Latest update November 21st, 2024 1:00 AM
PNCR condemns unlawful arrests
Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee
Leader of the People’s National Congress Reform, (PNCR) Robert Corbin, said that Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee owes the nation an apology for trying to justify unlawful arrests by the police. Corbin’s statement was made during the party’s weekly media briefing on Thursday.
Corbin said the attempt by Rohee, last week Friday in Parliament, to justify the unlawful arrests of young men, and their detention for several days without charge, is a serious matter which all Guyanese should note and be prepared to take preventative action against.
According to Corbin, over the past three years, as has been regularly reported in the media, the police have been descending upon villages such as Agricola, Bare Root, Buxton, Rosignol and the towns of Linden and New Amsterdam, to indiscriminately arrest young men.
These young people, Corbin said, are offered no reason for their arrests, but are herded into vehicles and taken to police station lockups, where they are forced to endure imprisonment for several days before being released without charge, or after the intervention of a lawyer.
Recently, parents from Agricola were forced to mount a protest demonstration in front of the Brickdam Police Station in order to have their sons released.
“Young men in these communities live in constant fear. They cannot enjoy normal recreational activities, and have developed such paranoia that they begin to run as soon as a police vehicle enters their community,” Corbin said.
He added that this then prompts the police to indulge in action that is more irresponsible, by assaulting and physically abusing the young men.
“We, in debating the Wiretapping Bill, highlighted these matters to illustrate that the law is no guarantee that people’s rights will be respected in Guyana. Consequently, the legal procedure of obtaining warrants before tapping phones is meaningless,” the party leader lamented.
Leader of the People’s National Congress Reform, (PNCR) Robert Corbin
The law stipulates conditions for the arrest of persons and the invasion of their homes. Corbin added, however, that the police constantly and flagrantly abuse those laws.
“Minister of Home Affairs, Rohee, who took the oath to uphold the constitution and who holds constitutional responsibility for the police force, sought to justify the police actions and dismiss these allegations.”
“His assertion in that context, that the police have a right to arrest all persons who are suspected of committing a crime, was most insultive and disrespectful to the residents of the affected communities,” Corbin noted.
He added that, instead of ensuring an investigation of these lawless allegations, Minister Rohee seems to be condoning these unlawful acts by the police, and obviously giving them licence to continue.
Such a response by a Minister of Home Affairs in Guyana is a disgrace to Guyana, he stressed.
“Rohee should hang his head in shame and apologise to the unlawfully arrested youths and their parents for such flagrant breaches of their constitutional rights,” Corbin said.
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