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Belize Page 1 of 14 2010 Human Rights Reports: Belize Page 1 of 14 Home » Under Secretary for Democracy and Global Affairs » Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor » Releases » Human Rights Reports » 2010 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices » Western Hemisphere » Belize 2010 Human Rights Reports: Belize BUREAU OF DEMOCRACY, HUMAN RIGHTS, AND LABOR 2010 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices April 8, 2011 Belize is a constitutional parliamentary democracy with an estimated population of 333,000. In February 2008 Prime Minister Dean Barrow's United Democratic Party (UDP) won 25 of the 31 seats in the House of Representatives following generally free and fair multiparty elections. There were instances in which elements of the security forces acted independently of civilian control. Human rights abuses included civilian killings and the use of excessive force by security forces, which the government took steps to prosecute administratively in some cases. Other problems included lengthy pretrial detention, domestic violence, discrimination against women, sexual abuse of children, trafficking in persons, discrimination based on sexual orientation, and child labor. RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS Section 1 Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom From: a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life The government or its agents did not commit any politically motivated killings; however, there were isolated reports and allegations that security forces committed arbitrary or unlawful killings. In February a Ladyville police officer shot and killed a Jamaican as he was riding away from a fight outside a bar. Eyewitnesses alleged that the victim posed no threat to the officers, but the police claimed that he carried a shiny object the officer mistook for a gun. Authorities charged a police corporal with manslaughter and another constable with abetment to commit manslaughter. The case against the officers was adjourned to January 2011. In March an unknown person, shooting from a vehicle, killed a 21-year-old university student on a bicycle. The victim reportedly had been involved in an altercation with a police officer earlier the same evening, and the family alleged that a http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2010/wha/154494.htm 4/11/2011 2010 Human Rights Reports: Belize Page 2 of 14 police officer committed the killing. The police commissioner stated that witnesses pinpointed "no specific officer," and an investigation remained pending at year's end. In May a Caye Caulker police constable allegedly shot and killed a man who was in police custody after being arrested for disorderly conduct and assaulting a police officer. Authorities charged the constable with murder. The case was adjourned to January 2011. In September Carlos Espat, the older brother of a well-known opposition party member, was found dead in his home. An autopsy determined the cause of death was blunt trauma to the head and chest. An investigation remained pending at year's end. In March the Ministry of National Security presented the results of its inquiry into the December 2009 killing of Christopher Galvez, which family members alleged was committed by a police officer. While the inquiry reported irregularities and breach of Belize Police Department (BPD) standing orders, it found no evidence of professional misconduct in the police investigation itself. The investigation into the killing continued at year's end, while the family complained publicly of police harassment and threats. In February the trial of a police constable charged with murder in the 2008 killing of a man shot as he was pursued by police ended when the Supreme Court instructed the jury to find the officer not guilty; the decision followed a successful "no case" submission by the officer's legal counsel. b. Disappearance There were no reports of politically motivated disappearances. c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment While the constitution prohibits torture or other inhuman punishment, there were numerous reports that police used excessive force. The government occasionally ignored reports of abuses, withheld action until the case had faded from the public's attention, and then failed to take punitive action or transferred accused officers to other districts. Through December the BPD held 38 officers on interdiction or suspension as a result of alleged misconduct ranging, inter alia, from murder (two), manslaughter (three), extortion (six), keeping unlicensed ammunition (five) and theft (three). The Office of the Ombudsman reported that during the year its office received 104 complaints against the police department and its personnel, including 37 allegations of police brutality. In March authorities charged an off-duty police officer with kidnapping, robbery and aggravated assault of a vegetable vendor in San Pedro. According to the victim, the police officer, accompanied by a Belize Defense Force (BDF) soldier, went to the vendor's boat, searched his premises, and robbed him of BZ$350 ($175). BDF authorities did not charge the soldier because he reportedly remained on the wharf where the vessel was moored and did not assist his confederate on the boat. The case against the police officer was adjourned until January 2011. In March a Dangriga policeman shot a fisherman in the back. Police asserted that the fisherman resisted arrest and tried to take the officer's weapon, but the victim and witnesses claimed he was running from the police when shot. Authorities did not charge the police officer despite a recommendation from the Office of Internal Affairs that the case be referred to the Office of Director of Prosecutions. http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2010/wha/154494.htm 4/11/2011 2010 Human Rights Reports: Belize Page 3 of 14 In April a Belize City police inspector shot a man in the head when he fired upon the vehicle in which the victim was riding. Contrary to eyewitness accounts to the media, police claimed the inspector fired accidentally; a police spokesman said The O Affair that the vehicle was similar to one used in another offense earlier that night. Authorities arrested the inspector on charges the U of attempted murder and dangerous harm and suspended him from duty, but the Supreme Court granted him bail in June. Exter The victim remained partially paralyzed as a result of the incident. The case was adjourned to February 2011. const polici In May authorities charged six Belize City policemen with wounding an electrical mechanic at the Mile Four police checkpoint on the Western highway. Reportedly police believed the mechanic fired shots at the checkpoint as he was driving past. In October the prosecution withdrew charges against four of the six police constables for lack of evidence. The other two officers were subsequently acquitted of the charges and remained employed by the police department. As of August the BDF reported four unresolved complaints of excessive force made against military personnel, including two where investigations resulted in charges and in which the cases were pending before the courts at year's end. One case involved a BDF soldier who was charged with aggravated assault in March and then released on bail. In a 2009 case in which a police and BDF patrol shot a man in Orange Walk District, BDF authorities reported that the patrol sought to subdue the man, who was intoxicated, and that he was shot in the leg only after he failed to respond to warning shots. The man subsequently succumbed to his injury while in the hospital. BDF authorities suggested that death resulted from negligent medical care. The case remained pending in court at year's end. In August the Office of the Director of Public Prosecution determined there was insufficient evidence to substantiate a case against a police corporal charged in November 2009 with sexual assault while on duty. There were no known developments, and none were expected, in the December 2009 case of a 14-year-old crime suspect who claimed that he had been beaten and sexually assaulted while in police custody. Prison and Detention Center Conditions Prison conditions were poor and did not meet international standards. Belize Central Prison, the country's only prison, is administered by a local nonprofit organization, the Kolbe Foundation, which also operates the government's parole program. Although the Foundation received a government payment of BZ$13 ($6.50) per prisoner per day for operating costs and supplementary funding from independent sources, it operated with a deficit during the year and suspended some services, such as facility repair. The regular prison population was held in cells each accommodating approximately four to six persons. Prisoners on remand were held in a newer facility approximately three to four in a cell. Prisoners in the maximum security (Tango 10) facility were also held in the newer facility usually one inmate per cell. Isolation in a small, unlit, unventilated punishment cell, called a "reflection room," was used to discipline inmates in the youth section. At the end of December, prison authorities reported approximately 20 incidents of inmate-on-inmate violence, approximately 10 of which resulted in hospitalization and one resulted in death. Authorities investigated a complaint that a prison guard's use of pepper spray on an inmate constituted brutality but found no evidence that the prisoner had been abused. At the end of December, the prison held 1,410 inmates (190 fewer than capacity), of whom 24 were women and 47 were juveniles. In December the prison held approximately 400 prisoners in pretrial detention, approximately 48 percent of its capacity for such prisoners. http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2010/wha/154494.htm 4/11/2011 2010 Human Rights Reports: Belize Page 4 of 14 Women and men were held in separate facilities. The prison includes a separate facility for women located 200 yards outside of the main compound.
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