A lawsuit against Government is going to court after human rights violations are alleged to have occurred under Sen. David Burch's tenure as Bermuda Regiment Commanding Officer.

The suit stems from alleged mistreatment of Brian Harvey and JaVaughn Antoine Sampson at the beginning of the 1997 Recruit Camp.

Both men, Rastafarians, claimed conscientious objector status, but Harvey was handcuffed to a chair in the middle of the parade ground and had his dreadlocks forcibly shorn off.

The pair claims they were wrongly imprisoned and prosecuted during the time when Sen. Burch, a Lieutenant Colonel who is now the Premier's Chief of Staff, was in charge.

A month later, both men were exempted from military service by the Exemption Tribunal.

The Regiment began prosecuting the pair shortly after their exemption, pressing charges of disobeying orders and failing to respond to Regiment letters.

The Director of Public Prosecutions dropped the charges and said there was insufficient evidence to proceed.

The Regiment subsequently came under fire from then-Magistrate, Arthur Hodgson, who awarded legal costs to Mr. Sampson and accused the Regiment of "total irresponsibility and a disregard for the rights of the citizen".

"The power of the State is awesome," Mr. Hodgson said. "An individual who finds himself in confrontation with the state is placed in a precarious position in any circumstance.

"But he should not be penalised in a situation where the state is being vindictive and certainly not from that branch of the state apparatus which is entrusted with the ultimate power to uphold the law," he added.

Government then appealed the award of costs. Then-Attorney General Elliott Mottley said: "We don't accept the decision - we are appealing the decision on costs."

Mr. Mottley later abandoned the appeal.

Lawyer Kulandra Ratneser of Milligan-Whyte and Smith, representing Mr. Sampson and Mr. Harvey, said pre-trial negotiations with the Attorney General's chambers aimed at reaching a settlement out of court had failed.

He said the lawsuit will now go to trial in September.

Both men have been advised not to talk to the media about the case until it has been settled.

Sen. Burch could not be contacted by The Royal Gazette for comment last night.