March 16, 2001
JAMAICANS UNITED AGAINST POLICE BRUTALITY Dear Friends, The Jamaican police executed seven young men on Wednesday morning in Braeton, St. Catherine. Their ages ranged from 15 to 20. The death squad was led by the notorious Senior Superintendent Reneto Adams. who claimed as usual that the men were shot after they opened fire on the police. Investigators working with Jamaicans United Against Police Brutality (JUAPB) have visited the home in which the young men were killed and instead found evidence of executions including pieces of skull. There was no evidence to support the police story of shots being fired at them from inside the house. They spoke with neighbours and eyewitnesses who flatly contradict the police story. Residents say that the police gained entry into the house when the door was opened in response to a man known to those inside but who was being used by the police. Once the door was opened the police barged their way inside. They rounded up the young men, took them outside where they were interrogated and then beaten. They were then taken back inside the house where they were shot. One young man was heard pleading for his life. Another, who lives nearby, was shot as he entered the yard to brush his teeth. This is a babaric outrage against human life and the Jamaican government must be held accountable for this atrocity committed by its security forces. It is time to put a stop to this senseless slaughter of young men living in the innercities of Jamaica. For the past twenty years the police have executed an average of 150 persons each year and have done so with impunity. It is time let the Jamaican government know that the world is watching. It is time to get serious about imposing sanctions on the Jamaican government in order to put an end to this policy of police executions. JUAPB is calling for a demonstration of outrage on Monday March 19 outside the Jamaican Consulate and in front of the headquarters of Air Jamaica. Please indicate your willingness to participate in this demonstion by responding immediately. It will help us in our planning and allow us to provide you with further information. STOP THE KILLINGS. Lloyd D'Aguilar
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