Judge rules that Cuban woman accused of immigration breach has a case to answer
ST JAMES, Jamaica— A St James parish judge ruled on Wednesday that Cuban national Ariadna Perez Lopez, who is accused of presenting fraudulent documents to regularise her husband’s immigration status, has a case to answer.
On July 12, her legal counsel, Michael Hemmings, filed a no-case submission in which he stated that the Crown presented no evidence that she knowingly uttered the forged documents with the intent to deceive. He also stated that the evidence was tenuous and should not be relied on, and that the Crown failed to prove the essential elements of the offence, citing several reasons.
READ: Lawyer representing Cuban woman accused of immigration breach makes no-case submission
The attorney also referred to the testimony of Marie Lue, deputy director of Jamaica’s Passport, Immigration, and Citizenship Agency (PICA), who stated in her testimony that she could distinguish between authentic and fraudulent stamps based on her 22 years of experience, on-the-job training, and special training to reach an informed conclusion that a stamp is fraudulent.
The security manager’s testimony was also highlighted, in which he stated that he was able to determine the authenticity of a document due to his years of experience and training, as well as the use of machinery, and who agreed that a lay person could obtain a certificate of registration and be unaware that the stamps endorsed are fraudulent.
In her response on Wednesday, trial judge Sasha-Marie Smith-Ashley stated that the prosecution bears an evidential burden, which she believes has been discharged, and that Lopez should answer the charge on that basis.
Lopez was then given the option of providing a sworn statement from the witness stand, an unsworn statement from the prisoner’s dock, or remaining silent. She chose to remain silent.
The case was then adjourned until September 1, when the judge will render a verdict.
According to the allegations presented to the court, on January 10, Lopez presented a Cuban passport and alien registration certificate to PICA in Montego Bay, St James to regularise her husband’s status and fraudulent stamps were discovered inside both documents.
