Opposition senators have criticized the government’s handling of the case of four Jamaican fishermen, who were allegedly mistreated by US Coast Guard, after they were unjustly detained and arrested in Haitian waters in 2017.

On Wednesday, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed a lawsuit against the US Coast Guard, on behalf of the four fishermen who were allegedly detained without due process on four coast guard ships for over a month.

The ACLU said the men – Robert Weir, Patrick Ferguson, Luther Patterson, and David Williams – were detained as part of the US’ “war on drugs”, and were denied shelter and medical care.

The ACLU said the men were dropped off in Miami in October 2017, after the ships made multiple stops, charged with providing “false information” to the coast guard about the boat’s destination and sentenced to 10 months each in prison.

Speaking in the Senate this morning, Foreign Affairs Minister, Senator Kamina Johnson Smith said she became aware of the matter yesterday via the media, and the ministry was investigating.

That response did not sit well with opposition senator, K.D Knight, however, as he questioned whether the situation breached any agreements between Jamaica and the United States, while lamenting that the situation has not been treated with urgency.

Responding to senator Knight’s comments, the minister said government cannot take a stance on the issue at this point.

Meantime, opposition senator Lambert Brown suggested that the government must have had prior knowledge of the situation.

Senator Brown said the detention conditions of the fishermen amounted to human rights abuses.