A man and a woman alleged to have smuggled two Ethiopian men into Cayman on a yacht could face prison on Thursday.
Chief Magistrate Angelyn Hernandez told the foreign pair – who refused to be represented by a lawyer or defend themselves – that she had considered the evidence presented to the court.
She told the two, who cannot be identified for legal reasons: “I have found the evidence is clear and compelling and therefore there is a case for the defendants to answer.”
Hernandez asked the man, 52, and his wife, 39, who appeared by video link from George Town’s Summary Court cells after they were removed from the courtroom for disruptive behaviour, if they wanted to give evidence in their defence.
The pair earlier denied the legitimacy of the court and insisted they did not recognise its authority. They did not enter pleas.
Hernandez said, “The court has noted that the defendants have kept their backs to the court and have not responded positively.
“As the defendants have chosen not to answer positively whether they would give evidence … the matter is concluded.”
The court earlier heard evidence from Kedir Osama Musa and Tilaham Assafa Bruke, who said they had fled their homeland because of political strife that caused them to fear for their lives.
Musa, 30, said he had been in jail for “a couple of months” and an uncle had given him cash to get out of prison and leave Ethiopia.
He travelled to Cape Verde off the coast of Africa and paid the 52-year-old boat captain a total of US$1,500 plus 500 euros to take him to Brazil.
But Musa told the court he had been treated appallingly on the voyage, and that the boat stopped off in Guadeloupe, where the captain’s wife and their baby joined the boat, and then on to Sint Maarten.
He said he later handed over more cash while on the boat, on top of the original sum agreed.
The yacht travelled from Sint Maarten, where Bruke was taken on board, to the US Virgin Islands, then on to Cayman Brac, where it was raided by Customs officers after its arrival on 14 May, and the two Ethiopians were found.
Musa said he and Bruke had been forced to work and subjected to degrading treatment and insulted, as well kept short of food and water, on the voyage.
He said, “There was not enough food and there was not enough water – I did not get enough sleep either, so it was hard.”
Musa added, “The insult was to say bad words – he was telling us we were monkeys and we were slaves.”
He said, “When I think about what he said, I still have an issue. It comes to my mind – again and again I think about it.”
Bruke said he had also gone to Cape Verde and taken another boat to St Lucia, then travelled on to Martinique.
He travelled on another yacht to Sint Maarten, where he was picked up by the British-registered boat Musa was already on.
Bruke told the court he had handed over a total of US$2,500 and had hoped to be taken to Honduras.
Hernandez remanded the defendants in custody and ordered them to appear in person on Thursday.
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