The trial for New Jersey longline fisherman Michael Foy, jailed since June 8 in the British Virgin Islands, has been delayed nearly a month by officials there.
His family and attorneys said they were not given any explanation for the delay.
British Virgin Islands’ Director of Public Prosecutions Tiffany Scatliffe-Esprit did not respond to an email from the Asbury Park Press.
Foy, 60, of Stafford, lives and fishes out of Puerto Rico.
On June 8, Foy was arrested by British Virgin Islands custom officials and initially charged with illegal entry for violating the islands COVID-19 curfew.
He was subsequently charged with unregistered and unlicensed fishing, and failure to arrive at a customs port.
He faces imprisonment, a $511,000 fine and seizure of his vessel.
Foy’s family said he was dressed and taken to court from prison on Sept. 9, the day his trial was set to begin. His lawyers were also in attendance. It was at that point that they were informed the trial had been postponed until Oct 5.
“We were not given a specific reason,” said Foy’s attorney, Peter Howard, from the law firm Hunt & Co., located in Road Town, Tortola, the largest of the British Virgin Islands and where Foy is being held.
Kimberly Kelly, Foy’s sister, said she spoke to her brother since and is trying to keep his spirits up but “it’s getting harder.”
The article was first published by: www.app.com
