The Caribbean Court of Justice, the final appellate jurisdiction for Belize, has affirmed Maya customary land rights in a milestone judgment handed down earlier today in Belize City. In delivering the conclusion, CCJ President Dennis Byron, read, “The court accepts the undertaking of the appellants to adopt fully the measures to identify and protect the […]
In addressing a gathering during a press conference at the Biltmore immediately following the decision, MLA spokesperson Cristina Coc reiterated that a debt of gratitude is owed to the leadership of the respective Maya communities who stayed the course to see the landmark case through to completion. Coc similarly expressed bittersweet sentiment on the way […]
Government’s attorney, Senior Counsel Denys Barrow, prior to making his submission before the Caribbean Court of Justice earlier today, raised a preliminary objection, stating that there had never been a claim for damages on the part of the applicants. The damages sought by the Maya Leaders Alliance and the Toledo Alcaldes Association are twofold. There […]
According to Barrow, the fact that the Maya were deprived of their rights during colonialism, doesn’t make them any better than other ethnicities, including Mestizos and Garinagu, as it pertains to the issue of moral damages. Denys Barrow, Attorney for Government of Belize “In relation to the matter of moral damage, there is the […]
On Sunday afternoon, a K.H.M.H. clerk lost his mind when he discovered that his girlfriend was not being faithful to him. Thirty-three year old Harvin Arriolla is suspected of being inebriated when he drove his Mitsubishi Galant into his neighbour’s fence, damaged the stairs of the house as well as injured a minor sitting on […]
The Caribbean Court of Justice this morning commenced hearings for the first time in Belize, since its establishment in 2001. There are currently three other members, Barbados, Guyana and Dominica, is its newest member. And while the CCJ is headquartered in Trinidad, it is not the final court for that country. On its historic sitting, […]
The basis for the legal challenge, according to Courtenay, is the constitutionality of the court’s decision to incarcerate August for the remainder of his life. Equally, the case against August was based solely on the use of circumstantial evidence, a point of interest for Director of Public Prosecutions, Cheryl-Lynn Vidal, who did not disagree with […]
An Orange Walk pastor has been arrested and charged on multiple counts of child pornography of two minors. Honduran national Gerardo Lopez of the Evangelical Church in Trial Farm was questioned in connection and confessed that he took the photos of the children, ages two and ten years old. He told police that he was […]
A Sweden student was before the court today after he was busted on Caye Caulker in possession of a pipe used for smoking drugs and one point three grams of weed found inside his backpack. This morning, after spending the weekend in lock down, nineteen year old Harmish Miller Rees Malins, was arraigned before Magistrate […]
An inmate of the Belize Central Prison serving ten years for arson got some more bad news earlier today. Following a preliminary inquiry this morning, Chief Magistrate Anne Marie Smith ruled that twenty-nine-year-old Lorenzo Smith Jr. will be tried in the Supreme Court for murder. In October 2009, Smith shared a cell with Arturo Eck, […]
A Belize City mechanic is spending his first night behind bars on remand after he was charged for unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor today. Twenty-nine-year-old Francis Avilez, a full-time mechanic and part time “dollar van” operator, is accused of twice having sex with a minor who was thirteen at the time. Last week the […]
A third San Ignacio resident was formally arrested and charged today for the murder of twenty-three-year-old Belizean coastguard officer, Aurelio Montero Junior. On Tuesday, twenty-three year old Saul Geovanni Ortiz, in the company of his attorney, handed himself over to the San Ignacio Police and today, he was formally arraigned for the murder of the […]
Eight months ago, on August fourth, 2014, twenty-five-year-old Belize City resident Glenford Baine Junior was seen hiding a nine millimeter pistol loaded with nine live rounds of ammunitions into a cement block in a yard. The gun, which was traced by the police department, originated from Czechoslovakia, but was found in Belize with the gang […]
Last Friday, a bail hearing for Coastguard Seaman Keyren Tzib was deferred to today, following orders of Justice Herbert Lord that an evaluation be conducted to determine the psychological condition of the officer and the medical condition of the shooting victim. Tzib was charged and arraigned for Attempted Murder, Dangerous Harm and the Use of […]
Tzib was returning from a twelve-day operation at sea with a team of Coast Guard, B.D.F., Police and Port Authority personnel. One hundred yards from shore, she allegedly turned her M-four Carbine on Captain Hyde, and shot him once in the jaw. The incident reportedly occurred in front of many persons, but could it have […]
In February, P.U.P. Orange Walk East Area Representative, Doctor Marco Tulio Mendez, was formally arraigned on six counts of aggravated assault of an indecent nature and common assault in relation to two minors. The politician and paediatrician appeared at the Orange Walk Magistrate’s Court on Monday and the matter was adjourned until August eleventh. But […]
Twenty-seven-year-old Nikolai James, who has been on the lam since being accused of sexually assaulting a fifteen-year-old student a week ago, appeared before Chief Magistrate Anne Marie Smith this morning. The security officer was arraigned on a single count of unlawful sexual intercourse before being remanded to the Belize Central Prison. The allegation made by […]
Thirty three year old electrician Devon Jones of Iguana Street will stand trial for maim and aggravated assault vehicle following the conclusion of a preliminary inquiry today. Attorney Bryan Neal told the court that he will not challenge any of the evidence the prosecution will be using at this stage. Multiple statements were tendered into […]
Two men have been charged in connection with the latest homicide in San Ignacio. Twenty-one-year-old Wendell Ovando, a construction worker of Kontiki area in San Ignacio, Cayo, and a fifteen-year-old student were slapped with murder charges for the death of twenty-four-year-old Aurelio Montero Jr. San Ignacio Police say the third suspect has since handed himself […]
Twenty-two-year-old Darrington Lauriano Jr. has been sentenced to sixteen years in prison after being busted with a nine millimeter pistol loaded with eight live rounds of ammunition. During the swoop, Lauriano was also found in possession of a hundred and ninety-six grams of cannabis that was concealed among his clothing inside a suitcase. The search […]
A man who has been on remand for almost five years will have to wait even longer after the jury in his trial for murder was dismissed by Justice Troadio Gonzalez. Raymond Myers was charged with the May fourteenth, 2010 murder of Francis Figueroa. But today, the second day of trial, one of the jurors […]
On January seventeenth, B.D.F. soldier Denver Villafranco was stabbed and killed in Belize City. Three days after, Police arrested forty-one-year-old Phil Staine and thirty-eight year old Orlando Staine and charged them for the murder. Today, they say their investigation has been completed with the arrest and arraignment of a third brother, thirty-three-year-old Kareem Staine. Staine […]
People’s United Party Orange Walk East Area Representative Dr. Marco Tulio Mendez was back in court today after being arraigned on six charges stemming from allegations made by a pair of minors. The beleaguered politician was arraigned in Orange Walk Town before magistrate Merlene Moody on February third where he was read a list of […]
In court on behalf of Mendez was Senior Counsel Richard ‘Dickie’ Bradley. He explained the nature of the charges brought against his client. Richard ‘Dickie’ Bradley, Attorney for Marco Tulio Mendez “Because these charges are way out of time, the law requires that you can bring a matter in front of any magistrate court […]
On Easter Monday, twenty-four year old Coast Guard Seaman Keyren Tzib shot a senior Coast Guard Officer, Petty Officer Kurt Hyde, as they returned to base on board a vessel he was captaining. The sensational, bold shooting was witnessed by other members of the team on the boat. On Tuesday, following an investigation by Police, […]
