Although two motions regarding the local prison were dismissed by a majority in the Second Chamber of Dutch Parliament (see Thursday paper), the situation at the penitentiary in Pointe Blanche obviously remains reason for concern. For one thing, the Ministry of Justice and Security has already advised not to send inmates transferred to the Netherlands after Hurricane Irma back to the island because their human rights cannot be sufficiently guaranteed
What’s more, the Prosecutor’s Office recently revealed that the correctional facility’s maximum current capacity had been reached. That, combined with the policy not to detain persons for longer than 10 days at the Philipsburg police station holding cells due poor conditions there, was the main argument for taking UD leader Theo Heyliger to Bonaire instead.
The Judicial Institution Caribbean Netherlands (JICN) there is brand new. While it was being built, detainees were housed in a temporary jail consisting of containers that they have just started dismantling.
Aruba, Curaçao and St. Maarten were supposed to share these 33 cell-containers that can accommodate 84 people in total since early 2017, it was announced in April the year before. Whatever happened to that agreement is not clear, but if the offer still stands perhaps some can now be shipped to St. Maarten to create extra space while repair works are ongoing.
After all, a promise made is a promise kept.
