A federal judge in the United States has reportedly ruled that a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) against the US Coast Guard, on behalf of four Jamaican fishermen, may proceed.
The ACLU, which tweeted the update on Friday, said the fight for justice and accountability will continue.
In June 2019 the organization filed the lawsuit, claiming that the four Jamaicans were stripped naked, chained to the decks of US Coast Guard vessels, made to lie in faeces and had their boat burned.
The ACLU said the fishermen were also denied the opportunity to contact their families, some of whom thought they had died, during the month they remained at sea.
National Security Minister Dr. Horace Chang later told the House of Representatives that the local authorities had not been able to confirm reports of inhumane treatment.
The ACLU said on Friday that the four Jamaicans still suffer from physical and psychological trauma as a result of the incident.