PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten – Last week, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) again ordered an interim measure for a suspect being held in pre-trial detention in the Philipsburg cells. This is being wrongly
interpreted, by various media outlets, to imply that the ECHR has established that human rights have been violated. The Public Prosecutor’s Office would like to emphasize that this is not the case.
It is an interim measure designed to prevent human rights from being violated. So there is no violation of human rights established as yet. In the case initiated by F. Corallo, the ECHR had ruled that his human rights were violated based on the circumstances in the cells in the Philipsburg police station at that time (2018).
In the meantime, a number of improvements have been made. These improvements are not yet at the level that all involved would like to see them. In any case, there have been improvements since the time of Corallo’s detention. As a result, the ECHR’s verdict cannot be interpreted as a ruling on a violation of human rights. The ECHR’s interim measure does not concern the detention conditions in the Pointe Blanche prison.
The suggestion that the Public Prosecutor’s Office of Sint Maarten would provoke the interim injunction of the European Court is untrue. The Public Prosecutor’s Office weighs the options in all cases in which a suspect should remain in pre-trial detention in the Philipsburg cells for more than 10 days. This is whether the suspect can be released (whether or not by suspending pre-trial detention), or whether space can be created in Pointe Blanche prison by terminating or suspending the pre-trial detention of a suspect who has been detained in Pointe Blanche prison or by recommending a convict for early release.
Early release of convicted persons is an exclusive decision of the Minister of Justice. If both options are not possible, the Chief Public Prosecutor of Sint Maarten will consider whether the detention in the Philipsburg cells can continue. The Minister of Justice and the Procurer General will be informed and the cases in which such an assessment takes place will also be published on the website of the Public Prosecutor’s Office Sint Maarten.
So far in 2020 there are two separate cases where two suspects will have to remain more than 10 days in the Philipsburg cells.
