Attorney Leslie Mendez went to the High Court this morning with a complaint about the Belize Central Prison. Mendez says that on May first she was barred entry to the prison when she went to see one of her clients because of what she was wearing. She says the prison guard asked to examine her papers which she refused and then told her that her knee length dress was too short, even though she wore dark stockings underneath.
Mendez told Justice Nadine Nabie that she was being singled out because of the five complaints she had lodged against the parole board on behalf of incarcerated prisoners. On that day, she was also going to meet with those prisoners - and the CEO of the prison, Virgilio Murillo - we must also note is a senior member of that board.
Mendez told the judge she felt she was being undermined as an attorney. But the judge was not swayed, and instructed her to file a claim.
And, to put it on the record, Mendez today wrote to the Crown Counsel who was in today's virtual court session to document the situation. She says that the documents the prison guards wished to inspect were, quote "subject to attorney-client confidentiality and legal professional privilege." She says that the guards told her that they wished to ensure that she wasn't smuggling contraband or cash to her clients. She did allow them to sift through the pages to establish that she was not smuggling contraband.
After that, she was then sent to the guard booth who told her that her dress was too short. When her appeals to the prison security did not work, she returned to Belize City, changed, and returned to the Prison where she says she was, quote, "subjected to the most intrusive search that I have ever been subjected to at the Prison."
Mendez concludes that there was, quote, "a failure to acknowledge that I am attorney at law representing incarcerated men who have a constitutional right to counsel and to facilities at the prison to enable their attorney to take instructions and provide legal advice confidentially. Since I was dressed appropriately as an attorney at law, there are also serious concerns about whether the prison authorities acted in a discriminatory manner and in retaliation for the simple act of protecting attorney-client confidentiality."
She says she will file a complaint with the relevant authorities and cautions Kolbe to, quote, "ensure that (it) is acting in a manner that does not interfere with the constitutional rights of those incarcerated to freely and confidentially consult with their lawyers." End quote.
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