Turks and Caicos Islands criticizes US lawmaker's comments prior to sentencing of an American accused of ammunition offenses.
During a speech at the House of Assembly, Premier Washington Misick declared, "The claims made by Representative Guy Reschenthaler against the Turks and Caicos Islands government and citizens are purely malicious lies."
This week, a congressional delegation journeyed to the islands to speak with officials, insisting on the release of detained Americans who had been charged with possessing ammunition.
Of the Americans, three - Michael Lee Evans, Bryan Hagerich, and Tyler Wenrich - have already pleaded guilty to carrying ammunition while visiting the Turks and Caicos Islands, with Hagerich facing sentencing on Friday. A fourth individual, Ryan Tyler Watson, is due in court on June 7. A fifth person, Sharitta Shinese Grier, was arrested last week and will await a July court hearing.
In a statement on Monday, renowned US Senator Markwayne Mullin expressed disappointment that, despite their hopes for working together with the Turks and Caicos authorities to bring their constituents home, "We were not able to identify a viable solution today."
Congressman Reschenthaler told ABC News earlier that "Every third week, an American is being unjustly detained in the Turks and Caicos."
As reported by CNN on Monday, Reschenthaler conveyed his desire to achieve "zero jail time for the Americans. Their sentence should be for the time they've already served and they should be allowed to return to the United States."
He went on, "These were utterly unintentional errors. If other countries dealt with this, they would impose a penalty and send the person back to their own nation. But here in Turks and Caicos, that's not happening."
Reschenthaler expressed his discontent with the mandatory minimum 12-year prison sentence for firearms and ammunition offenses, maintaining that the detained Americans were unaware of the ammunition they carried.
The Governor of Turks and Caicos, Dileeni Daniel-Selvaratna, issued a news statement on Wednesday, asserting that her islands hold high regard for their alliance with the United States. She claimed that Reschenthaler's characterization of the congressional visit to meet with officials was "unacceptable," and in fact, it was a professional and respectful exchange with a focus on clearing up the legal specifics and the individuals' welfare.
Governor Daniel-Selvaratna also noted that the 12-year mandatory sentence for possession of firearms and ammunition was created for the purpose of safeguarding island residents, while permitting the judge the authority to propose a reduced sentence in "extraordinary circumstances."
No US citizen has so far been sentenced to 12 years in jail, according to the statement.
This story is ongoing and will be updated.
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Source: edition.cnn.com
