Brooklyn, NY - - - On Wednesday morning, September 23, 2009, Brooklyn, New York community activist Kevin Powell [convened] a press conference on behalf of the Brooklyn families of Antigua and Barbuda detainees. ...On Friday, September 4, 2009, approximately one dozen Brooklyn tourists aboard a Carnival Cruise docked on the island of Antigua. According to six tourists from the cruise ship, what should have been a simple taxi ride to take in the sights turned into a dispute with the cab driver over the fare.


"We were initially told the ride was $50, which we were fine with," the group stated. "But the driver," they continue, "hiked the fare to $100 at the conclusion of the ride, and when we refused to pay that amount, he drove us to the police station." The six say that the mostly young and female group was beaten by plain clothes men and women and uniformed police officers, who then turned around and arrested half the group for assaulting said officers, and for resisting arrest. Three weeks later, the six detainees remain held in Antigua and Barbuda as a trial that is hugely slanted against the young people continues, with no immediate end in sight.


The six detainees are four young women and two young men and all are of either American or Caribbean heritage:


Rachel Henry, age 27; certified chef; fashion and runway model

Shoshannah Henry, age 24; singer-songwriter; law school student

Dolores Lalanne, age 25; social worker

Nancy Lalanne, age 22; licensed practical nurse

Joshua Jackson, age 25; crew chief for international airline; customer service representative for utilities company

Mike Pierre-Paul, age 25; licensed practical nurse


According to Kevin Powell, "I've been working American and Antiguan channels trying to resolve this matter as diplomatically and peacefully as possible, including conversations with the office of Antiguan Ambassador Lovell in Washington, and local officials there in Antigua and Barbuda. We think it grossly unfair that the cab driver, the police department, and the justice system in Antigua and Barbuda are unwilling to admit any fault, and have even gone so far as to suggest that if the detainees plead guilty to all charges and pay exorbitant fines, then they will be released. To the credit of the young people being detained, they are refusing, because they don't feel they've done anything wrong. So after trying to resolve this, in good faith, behind the scenes, the families and I are bringing the detainees' situation to the American media, and the American people, and are asking all individuals of good conscience, be they American or Caribbean, to postpone or cancel any travel to Antigua and Barbuda until this matter is satisfactorily resolved, and to send messages of protest to Ambassador Lovell's office in Washington, D.C., and to the Minister of Tourism in Antigua and Barbuda. These young people are missing school, work, and their family lives because no one in the Antigua and Barbuda government seems to want to make a decision on this matter."


Finally, Powell adds, "We are asking all people of good conscience to flood Antigua and Barbuda Ambassador Deborah-Mae Lovell's Washington, D.C. office with calls of concern and support for these young people: 202.362.5122."


The six detainees [were] scheduled to return to an Antigua and Barbuda court on Wednesday, September 23, 2009.


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