" Wrongly accused" - says family of teen refused entry into Suriname

The family of  the 16 year old Jamaican boy who was refused passage through Suriname on the weekend is claiming that he is being wrongly accused.

Immigration officials in Suriname said they suspected he was traveling to join the militant group ISIS.

The Surinamese police said the teenager arrived on a flight from Jamaica, intending to transit to the Netherlands, from where he would travel to Turkey.

However, his family is refuting the claim of  an ISIS connection.

RJR News journeyed to his home in Bailey's Vale, Port Maria in St. Mary where his grandfather, Alveren Hunter, said his grandson was travelling to the Netherlands to visit his grandmother whom he had not seen for years.

“That rumour is very bad, he was going to the Netherlands to his grandmother for vacation …..”

Hunter believes the authorities got it wrong as he says his grandson is not the religious type. But he acknowledged that a copy of the Koran was found in the teen's room during a search by the police on Saturday.

“He is not a Muslim….. the only church he goes to is to play football ….”

His aunt, Avril Hunter, says the situation has left the family upset and concerned as it will cast a shadow over her nephew's future.

The teenager, who returned to the island on Friday, is in police custody.