Attorney at Law Mary Francis has renewed a call for justice in the ‘Vieux Fort Five’ killings on the 13th anniversary of the death of the five men.
Police fatally shot John Baptiste Mc Farlane, Mitchel Cadette, Myron Dupal, Kevin Ferdinand and Allan ‘Lenny’ Louisy, during an operation in May 2011 in Vieux Fort as officers allegedly intercepted a robbery.
Mary Francis, the National Centre for Legal Aid and Human Rights Executive Director, has been representing Allan Louisy’s mother.
Francis recalled that the killings occurred between May 5 and the early hours of May 6.
She also recalled nine jurors deemed the police action unlawful after a ‘properly constituted’ June 2016 inquest.
Francis, described the incident as a grave violation of human rights and the bloodiest period ever in the history of the Royal Saint Lucia Police Force (RSLPF).
However, she lamented that the case had not been resolved eight years after the inquest.
In this regard, the outspoken human rights advocate declared that there has been much scapegoating of the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) and his office for the delay.
“The information I have is otherwise,” Francis told St. Lucia Times.
She told St. Lucia Times she had reliable information that the DPP advised the police hierarchy that there is a case to answer in the death of the Vieux Fort Five and the matter should proceed to the court.
“They have been ignoring the advice of the DPP,” Francis stated, adding that the police force has a culture of impunity, with officers unwilling to go against each other.
But she emphasised that the police are not above the law, especially as officers prosecute others who violate it.
