Government Ordered to Pay $300K Over Inmate’s Death at Belize Central Prison

Government will have to pay out some three hundred thousand dollars to the family of a deceased inmate of the Belize Central Prison.  The elderly prisoner with multiple life-threatening illnesses died in custody, and the High Court has ruled that the prison authorities are liable for his death.  In the case of Gilda Abadi versus Attorney General, the High Court of Belize was asked to determine if the prison authorities were responsible for the death of Jahangir Rahman Mahdi Abadi, a prisoner serving a six-year sentence for abetment to murder. Abadi died on August 31, 2019, while hospitalized at the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital (KHMH).  He reportedly suffered from a number of severe health conditions, including uncontrolled diabetes, chronic kidney disease, and hypertension. The claimants, Abadi’s wife and two children, argued that his death was a result of the prison authorities’ failure to provide adequate medical treatment and medication for his conditions, as well as their failure to refer him for necessary treatment at a public hospital.  The High Court found that the prison authorities were aware of Abadi’s serious and life-threatening illnesses. Attorney Dickie Bradley spoke with Love News on the court ruling and the facts of the case.

Richard “Dickie” Bradley, Attorney: “But they have found that the prison is liable for causing that man’s death. It’s a very, very serious thing. In America you’re talking millions of dollars. That’s the only thing that wakes up people in authority in relation to their very important responsibility for persons who are put under their care. Well, in fairness to the prison authorities, I mean it’s a hard thing to run a prison, especially with limited resources, but Mr. Abadi was a diabetic and that requires special attention and there’s a reason why  the prison is allowed to have a medical officer and the judge was not pleased with both what the prison administration and the medical personnel,  how they conducted themselves in relation to a person who is known to be very ill and required medical attention. Required even being removed from the prison and taken to a hospital out here under the requisite security guards and so on. So the judge was not at all impressed with the failure to live up to serious responsibility for a man who lost his life who could have been alive.”

The ruling notes that the breach occurred when the prison authorities failed to provide and administer the necessary medication; when they did not refer him to KHMH for regular medical assessments and treatment; when the prison’s medical officer, Dr. Novelo, failed to see Abadi every day as required by Rule 99 of the Prison Rules, and when the doctor also failed to act on the reports of two private doctors who had warned of the heightened risk of fatal complications and the need for a change in his living conditions and treatment.  The court rejected the defendants’ argument that Abadi’s death was caused by his own actions, such as refusing to eat or being unkempt. The court also clarified that prison authorities have a positive obligation to provide medication and treatment to prisoners, and if they lack the capacity, they must ensure prisoners can access the public hospital system