Eight Cuban asylum seekers accused of illegal camping in front of the United Nations building in Port-of-Spain were each granted $5,000 bail yesterday.
The four men and four women, who had been on remand since being charged with wilfully obstructing the free passage of persons in front of the building last month, were released on bail by Magistrate Rehanna Ali in the Port-of-Spain Magistrates’ Court yesterday afternoon.
The Cubans were initially denied bail as they refused to occupy temporary accommodation offered by the Living Waters Community, but Ali revisited the issue as they agreed to change their position yesterday.
Their attorney Christophe Rodriguez informed Ali that the NGO had secured a one month lease for a property at Market Street in St Joseph to house them and that she (Ali) would be able to revoked if they were unable to extend the lease or find alternative accommodation.
They were ordered to reappear in court on February 5.
The eight Cubans are Yaneisy Santana Hurtado, 37, Ramon Arbolaez Abreu, 43, Ailys Arbolaez Santana, 18, Yusnes Reyes Santana, 20, Gladys Lisandra Perez Molina, 22, Lisandra Farray Rodriquez, 29, Pedro Santana Maceo and Yuriet Pedrozo Gonzales, 30.
They all sat silently in the prisoner enclosure of the court as a Spanish translator related what was transpiring.
The eight were part of a larger group of 18 Cubans, including three children, who decided to camp outside the UN Office at Chancery Lane in Port-of-Spain as they bid for resettlement in the United States as political refugees was being considered.
They claimed that they fled Cuba in 2016 as they were persecuted by that country’s communist regime for a series of pacifist protests.
Some members of the group agreed to take up temporary accommodation and were not arrested by police, while the children ages nine, seven and one, were placed in the care of the Children’s Authority.
The eight that refused to clear their temporary camp were charged under the Summary Offences Act for blocking the pavement.
They have all pleaded not guilty to the charge, which carries a $200 fine or up to a month in prison, if convicted.
The foreigners are also being represent Rajiv Persad. Sharlene Jaggernauth represented the Children’s Authority, while Jonathan Soo Hon represented the Immigration Division.