Shelly Meighan Says Police Violated Her Daughter’s Rights

Shelly Meighan says her daughter tried to console her about what had happened and encouraged her not to worry. She walked us through her version of the sequence of events when she arrived at the police station. But things changed quickly from detention to incarceration and Meighan questions why her daughter is now at the Belize Central Prison under a State of Emergency when there are other females who have not been swept up under the S.O.E for their wanted relatives.

 

Voice of: Shelly Meighan, Mother of Shanique Meighan

“I asked the police officer, “Why is my daughter detained?” He say “your daughter is detained on the P. I. murder.” I asked who my daughter murder. He no answer. I said, okay, then I come home back. Okay. Now, why would you pick up my daughter and tell her if she don’t give up her brother you wa send she fi S.O.E? First thing, that’s her constitutional right they’re violating because she nuh commit no crime. My son is allegedly wanted for a murder. He – I nuh know weh he deh and I – that’s not my problem at this point. That’s the police job to find my son and pick him up. State of Emergency start March. I’m 100 percent sure they don’t have every person that they wanted for that SOE. Nobody’s sister went up for a State of Emergency that they’re looking for, the ones that they don’t find, but my daughter went up for State of Emergency.”

 

Reporter

“Do you think your daughter is being basically held hostage until Ellis turns himself in?”

 

Voice of: Shelly Meighan

“That’s right. To me this is personal  because mein, why they call S.O.E., because of the amount of murder that is happening in Belize, right?  That’s the reason why they call SOE?  Have you seen any woman gone up for SOE under the State of Emergency? The amount of murders that have been happening, any woman gone up for State of Emergency? This is something that was discussed around a table. This is something higher than we know, [ih] have to be. Why my daughter? Because Ellis is allegedly wanted for a murder.  All of a – listen to me, if they wanted my daughter for S.O.E. there mi wa tek she from in the house. They never may wait till my daughter reach. And they should da mi do deh job. If they wanted to take Shanique up for S.O.E. – say she di  hide her brother – they supposed to mi do deh job and trail her and catch her in the act. Now! If you mi catch my daughter in the act of helping her brother red-handed, she could goh up fi State of Emergency because you catch her red-handed. I nuh say my boys deh da saint. Everybody know them. But it’s allegation because they don’t have any conviction. And this is our human rights because if Shanique went up for – remember what Mr. Musa said on the TV – he said the SOE is for well-known gang affiliates. So which gang is Shanique Meighan in if her brother already won their gang case? And I think they targeted Shanique because if they went for Tyrone, Tyrone is wanted right now but I don’t know what they want him for. If they went for Tyrone, maybe they already know the law that if Tyrone goh up back fi State of Emergency and already won his gang case, he can sue them, but Shanique did not win a gang case because Shanique had not gotten charged for being a member of a gang.”

 

Marion Ali

“Do you have any concern they might come for you next on the same grounds?

 

Voice of: Shelly Meighan

“That was my biggest concern because I said maybe if I went out with a bag, I would have gone up for State of Emergency, you understand what I’m saying?  Everybody walk out through that gate, police walk run here because they can see on my camera, you understand? And they knew that she was leaving with bags because of the camera and the boulevard. So they trail her. And they didn’t allow my daughter to even get a phone call to tell me that she is going to prison. This is the part that I don’t understand, because if you are going to prison, even without a charge sheet, you are detained, you are going on SOE. You can give her a phone call to let her know. Let me know my daughter is going up for a State of Emergency. You know how I got a phone call? A nice police officer allowed my daughter to get a phone call in the bus at Lord’s Ridge Cemetery and all I heard was, “Ma, deh di tek me up fi State of Emergency, nuh worry about me, I good. You just take care of yourself. I could handle this.”