A Ontario Man was blocked in the Dominican Republic For more than two months, despite the fact that all the criminal charges against him have been abandoned and that a judge has confirmed his freedom.
However, administrative delays and a restriction on Canadian interference have let David Bennett cannot go home.
The test began with an erroneous case involving a yellow bag found with drugs at Punta Cana airport. But this is no longer the problem.
Bennett’s wife fought hard to bring him home but faced many delays.
“All the accusations have been abandoned,” said Bennett’s wife Jane Wilcox. “We learned on April 14 that all the accusations were going to be abandoned … Friday, we learned that it will take another one to two weeks to remove travel restrictions.”
What keeps Bennett in the country now is not the police is paperwork.
According to Bennett’s lawyer, Gary Bouchard, “the period one to two weeks is by no means defined. It is certainly not statutory or anything to our knowledge. ” He explained that the problem is not an official travel ban, but a gap in the erasure of his name in the national databases.
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In other words, the Holdup seems to be purely administrative, the freedom of Bennett being deposited on the speed with which the local systems are updated to reflect that the accusations have been abandoned.
“This is just the consequence of withdrawing charges that are not yet populated in their data systems,” said Bouchard. “So that … Dave can leave the country when he presents himself at the airport – there will be no authority there which will have data to suggest that he is not authorized to leave.”
Bouchard said the Punta Cana system must update its files so that Bennett is no longer stopped when he tries to fly.
“We are waiting for administrative wheels to run,” he said. “The challenge for us is to find effective ways to present to the authorities of the Dominican Republic.
“Due to the very important emotional and psychological distress that Dave and his family have suffered, we want to get there as quickly as possible.”
Wilcox worked tirelessly to increase the question.
“We asked the ambassador and world affairs not to exert pressure on the government, but just to repeat the sense of urgency that there is an innocent Canadian who valued there,” said Wilcox.
For Wilcox and Bennett, delays make a serious emotional assessment. “He is exhausted,” said Wilcox. “He just tries to spend the days … he feels stuck, he feels vulnerable.”
The RCMP also said that it had recently arrested a case similar to that of Bennett.
“We have arrested the switching of luggage labels and the export of drugs, but not directly linked to the case or the luggage of Mr. Bennett from this trip. Similar method, but not specific to his case. The investigation is underway by the Dominican Republic police. ”
For Wilcox, the news highlights the advocacy of her husband’s unnecessary detention.
“The bad guys or girls are captured. So let the innocent man go home. “
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