Attorney Denied Access to Imprisoned S.O.E. Minor

Tonight, a thirteen-year-old boy is incarcerated at the Belize Central Prison where he will remain at the Wagner’s Youth Facility for the duration of a ninety-day state of emergency.  The teenager, a resident of Belize City, was swept up along with dozens of other young men from various neighborhoods that have been deemed as hotspots for gang-related crimes.  On Monday, Commissioner of Police Chester Williams weighed in on the minor’s detention.  The Minister of Human Development and Social Transformation also commented on the situation, amid public concern regarding the boy’s imprisonment.  Earlier today, attorney Leslie Mendez visited the Wagner’s Youth Facility to speak with her young client but was denied access and informed by prison authorities that she needed to obtain a court order to gain access to the teenager.  In a letter written to Home Affairs Minister Kareem Musa and C.E.O. Virgilio Murillo, of the Kolbe Foundation, Mendez states, quote, “upon reviewing the Belize Constitution, Statutory Instrument No. 94 of 2024, and Statutory Instrument No. 99 of 2024, I found no provision that exempts or conditions a detainee’s right to access legal representation, much less that of a child detainee.  In fact, both the Belize Constitution and Statutory Instrument No. 99 of 2024 explicitly recognizes the right of detainees to legal representation,” end quote.  Mendez goes on to write, quote, “this request is made especially in light of information received regarding my client’s detention conditions, which indicate that he is not merely detained, but is being held in what the prison authorities refer to as the “hole”, We underscore that, in all decisions affecting a child, the best interest of the child must be the paramount consideration.  Here it appears that a tactic of preventative detention is being employed against a child, which is in direct conflict with multiple international human rights conventions, more notably the Convention of the Rights of the Child, to which Belize is signatory,” end quote.  We note that in an interview with ComPol Williams on Monday, he said that the minor is being held in detention because he is a threat to himself and others around him.