Police Yield to Public Pressure, Release Mitchell and Stuart without Charges

The Dominica police authorities have bowed to public pressure and released Lynworth Mitchell and Jawanza Stuart without any charges. The vlogger and videographer/photographer were arrested on March 3 after they allegedly flew a drone over the official residence of PM Roosevelt Skerrit in Morne Daniel. The police said they were arrested on suspicion of espionage.

There was a massive turnout of people who protested the arrest and detention of the two men at police headquarters. Notable voices in the opposition such as Lennox Linton, NJAM, APP, and several human rights activists across the country criticized the police and the government for the continued detention of the two men without charges.

Following their unconditional release, Mitchell said they were contracted by a client to film a house close to that of the prime minister and that they also wanted to provide a bird-eye view of the surrounding area before their drone crashed to the prime minister’s farm close to his residence.

“We went to Morne Daniel to do a shot of a house which is just a few feet away from the Prime Minister’s official residence,” he explained. “So after we were done filming our stuff we did an overall shot because we needed to provide the client with a birds-eye view of what the area looks like so that’s what we did.”

Mitchell and Stuart said they had done nothing wrong by filming with a drone in the course of their job, and that no footage of the prime minister’s residence is available on the device. Both men said they were not told the reason for their arrest and detention until they had spent over 24 hours in custody.

They were released more than 48 hours following their arrest. The men’s lawyers were on standby to demand their release or take up their case if they were ever charged. Opposition Leader Lennox Linton cited relevant sections of the law as they relate to state security and espionage as a basis for condemning the police for detaining the men beyond the statutory 24 hours without charges.

Subsequent upon their release, both men thanked the public for their staunch support while Stuart was taken to the DCFH for medical attention since he reported feeling unwell.

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