KINGSTON, Jamaica:
Dancehall entertainer, Tommy Lee, says he will file a claim with the Caribbean Court of Justice, (CCJ) if Dominica does not start compensation negotiations within the next 30 days in relation to his deportation from that territory earlier this year.
The information was contained in a letter submitted to Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Minister, A.J. Nicholson by the attorney-at-law Bert Samuels.
On February 8, the Dominica Association of Evangelical Churches called for a boycott of a concert that was expected to feature the Jamaican entertainer, Tommy Lee Sparta.
The church group claimed Tommy Lee glorifies Satan during his performances and promotes lawlessness and violence.
When the artiste and three others arrived in the CARICOM country on February 23, they were detained by the authorities at the airport and deported a day later.
Now the Jamaicans say they want Dominica to pay for the alleged injustice.
Tommy Lee, whose given name is Leroy Russell, Oralie Russell, Junior Fraser and Mario Wallace are alleging that on February 23, they were denied entry, placed in custody under what they call inhumane conditions and forced to leave the island a day later without due process.
The men say their forced removal from Dominica was a breach of the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas that governs CARICOM.
They also say no reason was given for the denial of entry and their subsequent deportation on February 24.
They are contending that they received the treatment they did because they were Jamaicans.
In the letter, reference was made to Article Seven of the treaty which deals with non-discrimination.
The men want the Jamaican Government to raise the matter with its Dominican counterparts with a view to seeking compensation.
According to the letter, failure of the Dominican Government to start compensation negotiations within 30 days will result in a lawsuit being filed with the CCJ.
The Dominican Government has claimed that the men were denied entry in the interest of public safety.
It says the decision was a pre-emptive action to provide the opportunity to clarify information it received.
Last year, in a landmark case, a Jamaican, Shanique Myrie, was awarded $3.6 million by the CCJ in a case against Barbados.
The Court held that the Barbados Government breached Myrie’s rights to enter the country in March 2011.
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