Accused soldier admitted to army’s medical unit for assessment

The physical and mental fitness of an accused soldier is being put to the test to determine if he can continue to endure his court martial proceedings.

The trial in which Private Roheem Reeves is charged with leaving duty without reasonable excuse or permission on March 14, 2021 as part of a COVID-19 Sanitization Unit, heard on Wednesday that the military doctor who saw him today has recommended he be admitted for an assessment.

Prosecutor Captain Neville Corbin told this to the court today in response to an emotionally-charged submission from defence counsel Dr Lenda Blackman who said she has a letter from Reeves’ private physician declaring him unfit until September 14.

Private Reeves was admitted to the army medical centre after the court martial was adjourned until Friday at 9 a.m. when the court martial will be updated on his assessment.

While Dr Blackman did not reveal the exact contents of the letter, she asked the panel hearing the case to pay attention to her client’s own doctor’s diagnosis.

The attorney, who is assisting lead counsel Michael Lashley, Q.C.,  told the court martial she had no problem with Reeves seeing the army’s medical practitioner to confirm his condition, but that consideration must be given to the length of time that physician’s recommendation would take.

With the court having already accepted evidence that all Barbados Defence Force (BDF) personnel who are ill must first see the army doctor at the Florence Gittens Medical Centre (FGMC) on the compound, her primary contention was why should the military doctor be deemed more competent than the soldier’s private practitioner.

“Are we suggesting that his private doctor is not competent to determine his fitness?” the attorney queried.

Dr Blackman noted that her client went to see the army doctor this morning, but she told the court that the physician was unable to assist Reeves in determining his fitness to continue the trial

Insisting that the accused be allowed to go on sick leave as prescribed by his doctor, the attorney told the panel: “He could be sitting here and collapse.”

She argued that a soldier’s health is paramount to his effective functioning. She suggested to the panel that the BDF ought to invest in the health of its personnel. Dr Blackman charged that the BDF was not giving that kind of care and attention to the accused.

In fact, the counsel drew comparisons between the treatment of Private Reeves and another BDF staffer Lieutenant Coast Guard Sena Price, a prosecution witness who was slated to give evidence and who has been granted sick leave from August 8 to September 14.

Dr Blackman was adamant that when it came to health, it cannot be seen as discriminatory.

“If we want a fair trial, we must take into consideration the health of Private Reeves. He has to endure the rigours of this trial no matter the consequences. Does that fairness equal the fairness which Lt Price is experiencing?” the attorney asked.

She reminded the panel that Private Reeves faced hazardous and dangerous situations as one of the persons who sanitized vehicles that transport COVID-19 patients and should therefore be allowed to take sick leave without further delay.

“Do you want his collapse and God forbid, his death on your hands? Walk around in his shoes and then come to your conclusion,” Dr Blackman pleaded.

When he rose to his feet again to respond, Prosecutor Corbin quoted Section 84 of the Defence Force of Procedures provisions which requires military personnel to give notice of any illness. However, he informed the court martial he did not know who received such a notice, but he did not.

Having said that, he praised Dr Blackman for her “excellent” submission and agreed that Reeves should see the physician at the army’s medical facilities to determine “what is going on”.

In response to the counsel’s comments that her client was not fit to continue the trial at this time, the prosecutor drew her attention to the fact that there is a Standing Order in the BDF which allowed soldiers and officers to have their mental and temperamental conditions assessed. (EJ)