October 13, 2020 — After spending months in jail following his June 9 arrest in the territory’s waters, on Monday, United States fisherman Michael Foy went to trial in the British Virgin Islands on charges of illegal entry, operating an unlicensed or unregulated fishing vessel, and arriving at a place other than a customs port.
But on Friday, following a Tuesday adjournment, Magistrate Christilyn Benjamin threw out the fishing charge, which carried with it a fine of roughly $500,000, while allowing the defense to call additional witnesses to testify against the other two charges when the trial picks up again at the end of the month.
The bulk of the prosecution’s argument for the fishing charge rested on the testimony of a fisheries official, who described a picture, sent to her by a superior, of Foy’s vessel the day he was detained.
But according to Magistrate Benjamin, this evidence would not suffice before “a tribunal of fact.”
“There is no evidence on the prosecution’s case of who took this photograph, when this photograph would have been taken, and certainly there is no evidence of the photograph itself. As a matter of fact, the prosecution has closed its case and the court has no idea what this vessel even looks like.”