分类： society

A wave of inmate unrest sparked by widespread misinformation about the expiration of a national state of emergency forced authorities to suspend all public and legal visits at Trinidad and Tobago’s Eastern Correctional and Rehabilitation Centre (ECRC) on Wednesday, multiple official and institutional sources have confirmed.

The chaos erupted shortly after scheduled visiting hours kicked off at 9 a.m., when dozens of detainees became increasingly agitated after learning they would not be released as they had expected. The incorrect belief that the ongoing state of emergency (SoE) would end on June 3 had spread through informal channels among the inmate population, leading many to anticipate imminent release. When that expectation went unmet, detainees launched repeated disruptive actions that derailed normal facility operations for hours.

Prison insiders told local media outlet the Express that the unrest unfolded in at least two to three separate outbursts throughout the morning. Inmates engaged in escalating disorderly conduct, including sustained loud commotion and the throwing of human waste, as tensions climbed across the facility. Administration officials made multiple attempts to restore order and resume pre-scheduled visits, but each effort was met with renewed unrest.

By 1 p.m., with safety risks mounting for both visiting members of the public and on-duty correctional staff, prison management made the call to suspend all visitations indefinitely. The suspension extended even to confidential meetings between defense attorneys and their incarcerated clients, a rare step that underscored the severity of the situation.

In an official statement released the same day, the Prison Officers’ Association (POA), the union representing correctional staff across the country, confirmed it had been notified of the unrest immediately after it began. “Our understanding is that a number of detainees, believing they were due to be released today (Wednesday), became agitated and engaged in disruptive behaviour at various times throughout the day,” the association said.

The POA voiced full backing for the decision to halt visitor access, framing the move as an unavoidable step to protect all people inside the facility. “In the interest of maintaining order and ensuring the safety of all concerned, prison management took the decision to suspend visits to the facility. We support this decision as the safety and security of both detainees and visitors must remain the primary consideration during any period of unrest within a correctional institution,” the statement read.

The union also praised on-duty officers for their measured response to the volatile situation, commending their “professionalism and restraint in managing a challenging situation and for their continued commitment to maintaining the security and stability of the institution.”

When contacted for comment by reporters on Wednesday, acting Commissioner of Prisons Carlos Corraspe confirmed he had received initial updates about the unrest but had not yet received a full formal report from ECRC leadership. “At this point in time, I have been given some information about it, but nothing confirmed. I am still awaiting final reports across the ECRC and the other prisons,” Corraspe said.

Investigations into the unrest quickly traced the root of the misinformation to false claims circulating widely on social media platforms, which claimed the SoE was scheduled to end on June 3. In a corrective statement released Wednesday, the Office of the Attorney General clarified that the state of emergency will actually remain in effect until midnight on June 17, 2026, putting an end to the false release expectations that triggered the disturbance.

After more than a decade of pre-trial detention, a former Trinidadian prison officer has been cleared of all criminal charges connected to the fatal stabbing of a co-worker, following a jury verdict that accepted his claim of acting in self-defense.

The case centered on Jevon Atiba Sylvester, now 35 years old, who stood accused of murdering Dominique Bernard, a 37-year-old fellow prison officer, in June 2014. The fatal confrontation grew out of a romantic dispute between the two men, both of whom had been romantically linked to the same female prison officer, who occupied an apartment in Claxton Bay where the incident took place.

Court documents lay out a steady escalation of tensions between the two rivals. The day before the killing, Sylvester made an unplanned visit to the woman’s apartment and found Bernard already there. The following day, Sylvester returned to the property to recover a mobile phone he had left behind during his first visit, with his mother waiting for him in a parked car outside the building. What followed was a physical altercation that left Bernard with multiple stab wounds, which ultimately proved fatal. Sylvester fled the scene immediately after the encounter but turned himself in to local law enforcement officers later the same day.

During the weeks-long trial held at Port of Spain’s Hall of Justice, prosecution attorneys pushed the theory that the killing was premeditated. They argued that during the first encounter between the two men, Sylvester had explicitly threatened Bernard and brandished the same knife that was used in the fatal attack. However, Sylvester consistently denied ever issuing threats, testifying that he only used the knife to protect himself after Bernard launched an unprovoked attack against him.

Lead defense counsel Dane Halls presented two key arguments to the 12-member jury. First, he emphasized that all available evidence corroborated Sylvester’s account of acting in self-defense. As an alternative, Halls urged that if the jury determined the force Sylvester used was disproportionate to the attack, they should consider returning a verdict on the lesser charge of manslaughter, given that his client had been provoked into the confrontation by the existing tensions. On Wednesday, after hours of closed deliberation, the jury delivered a full acquittal, clearing Sylvester of both murder and manslaughter charges before Justice Maria Busby Earle-Caddle.

In comments to reporters following the verdict, Halls extended sincere condolences to Bernard’s family, acknowledging that no outcome in the case could bring back their loved one. “This is not a matter where anyone can be completely happy because a man lost his life,” Halls stated. He also used the moment to publicly condemn the excessive delays in Trinidad’s judicial system that kept his client behind bars for more than 10 years before his case ever went to trial. Following the jury’s decision, Sylvester was released from custody immediately. He had been held at Arouca’s Maximum Security Prison, and had appeared at the trial via remote video link from the facility.