The government is hoping preliminary investigations into claims that Cuban detainees are being treated inhumanely in The Bahamas be augmented by a formal investigation.

According to a release from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Immigration, that investigation would be headed by a former justice of the Court of Appeal and a religious leader.

“We expect that this review will commence shortly and that a report will be made to us as soon as possible,” the release said.

“We will review the report and act accordingly, and take any punitive or disciplinary action as deemed necessary.”

This is the latest in a series of responses the ministry has issued in the wake of Cubans protesting in Miami, Florida.
The group claims Cubans detained at the Carmichael Road Detention Centre are being mistreated.

They have also protested the fact that two Cubans were sent to Her Majesty’s Prison (HMP).

Authorities have however explained that the asylum seekers are only temporarily detained at HMP because they were engaged in disorderly and violent behaviour at the detention centre.

“Their removal from that facility was necessary both for their protection and safety of others at the detention centre,” the release stressed.

“The government is prepared to release them forthwith if they are accepted by the United States, or if a third country wishes to accept them.”

The two men appeared in court last Thursday as a result of a habeas corpus application that was filed on their behalf.
The application has been adjourned upon the request of their attorney to await the decision of U.S. authorities.
United States officials have so far reviewed and are adjudicating the cases of four of the detainees to determine whether they can be accepted and resettled into the U.S.

In three of these cases, it appears that the detainees had previously been permanent residents of the U.S., and the fourth case was deemed by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to be eligible for residence in a third country, according to officials.

Meantime, the government has agreed to the visit to the detention centre of a senior U.S. official.

Simon Henshaw is the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees and Migration.