Attorney For Jasmine Hartin Says His Client Had No Travel Restrictions

Orson “OJ” Elrington, the attorney for Jasmine Hartin, spoke with reporters this afternoon. He contended that the travel restrictions imposed on Hartin during her trial had been lifted following her sentencing. He says she was not restricted to travel when she attempted to enter Mexico on Tuesday. He told us that his client is considering a lawsuit against the Belize Police Department for wrongful detention.  He argued that Hartin has significant investments in Belize and would not attempt to flee the country simply to avoid three hundred hours of community service.

Orson “OJ” Elrington

Orson “OJ” Elrington, Attorney for Jasmine Hartin

“The travel restrictions had been removed from the time she was sentenced. She had no travel restrictions except for the fact that the registrar and the court would have had her passport. Now, a passport does not mean you cannot travel. Instructions are normally very clear on the order that you cannot leave the country. She did not have her passport and my understanding is that she got a temporary permit from the Canadian government because she had some emergency matters she had to deal with. When the media has been trying to contact me I tried my best to ascertain from the police and from the immigration department why she is being detained and they have yet to give me a response. In fact, the police officers and both immigration that I have spoken has said they don’t have any reason to detain her it is the other parties who has her that says they have her detained. So right now it seems to me that the Government of Belize will have a lawsuit on its hands. There was no payment delay really and truly. I think that the courts facilitated the process as anybody knows that when the banks receive payments it normally takes a few days for it to be processed. It was processed and the payment was made. If you have millions of dollars invested in Belize, would you leave Belize because they are saying you have three hundred hours of community service? Would you not return because you don’t want to give community service? The weight simply does not match up.”