JAMAICANS for Justice (JFJ) has been given a month to submit in writing their claims for reparations made before the Inter-American Council on Human Rights (IACHR) as part of their ongoing lobby to get Government's co-operation in fairly investigating the Michael Gayle case.
JFJ executive director, Dr. Carolyn Gomes, said after the written submission the JFJ is expected to get a formal decision from the com-mission in October this year.
IACHR's request for the written claims came out of a meeting between the JFJ and the international human rights body, at the Salon Padilha Vidal, in Washington D.C., earlier this week, where Dr. Gomes and a team of three other JFJ members pursued discussions regarding merits and requests for reparations for Michael Gayle's family.
Gayle, 26, was badly beaten by members of the security forces in Olympic Gardens, St. Andrew, in 1999, because he allegedly attempted to enter a section of the community that was under curfew even though he was told by police not to.
SPECIFIC CLAIMS
Dr. Gomes said her team made a verbal presentation to the commission for specific reparations under four different headings: justice, non-repetition, public apology and economic compensation.
She emphasised the importance of each heading in terms of examining the case from all angles and assessing the possible ramifications it will have in terms of compensating Gayle's family and warding off future recurrences.
"We are insisting that no other mother should have to beg for justice for her dead child. Michael Gayle is very dear to us and we are going to push as hard as possible to give his family a fair hearing," she said.
Other members who attended the meeting were attorney-at-law Richard Small; co-ordinator of the petition for merits, Tamara Muhammad; and representative of the Center for International Justice in the United States, Roxanna Altholtz.
