Virgin Island Five

The “Virgin Island Five” are group of activists accused of murdering eight people in the U.S. Virgin Islands. The murders took place during a turbulent period of rebellion on the Islands.

During the 1970’s, as with much of the world, a movement to resist colonial rule began to grow in the U.S. occupied Virgin Islands. From 1971 to 1973, there was a small scale Mau Mau rebellion taking place on the islands. This activity was down- played by the media, for fear it would damage the tourist industry, which the island’s survival depends on.

Then on September 6th, 1972, eight American tourists were gunned down at the Rockefeller-owned golf course on the island of St.Croix. Quickly the colonial authorities picked up over one hundred blacks for interrogations, and the U.S. colonial troops carried out a series of repressive acts of violence against the black community. The F.B.I. and the United States Army led a 300-man invasion force into the islands and used strong armed tactics to conduct house to house searches of the low income areas.

The island was put under virtual martial law, and eventually five men, Ismael Labeet (Ishmail Ali), Warren Ballentine (Abdul Aziz), Meral (Malik) Smith, Raphael (Kwesi) Joseph, and Beaumont Gereau (Hanif Shabazz Bey) who were apprehended and then charged with the attack. All the men were known supporters of the Virgin Island independence movement.

The five were charged after being subjected to vicious torture, in order to extract confessions. They were beaten, hung from their feet and necks from trees, subject to electric shocks with “cattle prods”, had plastic bags tied over their heads and had water forced up their noses by the “defenders of the law.”

According to one report, Labeet was given a pocket knife by a guard and was told to run. Labeet knew that if he took one step he would be shot in his tracks. The guards were trying to find any justification to kill Labeet and his fellow Virgin Island Five political prisoners.

The judge (Warren Young) overlooking the case prior to being placed on the federal bench worked as Rockefeller’s private attorney and even handled legal matters for the Fountain Valley Golf Course.

Eventually, the five went to trial in what became known as the “Fountain Valley” murder trial. This was an obvious Kangaroo Court and a mockery of any sense of a fair trial. On August 13, 1973, each of the five men were convicted and sentenced to eight (8) consecutive life terms.

• Abdul Azeez (Warren Ballentine)
• Hanif Shabazz Bey (Beaumont Gereau)