The Jamaican government’s contention that the investigation into Gayle’s death was properly resolved when the DPP refrained from bringing charges, was rejected by the commission.edwardsc@jamaicaobserver.com
