Mercia Frazer, the mother of Mario Dean, will be making submissions at a hearing about police killings, at the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, next week.

The hearing will take place in Uruguay, on Monday October 23.

Ms. Frazer is attending the hearing with representatives from Amnesty International and Jamaicans for Justice.

Mario Dean was severely beaten on August 3, 2014, while in police custody at the Barnett Street police station in St. James.

He succumbed to his injuries 3 days later.

The Independent Commission of Investigations (Indecom) conducted an investigation into the matter, following which 3 police officers were charged in relation to Dean’s death.

Police have charged 3 inmates, deemed to be mentally challenged, with the murder of 31-year-old construction worker.

The JFJ says while at the hearing, it intends to raise concerns about on-going allegations of unlawful killings by the police in Jamaica, the situation of pre-trial detention, and the impunity that families of victims face.

JFJ says since 2000, law enforcement officials in Jamaica have allegedly killed more than 3,000 people; mostly young men living in marginalized communities.

According to reports from Indecom, between January and September 2017, police killings had increased by 44 %, compared with the same period in 2016.