00:00The state has been ordered to pay almost $1.9 million in damages to six remanded detainees over conditions at
00:07the maximum security prison.
00:09Justice Davindra Rampassad delivered the judgment last Wednesday, finding that the conditions in which the men were held breached their
00:17constitutional protection against cruel and unusual treatment.
00:20The case centered on the men's transfer to Building 13 in July 2021. The court found that the transfer was
00:27unlawful, saying there was no evidence that relevant security, medical and other risks had been properly considered.
00:34The Commissioner of Prisons had relied on national security concerns to justify the move, but Justice Rampassad found that justification
00:41unsupported by evidence.
00:43The court heard that about 95 prisoners were housed in the building, with some sleeping on the floor.
00:49Evidence included leaking sewage, human waste spilling from a slop pail, poor ventilation, extreme heat and humidity, vermin and inadequate
00:59access to running potable water.
01:01There were also complaints about medical care, prescribed diets and religious observances.
01:07He said that the slop pail, the sewage on the floor and the overcrowding should be found in that building
01:12in 2021 is not a matter of mitigation, it is a matter of aggravation, end quote.
01:18Justice Rampassad stressed that the men were remanded detainees and had not been convicted of the offences for which they
01:25were being held.
01:26Each was awarded $150,000 in vindicatory damages, in addition to compensation calculated at $250 for each day spent in
01:35unconstitutional conditions.
01:37The individual awards were Aoki Charles, $374,500, Kerry Valentino, $304,500, Brent Johnson, $248,000, the estate of Stefan
01:52Austin, $319,750, Joshua Janet, $304,500, and Daryl Diaz, $336,750.
02:06The total is $1.888 million before interest.
02:12Additional damages were awarded to Charles, Johnson and Diaz for assaults suffered while incarcerated.
02:18The state was also ordered to pay legal costs.
02:22Dominic Ramroop, TV6 News.
