The Hague – The VVD wants the prime minister of Sint Maarten to be summoned to the Hague to explain the human rights violations suffered by the casino boss Francesco Corallo during his detention.
The European Court of Human Rights ruled that Corallo was detained under inhumane circumstances on Sint Maarten. He was held for six months without proper ventilation and enough sunlight. The police cell where he was held was also overcrowded.
‘Prime minister has to come to the Netherlands’
The VVD is furious that Sint Maarten is violating human rights. Parliamentarian André Bosman wants to ask State Secretary Raymond Knops (Kingdom Relations) during a debate on Tuesday, what the Dutch Government is going to do about Sint Maarten.
“I think the time has come that the prime minister of Sint Maarten comes to the Netherlands to explain the human rights violations to the Council of Ministers of the Kingdom of the Netherlands”, says Bosman. The VVD thinks that if it’s necessary Sint Maarten should be forced to fix the prison.
The Netherlands embarrassed
Politically and internationally the Netherlands is suffering a huge embarrassment because of the judgement. Bosman finds it: “very annoying that the Kingdom has been labeled negligent for negligence committed by Sint Maarten.”
The Kingdom of the Netherlands has to compensate Corallo and pay his legal fees according the judgement of the European Court of Human Rights. The total sum of this compensation is 10,500 euros.
Sint Maarten’s prison has been giving the State a headache for years. The VVD and the SP have been calling on the Hague to intervene for some time now. Research conducted by the Caribbean Network in 2017 showed that the damaged prison poses a danger to society.
Not the first time
It’s the second time in a few years that the European Court for Human Rights has passed down judgments that states that the Kingdom is violating human rights in the Caribbean parts of the Kingdom. Back in 2016, the case revolved about James Murray’s imprisonment. He was incarcerated for 30 year and was treated as ‘human waste’, without any psychiatric treatment or the possibility to be paroled.