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AG finds arbitrary 72-hour detention ‘a little disturbing’

Jul 10, 2011 News

‘When I was a practitioner it could not happen

Attorney General, Senior Counsel, Charles Ramson, has described the 72 hours detention period by the police more than a little disturbing. He added that he is not happy with the misuse of the approach.
Ramson, in an interview with this newspaper on Friday, said that he publicly raised the issue with the then ‘C’ Division Commander of Police, Gavin Primo.
According to the Attorney General the issue seems to have slipped through the scrutiny of practising lawyers.
Ramson further stated that if what is reported in the press is accurate it would not be inappropriate to justify the view that it is perhaps pervasive that the police can pick somebody up without evidence and lock him up for 72 hours.
“That is not what the constitution says. However, that view has permeated the Guyanese judicial system. Something has got to be wrong with the lawyers.
“When I was a practitioner it could not happen.”
Since his public disapproval of the detention Ramson said he has noticed some lull in the activity.
Attorney at law Nigel Hughes during the detention of Nation of Islam Advisor, Akbar Muhammad, last month had highlighted the problem.
A retired judge was of the same view. He too saw the arbitrary detention of an individual by the police as an abuse of power.
He said that the law was intended in serious cases where the police have reasonable suspicion about a person’s involvement. The detention would allow the police to conduct their investigation while preventing the suspect from fleeing the jurisdiction.
“It was never intended for a policeman to use his power to lock up an individual with whom he has a personal grudge, or against whom he may wish to prove a point.”
He said that a person’s liberty is enshrined in the constitution and every time a policeman routinely detains a person that policeman is in breach of the constitution.
He said that the sad reality is that it is difficult to pursue legal action in such cases.
An attorney at Law said that he was aware but that he could not do anything against the detention save file a writ of habeas corpus to seek the individual’s release.
But another lawyer, Khemraj Ramjattan said that he had challenged the arbitrary detention of three men and won a judgement in the court. In this case, the state appealed and a judge reduced the extent of damages, he said.
Asked why more lawyers do not pursue legal action for unlawful detention, Ramjattan said that lawyers always want a fee before they enter the courts. They are not prepared to work pro bono with the result that the ordinary man must suffer.
Therefore, as things stand, the police can pick up anyone and lock them up for 72 hours, safe in the knowledge that nothing would happen.
Ramjattan said, “Only in Guyana.”

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