A British soldier - who was vacationing to visit his Belizean girlfriend in December 2022 - was accused of savagely beating her up, and abducting her in her vehicle. But, Perry Stratford got off very easy in December of 2023 when supreme Court Judge Ricardo Sandcroft made a mind bending ruling and found that because he is a British soldier, the Belize justice system had no jurisdiction to try him here in Belize. That is even though the offences were committed while he was a visitor, not attached to the BATSUB unit. But this was the judge's interpretation of what is known as the Status of Forces Treaty- which governs relations between Belize and the British Forces and gives soldiers immunity from criminal prosecution in Belize.
Well, the DPP challenged that in the court of Appeal and the prosecution has been vindicated. The court found that the provisions of the Status of Forces Agreement, quote, "which purport to exclude the jurisdictional provisions of Belizean legislation and which impact upon the constitutional rights of victims in Belize, do not apply. Accordingly, for these reasons, the respondent Perry Stratford is subject to the jurisdiction of this court."
Justice Bulkan then found that Justice Sandcroft erred in applying the treaty and finding that Belizean courts have no jurisdiction over the respondent. The higher court also stressed that the treaty especially cannot apply to Stratford since he was not a member of BATSUB at the time of the assault.
With that he allowed the Crown's appeal of the judgement.
The only problem is Perry Stratford is long gone from these shores and is not expected back to face charges. The DPP's office says it is, quote, "exploring the avenues available to us."
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