GEORGETOWN, Guyana - Shanique Myrie’s sincerity in testifying about her treatment by Barbadian immigration officers impressed the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) and this was pivotal in their ground-breaking awarding of non-pecuniary damages to her in Friday’s ruling.
“Given the totality of the evidence and its overall consistency, the Court was impressed by the sincerity of Ms Myrie and accepts the credibility of her evidence. The Court is satisfied that the essential allegations of Ms Myrie in relation to the body cavity search have been established and that the burden of proof as far as it weighed upon her has been properly discharged”, the court ruled  in relation to the Jamaica woman’s complaint against Barbados.
The court on Friday ruled that Myrie’s right to entry to Barbados on March 14, 2011 as enshrined in a 2007 free movement decision and the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas had been breached.